The Isle of Wight Council has admitted that properties used to house Islanders through its Landlord Incentive Scheme are not routinely reassessed or reinspected after being accepted onto the scheme, Island Echo can exclusively reveal.
The admission comes after questions were raised about a privately owned 2-bedroom home at Alvington Manor View in Gunville, which was offered to a couple and their newborn baby to move them out of temporary accommodation where conditions were not safe to raise a child.
The couple moved into the property in May 2025, believing it would provide a safe and stable home for their family.
Despite being part of the Council-backed scheme, the family say they have been left living in unsanitary conditions, saying:
“It feels like we’re living in a slum”.
Since moving in, a paying tenant has fallen through the kitchen floor, while the household says it has also experienced mould, birds in the loft and, more recently, a rat infestation.
One of the tenants, who suffers from COPD, told Island Echo:
“It smells like someone has died in here.
Article continues below this advertisement “It’s our first real home with our baby, and it’s like living in a squat in here.”
Following reports of the infestation, an Isle of Wight pest control company was called to the property by Whitehouse & Porter, the property’s managing agent, where an eradication process was carried out.
The tenant believes rodents subsequently died within cavities in the walls, leaving them to decompose and spreading a foul smell throughout the house.
He says the resulting smell has become so severe that the family can “actually taste it”, with particular concerns about preparing food for their now 18-month-old son.
Whitehouse & Porter says temporary odours can occur during rodent eradication and that pest-control professionals advised that cutting into sound cavity walls without knowing the location of a carcass would be structurally impractical, unnecessary and contrary to trade standards.
Further roofline and soffit proofing has been instructed to permanently seal the property following completion of the eradication programme.
Concerns about the property had been raised before the family moved in. When they viewed the home alongside Whitehouse & Porter and a Council officer, issues including birds nesting in the roof and an area of the kitchen floor being unsteady were raised.
Whitehouse & Porter says an Isle of Wight Council officer subsequently attended the family’s check-in on 23rd May 2025, when photographs were agreed and initialled by the new tenants.
The tenant says problems had been identified before they accepted the property but, out of desperation, they allowed the Council and Whitehouse & Porter to reassure them that the issues would be addressed.
He has said:
“We trusted the council and accepted the property because we desperately wanted somewhere safe and suitable for our family.”
The property was originally accepted onto the Isle of Wight Council’s Landlord Incentive Scheme in 2018 – 7 years before the family moved in.
The Council says that, at the time, it met the standards required by the scheme, including being free from damp and mould, clean and well-maintained and having structural elements in good condition.
According to the Council’s website, properties accepted onto the scheme must also meet safety and legislative standards, including the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and have appropriate gas and electrical safety certification.
Following the family’s reports, Island Echo contacted Whitehouse & Porter, which said:
“All maintenance matters at Alvington Manor View have been handled in strict adherence to statutory obligations and professional trade guidance.”
The company says it also consulted the Isle of Wight Council’s Environmental Health department.
In earlier correspondence, Whitehouse & Porter director Lawrence Tolfrey described this as an “informal telephone consultation”, for which no formal public case or reference number was created.
Island Echo also questioned the Isle of Wight Council over why new tenants were allowed to move into the property despite concerns that the minimum requirements for joining the scheme were no longer being met.
The Council said the property met the required standards when it joined the scheme and explained that its role is to help connect landlords with tenants and provide certain guarantees.
Responsibility for ongoing repair and maintenance, it added, rests with the landlord.
Island Echo subsequently asked whether the property had been physically reassessed against the scheme’s minimum standards immediately before the family moved in – 7 years after it was originally accepted.
The Council was also asked whether periodic inspections or checks between tenancies are carried out to ensure properties continue to meet the standards required when they initially join the scheme.
The Council has confirmed that it does not carry out routine periodic inspections of properties once they have been accepted onto the Landlord Incentive Scheme.
It has also confirmed that, in the case of Alvington Manor View, the property was not reinspected at any point during the 7 years between its acceptance onto the scheme in 2018 and the family’s move in during May 2025.
This means that while a Council officer was present when the family viewed the property and attended their check-in in May 2025, the home had not been reinspected against the scheme’s standards since it was originally accepted.
Addressing the questions raised by Island Echo, an Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has said:
“The council does not carry out routine periodic inspections of properties once they have been accepted onto the scheme.
“The property was accepted onto the council’s Landlord Incentive Scheme in 2018 and met the required standards at that time.
“The scheme is designed to help connect landlords with tenants and provide certain guarantees. Responsibility for the ongoing maintenance, repair and management of properties, including responding to issues that arise during a tenancy, rests with the landlord or their managing agent.
“We are not in a position to comment on, or verify, individual allegations regarding the condition of the property at specific points in time. However, there is no evidence available to suggest the property did not meet the required standards when it was accepted onto the scheme or that any significant structural or health and safety issues had been identified at that stage.”
