UK Landlord Forum / Life

I hope someone can help. I am renting out a terrace house. It appears a few weeks ago a squirrel got in to the ceiling cavity and died. Now there are flies and a faint smell in the kitchen cupboard. My tenant states there are 10 flies that show up in the kitchen and bathroom each day which are in the back of the house. I have no access to this area (ceiling cavity)- the only way is to remove parts of my roof at great cost. My neighbour stated they did fix their roof and think they trapped the animal. Which means the carcass could be at their end which I can't do anything about.

The council and their pest control co. stated they don't remove dead carcasses or deal with this type of fly. Rentokil told my neighbours the same. THe council told them to hang tight till the flies died out as there appears to be no other animals there. We hope that it will all go back to normal max. three weeks.

However my tenant is freaking out. She has moved to her parents and now stating she won't pay rent till this is sorted. She has also hinted she wants me to pay for a professional deep clean of the property when this is sorted. I can't see what I can really do if the council and pest control can't help. Can she withhold rent? What are my responsibilities in this case of pest control?