Judith Wilson, the wife of Britain’s most controversial landlord, Fergus Wilson, has been fined £25,000 after leaving a disabled tenant without hot water for several months. The court found that Mrs Wilson ignored enforcement notices from the council requesting that she rectify the problem.
She blamed the tenant, saying they or their agents had damaged the boiler and she had been denied access to fix the problem. The judge was unforgiving. He said he found it hard to believe that an experienced landlord with such a large portfolio didn’t have effective measures in place to resolve such an issue quickly. He also noted that Mr Wilson was obstructive and stubborn throughout the process.
Ashford Council was very happy with the outcome of the court case. Following the judgement, they said:
“[This was] a powerful reminder to private-sector landlords that there will be serious consequences if they fail to deal fairly with their tenants”.
Mrs Wilson, who it transpires owns 300+ properties in the Kent area, was less happy. She and her husband announced they intended to appeal the judgement and are considering selling off a large chunk of their portfolio. They warned that a mass sell-off would have a huge impact on local property prices. The Wilsons told reporters that they had already “accelerated the disposal of her portfolio” and were not letting any more houses in Ashford.
“This [the mass sale of properties] will result in a flooded market in Ashford and a drop of house prices by £50,000 to £100,000. That means all houses of Ashford residents will fall by the same figure,” warned Fergus Wilson.
The Wilsons have had a few brushes with the law in their time. They hit the headlines after announcing ‘coloured’ tenants were banned because they left properties stinking of curry. They also banned single mothers, plumbers, and other groups, describing them as too risky.
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