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Why are Philly renters dissatisfied? Mice

18.1 percent of renters polled reported seeing mice or evidence of mice recently in their Philadelphia area apartments.

Among the more horrifying reasons Philadelphians reported dissatisfaction in their living situation is a preponderance of rodents.
Among the more horrifying reasons Philadelphians reported dissatisfaction in their living situation is a preponderance of rodents.Read moreistockphoto

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Philadelphia renters would have near-continuously rising monthly rates at the top of their landlord complaint lists. According to a recent study of the 2015 American Housing Survey by real estate firm Abodo, that gripe is just a drop in the local bucket.

Adobo researchers split rental satisfaction into two categories: satisfaction with actual dwelling and satisfaction with the larger neighborhood.

To assess satisfaction with the neighborhood, the study focused on community crime, school ratings, public transportation availability, and litter. Researchers also asked residents to rank their neighborhoods overall. When it came to satisfaction with their homes themselves, residents were polled about rodents and roaches, heating issues, leaks and other renter nightmares like structural problems and holes in walls or roofs.

In Philadelphia, it seems as if renters are dissatisfied with all of the above. The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area ranked 20th of 25 cities surveyed for overall satisfaction. That figure is reliant on finishing 22 nationwide in satisfaction with apartments themselves and 18 in the nation for neighborhood satisfaction.

Among the more horrifying reasons Philadelphians reported dissatisfaction in their living situation is a preponderance of rodents. Locally, 18.1 percent of those polled reported seeing mice or evidence of mice recently.

But hey, New York scored worse (way worse) than Philly in two of the categories some of us might judge as the most important. Some 19.4 percent of residents there reported "being uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more" and 5.7 percent reported that they suffered through a nonfunctional toilet within the last three months.