Landlord to face legal action over exemption list

2 minute read  |  May 22, 2017

Fergus Wilson, 69, hit the headlines in June last year after his letting criteria became public knowledge. Mr Wilson, who is a landlord for hundreds of properties in Kent, has banned zero hour workers, single parents, ‘battered wives’ and parents with children under 18 from renting out his properties.

The EHRC has applied for an injunction against Mr Wilson, at the Central London County Court after they demanded written assurances that he would not refuse to let one of his properties based on race, colour, nationality or national origin. Mr Wilson declined and defended his criteria, saying:

‘I am merely taking economic steps to ensure that we do not end up with people who are unable to pay their rent.’

When asked about his decision to not rent to Indian or Pakistani people, Mr Wilson said it was due to the smell of curry from their traditional cooking. He elaborated on his stance, stating:

‘The issue is that a person is quite entitled not to purchase a house that smells of curry but to purchase the house next door which does not smell of curry.

‘The EHRC appears to be saying that the purchaser then must let the house to someone who does cook curry.’

Mr Wilson has received online abuse over his stance, yet has refused to back down.

Landlord rights

Despite Mr Wilson’s fairly strong views, they’re not actually illegal. There are no laws about having a preferred type of tenant in mind to rent your property, but it can be illegal to reject applicants based on race, colour, nationality or national origin.

In Mr Wilson’s view, he is judging applicants due to past experiences, much the same way that a company would hold certain viewpoints about individuals while hiring for a particular role. Often, applicants with a family who own their own home can be seen as more stable than someone who is single and lives with their parents.

The difference between these two examples is that a company would be less likely to make this known, choosing to play their cards close to their chest, and rightly so. Mr Wilson is, in his opinion, simply protecting his investment, having probably been burnt in the past. Unfortunately, his views (which I’m certain are shared by other landlords) are in the spotlight at a time when racial sensitivity is most prevalent in society.

What do you think about Mr Wilson’s views? Let us know your thoughts.

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