Kentish Express Ashford & District
Landlord starts to order families out of his properties
Authority says it will help the evicted tenants
Hundreds of people are set to be ordered out of their homes this week, a buy-to-let magnate has announced.
Fergus Wilson, 70, says he hopes to sell his portfolio of 700 homes by the end of the year and advised tenants to start looking for other properties.
His wife Judith Wilson, 68, was ordered to pay £25,000 in fines and legal costs last month for failing to supply hot water to a disabled tenant.
The couple, of Heath Road in Boughton Monchelsea near Maidstone, said they would appeal the decision and threatened to crash Ashford’s property market.
Now, Mr Wilson has revealed 32 homes have been sold independently and talks are underway to offload some stock in batches.
A total of 90 Section 21 notices are being delivered to tenants this week, allowing two months to vacate, he added.
“I was contacted by 10 families with children under 10 who received the notices,” he said.
“I didn’t go through it with them in great detail, I kept it timely but I gave them some advice.
“I said you don’t want to end up with a possession order because that will be with you for the rest of your life.
“The alternative for them is to have the council place them in a bed and breakfast.
“I do feel sad for people who are going to be homeless, it will be hardest for parents with young children, because most landlords won’t accept them.
“I also feel sad selling the houses.”
The Wilsons are no strangers to controversy.
In 2017, Mr Wilson’s ban on “coloured” tenants - because they allegedly left curry smells in his homes – was overturned in a court victory for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
More recently he evicted four mothers in the Ashford borough blaming the district council’s “strict rules” on how quickly boilers need to be fixed in homes with babies.
In September, he triggered a police response when he threw his plate of fish and chips on the floor at a service station.
Speaking about selling off the Ashford homes, Mr Wilson said he is in talks with businessmen from India and Nigeria.
Some will be sold individually and others in batches, he explained.
Councillor Gerald White, ABC portfolio holder for housing, says the authority will help evicted tenants “as much as we can”.
Cllr White said: “Mr Wilson is a landlord, he is well within his legal rights to do what he wants with his properties whether that’s to sell or rent them.
“We will help them (evicted tenants) as much as we can.
“If people need help they should contact our housing option team.”
Landlords have the legal right to retain possession at the end of a tenancy, but must follow the legal procedure.
Under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, landlords can issue a Section 21 notice to regain possession after the initial period of the agreement.
‘I do feel sad for people who are going to be homeless, it will be hardest for parents with young children, because most landlords won’t accept them...I also feel sad selling the houses...’ - Fergus Wilson