City students help wheelchair-user win case Legal victory for disabled tenant in hot water dispute

A University of Kent academic has helped a disabled man who was left with no hot water or heating to win damages.

Mark and Sarah Manser, ex-tenants of buy-to-let property tycoon Judith Wilson, were represented by Kent Law Clinic solicitor Vivien Gambling after their landlady alleged they had damaged her property when leaks caused a ceiling to collapse.

A judge, however, found there was no evidence that the couple were responsible and ordered Mrs Wilson, 68 - the wife of controversial landlord Fergus Wilson - to pay £3,119 in damages for the conditions they had endured.

In a separate court case last Tuesday, Mrs Wilson was also ordered to pay £25,000 in fines and legal costs after Ashford Borough Council prosecuted her for failing to comply with an enforcement notice.

Prosecutor Sophie Gray accused her of “fabricating” attempts to restore a boiler at the property in Kingsnorth and showing “clear disregard” for Mr Manser, who uses a wheelchair, and his partner.

A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council said: “This successful prosecution shows that we have teeth and we are not afraid to fight for the rights of tenants. What a lot of private sector tenants don’t realise is that if they have trouble with their landlord they can come to us for help.

“Ashford Borough Council champions the rights of tenants and we make sure that landlords remain accountable and live up to their responsibilities under the law. If they don’t then there are consequences.”

Mr Manser said: “We are happy with the verdict in the county court case in which Kent Law Clinic helped us a lot. We also thank Ashford Borough Council for its action and are happy the Wilsons did not get away with their negligence as landlords.”

Ms Gambling, who provided legal representation to the Mansers for free, along with law students from the University of Kent at Canterbury, said: “Kent Law Clinic exists to help people like the Mansers, who cannot afford to pay for legal representation, obtain justice and I’m delighted that we were able to help them do that in this case.”