Help needed: Housing negligence

Hi there. I'm Bethany, and I live in a flat run by the TogetherHousing association. For three years, we've had nothing but problems with them. We have faced a disgusting attitude from both their phone representatives and their agents when asking for assistance. Below I'll be going into our issues with them and the steps I've taken to resolve them myself, to no avail.

First of all:

We live in a block of flats, and the walls are overrun with rats. We hear them during the day from when we wake up, up until the night when we go to bed. They've chewed through our light fixtures on several occasions, they've chewed through the wall, the wooden boarding under the sides and finally gotten in. We noticed (after setting up traps and bait) that they've stolen food from the kitchen, they're messing on our floor, sides and even attempting to chew through our washing machine / oven cables and pipes! We've given TogetherHousing pictures and videos of both the damage and the sounds we're hearing from the rats, only for them to tell us to "buy a cat" or that it isn't "their problem". Yes, you read that right, they're refusing to acknowledge that this is their property to fix. Me treating my own flat, does not treat the other three tenants that live in the flats above and beside ours.

After we finally had the inspector to come out to us, he and his associate began speaking to us like we're stupid. Like we didn't deserve to ask for help. They laughed and joked at us, telling us that "everyone has rats" and that they'll go eventually, which is negligence. We live in a building with other people, rats chewing through cables and walls, if nothing else, is a massive fire hazard!

Secondly:

Rats aren't our only problem in the building. Our boiler does not work, and while we have had work done on it, the people who came out repeatedly informed us that our boiler is old, and therefore will break down. They also went on to say that TogetherHousing will not replace them due to how costly they are. So I guess we're supposed to be cold during the winter then? Okay.

We have damp in our home as well, so much so that our carpet in the living room absolutely stinks. When I asked the boiler repairman about it, he told me it was because there was a leak in the boiler. (Why wasn't it fixed then?)

We've had a boiler break down more times than I can count!

Lastly:

Our shower does not work as it should. The water is freezing (which I'm assuming is down to the boiler) , and our walls are covered in mould! Some of the coats we had hung up previously were ruined due to it. We even had ventilation fans fitted, and they do absolutely nothing.

Oh, two of our radiators leak excessively as well. Which the housing was told about and, again, did NOT fix it.

My condition:

I am a 28-year-old woman with a very low income. I cannot work due to my disabilities and mental health, both in which have been diagnosed by a DR. The housing association are aware of this, and still refuse to help me get rehoused or assisted in my ongoing problem. The bottom line is, is that someone riddled with anxiety, PTSD, OCD and extreme depression/panic episodes, should not be made to go through this after pleading for THREE WHOLE YEARS.

What I am aiming to accomplish:

This is my final straw; after speaking to the ombudsman and related town representatives (which are incredibly slow), I've decided that going private is the only way that I'm going to get out of this situation. The money raised will be placed toward the rent fees upon going private.

Thank you for reading. I feel terrible asking for help, but I have no other option at this point.