One of Britain’s biggest buy-to-let landlords has said he does not want his houses rented to “coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy”.
Fergus Wilson, 70, who owns around £250m worth of property across Kent, issued the written order to agents Evolution this week.
It was leaked to The Sun and when challenged over the diktat, Wilson told the paper: “To be honest, we’re getting overloaded with coloured people.”
He added: “It is a problem with certain types of coloured people — those who consume curry — it sticks to the carpet.
“You have to get some chemical thing that takes the smell out. In extreme cases you have to replace the carpet.”
“We’re getting overloaded with coloured people”
Wilson, who alongside wife Judith built his empire after leaving their teaching jobs to pursue property, previously gained notoriety for issuing criteria for those deemed ‘not acceptable’ to become tenants.
The list, sent to letting agents at the end of last year, said: “Like any business we are constantly fine tuning to best advantage.”
The list, pictured below, included “battered wives” among those who should be turned away.
Wilson previously ran to become Kent’s elected Police and Crime Commissioner and said during the campaign he would vow to protect victims of domestic violence.
Kent Online reported the full list as including:
- Tenants with children under 18. Children over 18 acceptable as co tenants.
- Only tenants with Rent Guarantee.
- No single mums no single fathers.
- No tenants on Housing Benefit.
- No low income adults.
- No single adults.
- No zero hours workers.
- No Plumbers.
- No battered wives.
- No smokers.
- No tenants with pets.
Wilson’s latest order was slammed by the National Landlords Association, which told The Huffington Post UK: “No landlord should discriminate on the basis of someone’s ethnicity. Nothing more needs to be said.”
Evolution’s manager Roy Fever said: “We don’t condone this at all.
“We would never implement a policy like that. We put through anyone to the landlord and it is up to the landlord who they take on.”
Police cannot prosecute Wilson as he has not broken the law. Nonetheless, his order provoked a furious reaction online.
Wilson is said to be plotting a sale of his huge empire - undertaking a delicate process to prevent a market crash in Kent property prices.