High profile landlord Fergus Wilson has confirmed to EYE that he is selling a number of properties.
He has not specified the number but says that the latest bath of properties being sold are “top of the range”. He is not expecting them to be sold to private landlords but to owner-occupiers.
Wilson said that tenants who cannot find alternative accommodation will have to be housed by councils.
Wilson, who owns hundreds of properties in and around Ashford, Kent, said: “Private sector landlords were encouraged to buy more and more houses to ease the housing shortage in the south-east.
”However, the punitive tax measures introduced by the Government simply mean that being a buy-to-let landlord is not as attractive now as in previous years.
“I have put together a portfolio of top of the range houses in Ashford.
“This essentially means that when sold, they will go to owner occupiers rather than private landlords who will be seeking higher yields.”
Wilson said: “Many MPs own buy-to-let houses and there is nothing wrong with that.
“However, I do believe there should be a register of MPs who own buy-to-let homes, and this should be extended to elected members of councils.”
In a separate report, Wilson is said to be giving 90 households in Ashford two months’ notice.
Wilson started sending out the “no fault” eviction notices on Monday, according to the report, and has already been told by nine families with children under the agent of ten that they have no chance of getting another property and could be left homeless.
Wilson owns the whole of one street in Ashford and will send out Section 21 eviction notices to the occupiers of all 15 properties in the coming months. He conceded that none has been difficult tenants.
“I feel remorse but, at the same time, I am going to have to do it,” he said. “If I give them six months, so what? Unless somebody is going to rapidly build a lot more houses, where do the people live in the meantime?”
He admitted that evictions, if they require court action, “can totally ruin their lives”, but said: “I don’t make the problem.”
He added: “They are not doing very well at finding somewhere to go. If their household income is under £30,000, you can bet your boots they won’t get a property.”
The story says Wilson plans to issue hundreds more notices before retiring to “take life easy”.
Estimates vary as to the size of the Wilson property empire, built up between Fergus and wife Judith, but put it between 300 and 700.
Comments (4)
The legal bill for evicting these tenants if they don’t go willingly would be astronomical, plus the cost of the damage to the properties that tenants under threat of legal eviction will almost certainly inflict on the houses.
He’d be better off offering the whole street to the council with tenants in place at a knock down price. They’re not going to be able to cope with emergency housing for that number of families en masse with existing stock, so will advise everyone to sit tight until the bailiffs come.
Shelter is always bleating on about ‘social housing’ and how more is needed.
They could spend some of the millions they have in the bank and buy up these properties for just that purpose.
Probably the plan. Only people who can survive in this left wing utopia of making no money are mp’s using expenses and charities.
An extreme outcome of the government’s meddling even if it coincides with Wilson’s retirement. The government needs to start working with, not against, private landlords to help them (gvt) manage a housing crisis out of control.