Four tenants living in different properties in Cayman Islands' capital, George Town, speak of unhealthy and dilapidated quarters, rat infestation, infections and sleepless nights.

In one ten-bedroom house ten couples share one bathroom and one toilet, which has an earth pit that overflows on many occasions, two tenants told Cayman Net News.

Tenants have to line up to use the bathroom and toilet or are forced to inconvenience customers at nearby petrol stations.

For $350 per room a month the expatriates still have to pay electricity bills and access well-water, which has caused many of the women to get infections.

Bleach has to be added to the well-water to make it usable as there is no potable water in the dwelling house.

Despite alleged visits from the Department of Environment Health (DoEH) and pleas to the landlord to ease the stress and pain, the tenants have not seen results.

"It's terrible, the living facilities are unfair. Rent is too expensive. They need to do something about these people," the tenant said.

The individuals said the living environment is a disgrace in spite of regular spraying by the DoEH.

One of the tenants said the occupants of the apartment have been making minor repairs to the building to make it habitable because they could not afford rent elsewhere.

Two other George Town tenants who spoke out forcefully to their landlords on the deplorable living conditions were evicted.

The tenants were evicted following months of pleading for relief from rat infestation, leaky roofs and poor ventilation.

The low-income workers complained about sickening conditions, saying they had had to endure them for many months.

According to one of the tenants, only two of the nine tenants in the property were asked to leave because they were the ones vocal on the dilapidated conditions.

One tenant said the property has been deteriorating since Hurricane Ivan struck Grand Cayman in September 2004 with pleas to the owners to renovate the property going unheeded.

Tenants have had to use their own resources to effect repairs to the roof, doors and other parts of the house, the individual said.

Despite the minor repairs by some occupants the building continued to slip into a state of disrepair.

One person pointed Net News towards a rotting roof, dilapidated and unpainted walls, as well as rat-infested areas. Added to that no kitchen and bathroom windows, no washing facilities and no outside pipe.

The property could be a fire hazard with only one door to enter and exit, and frequent tripping of the electricity breaker, which sparks sometimes, the individual resident said.

Recently, officials from the Department of Environment Health and the Planning Department visited one of the sites after a complaint was lodged.

The tenant said she had invited the officer to examine the residence on 29 June and they concurred that the building needed extensive repairs.

Another tenant showed Net News the condition of the ceiling in one property, which was covered with cardboard in some sections and bare in others.

The tenant has been experiencing waterlogged conditions at the apartment in George Town.

This individual too has been begging the landlady through her representatives to do something especially during bad weather, but to no avail.

To add to the misery the tenant suffers from an injured back after falling to the ground from a wet floor - the direct result she said, of a leaky roof, the individual said.

Instead of renovating the property the landlady has sent the tenant an eviction notice for July 2006.

One large pot for rainwater collection under a leaky section of the roof could be seen next to a television set in the living room by a Net News reporter.