BATON ROUGE - The renter of a storage unit says rats destroyed his belongings, but the owner of the storage facility says it's the renter's responsibility to make sure their space is clean.

Tarek Mustafa says he moved his stuff into A Storage Mall on Florida Boulevard in March. When he came back to those items in September, he found they had been chewed and soiled by rats. He found a rat carcass lodged between the bed frame and the unit's wall. 

"I can't use any of this stuff," he said. "I don't think anybody would want to use anything that's just been mauled on by rats."

Mustafa reached out to 2 On Your Side for help. He doesn't have insurance and says it should be on the owner to clean up.

"This is not my doing, I did not choose for rats to eat my stuff or poop on my stuff," he said.

The owner of A Storage Mall says it's the responsibility of the renter to keep their unit clean and that no one else at the facility has reported a problem. Regular sanitization occurs at the property but the owner says they are unable to enter a unit when it is occupied by a renter's belongings.

Mustafa, who used to rent an apartment from the storage unit's owner, says he values those destroyed items at about $5,000.