Britain’s biggest and arguably most contentious buy-to-let landlord could be slapped with an ‘unlimited’ fine after leaving a wheelchair-bound tenant without hot water for five months.
Fergus Wilson, who owns hundreds of residential properties in Ashford and Maidstone, caused controversy earlier this year when he said that he would evict single women who become pregnant and single mums with newborn babies.
Wilson also rejects battered wives and plumbers as tenants, along with ‘coloured people’ because he says that they make his properties ‘smell of curry’.
Now his wife Judith, 68, who he owns his properties with, has been found guilty of failing to comply with an enforcement notice ordering her to supply hot water to a disabled tenant and must now reveal her wealth to a court as a judge has the power to sentence her with an unlimited fine.
District Judge Justin Barron said Wilson would suffer a ‘punitive fine’ after Folkestone Magistrates’ Court heard how her former tenants Sarah and Mark Manser, who is wheelchair-bound, went without upstairs hot water for five months.
However, in a statement outside court, Fergus Wilson told the press that the ruling could result in the eviction of potentially hundreds of tenants, as the couple look to sell off their property portfolio.
Wilson said: “Let's see what happens with the fine, but it means we will be selling more properties.
“We were selling up anyway because of our age - I could drop dead tomorrow.
“We won't be giving people notice to quit over the Christmas period and to be honest we would sell the whole lot tomorrow if we could.
“We won't put all the homes on the market at once because that would mean house prices will drop.”'
The case has been adjourned for sentencing on December 11 at Folkestone Magistrates' Court.
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Why didn’t to Council get the hot water fixed and Charge the LL, it could have been done immediately instead of dragging it out 5 months, it goes to prove they weren’t worried about the Tenant not having hot water or they would and could have sorted it straight away, it all about soft the money looks like another 37.5% for Council, 12.5% for Court System and 50% for government that has happened in the past anyhow, conflict of interest will this be another PPI scandal. When I was reared I didn’t have hot water or cold running water either, if you don’t has hot water now unlimited fine, how did the generation live for thousands of years.
Of course he should have fixed the hot water.
I agree with him on the single mums and the all day curry eaters , I will not accept them as tenants as well, when I chose a new tenant I look for the ones that are going to pay and not cause me problems.
Andrew - Simple but right and correct.
Please login to comment