Isle of Wight residents of Yarborough House in Sandown have revealed the ‘disgusting’ conditions in which they are forced to live in.
Island Echo readers living at the Fort Mews property have come forward to reveal the unliveable state of their accommodation, describing how walls are covered in black mould, smeared with poo and are making people ‘really ill’.
Yarborough House is run by Southern Housing and is a property which houses those who are homeless or have no other form of accommodation. Such houses are part of Southern Housing’s commitment to tackle homelessness on the Isle of Wight, providing supported housing for those who need it.
Despite this pledge to look after the homeless, a number of residents at Yarborough House have expressed their unhappiness at the living conditions of the flats they are staying in.
One disgruntled family contacted Island Echo earlier this month to share their concerns, stating:
“We have black mould really bad, kids smearing poo all over the walls, constant banging and shouting.
“Our physical and mental health is awful, we’ve begged for help and no luck”.
This family in particular has been homeless since May 2024 after being kicked out by their landlord. For families such as these, Yarborough House may be the only option they have to keep their loved ones safe and sheltered.
The current problems being faced by residents at Yarborough House are not a standalone issue, with reports expressing extreme displeasure at living conditions being raised as far back as October 2023.
On 11th October 2023, an incident occurred in which an electric heater started emitting smoke causing all residents to be evacuated.
One resident claimed that the main fire alarm didn’t go off until it was manually pressed. When speaking about the disregard for resident safety and unsanitary conditions caused by mould, they said:
“We are getting treated like animals!”
A further account of Yarborough House’s unsuitable accommodation provision was provided in December 2024, with a resident saying they spent Christmas day cleaning faeces off the shared bathroom walls and phlegm from the sink.
With many residents being desperate for action to be taken to improve Yarborough House, Southern Housing has finally addressed these issues – according to a statement released to Island Echo.
A spokesperson for Southern Housing has said:
“Since being made aware of the issues at Yarborough House, we’ve carried out a mould wash and additional cleaning on all affected areas this week. We’ve checked all extractor fans are working and arranged for our dedicated damp and mould team to carry out an assessment to see if there’s any additional action required.
“We’ve also increased the number of weekly cleaning visits at Yarborough House and provided residents with advice on ventilation. Residents are responsible for
maintaining cleanliness between visits.“We’re committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for residents and we’d urge them to contact us if there’s anything further we can do to support them.”
I thought the Labour secretary of state for
housing was meant to be dealing with such
issues.
What a disgrace Southern Housing are.
Excuse me for being dumb, but can’t the people who live there do some cleaning themselves. If not can I have a cleaning team come clean my place?
Southern Housing don’t give a stuff about it’s residents, the repairs are always bodged, the maintenance team need to be called back and then bodged again, as for the dedicated damp team who the hell are they.
Like most Island companies, they employ
useless Numpty’s.
Should be re-named Boomerang Housing.
Lol
The photographs don’t really do the claims of the article justice
They comment they are being treated like animals and in the same breath say their children are smearing poo on the walls.
Maybe a little self help is in need.
don’t work won’t work .have kids to turn out the same as you..
According to national news, benefits will be stopped
soon.
So basically its certain residents who are the problem. I presume they are also claiming every benefit possible yet still cannot act like human beings.
Here’s a thought. Clean dirty areas up yourselves & inform your children that smearing faeces on walls is unhealthy & socially unacceptable