Letting a property in Isle of Wight: a landlord’s guide

General information as at October 2026, not legal advice. Always check the council’s current scheme before letting.

Landlord licensing in Isle of Wight

• Selective licensing: No selective licensing scheme could be found on the council's pages.
• Additional HMO licensing: No additional HMO licensing scheme could be found: the council runs national mandatory licensing, for HMOs with five or more occupants sharing at least one amenity, whatever the number of storeys.

Separately, every large HMO (5 or more people forming 2 or more households) needs a mandatory HMO licence anywhere in England. Source: Isle of Wight Council.

Isle of Wight Council: private renting and licensing

Safety certificates

• Gas Safety (CP12): every 12 months, by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• EICR: at least every 5 years, by a qualified electrician.
• EPC: rated E or above, valid for 10 years.
• Alarms: a smoke alarm on every storey, and a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (not gas cookers).

Book a Gas Safety certificate, EICR or EPC in Isle of Wight at a fixed price, and keep track of expiry dates in the free landlord dashboard.

Deposits and the inventory

Protect the deposit in the DPS, TDS or mydeposits within 30 days. At the end, the scheme decides any dispute on the evidence, above all the check-in compared with the check-out, so the inventory is what protects you.

What to record in Isle of Wight homes

• Seafront homes in Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin: look for salt corrosion on window frames, balcony rails and door furniture, and damp on exposed walls.
• Former guest houses and hotels converted into flats: photograph each flat's door, meters, fire doors, alarms and the shared hallway.
• Homes in Ventnor and on the Undercliff: photograph any cracks in walls, sticking doors and garden walls, as the area has known ground movement.
• Thatched or stone cottages in the villages: record the roof, chimneys, beams and any damp in thick walls, and the oil tank if there is one.
• Homes near the Medina and low-lying harbours: look for signs of past flooding in ground-floor rooms.

Start your inventory free

Homes sold in Isle of Wight in the last 12 months

Type	Sales	Average price
Detached	487	£400,154
Semi-detached	426	£262,829
Terraced	354	£225,674
Flat or maisonette	304	£161,441
Other	91	£820,397

HM Land Registry Price Paid Data since 27 October 2025, updated monthly. Look up any address in the free property report.