Landlord who banned 'coloured' people 'because of curry smell' insists he's not racist and is happy to rent to 'negroes'

Britain's biggest buy-to-let landlord responds to outrage at policy by claiming it is no different from his ban on smokers and dog owners

A property tycoon who banned “coloured” people from renting his properties has claimed he is not racist and “would do it again”.

Fergus Wilson, one of the UK’s biggest buy-to-let landlords, instructed agents acting on his behalf not to let his properties to “coloured” people because he said the smell of curry “sticks to the carpet”.

The 69-year-old, whose Kent property empire is thought to number around 1,000 homes in the Ashford and Maidstone areas, issued a series of “offensive directives” ordering agents at Evolution Properties not to rent to battered wives, single parents, low income and zero hours workers or plumbers.

In a second email to agents, the landlord — who evicted 200 tenants in 2014 for being on housing benefit — added: “No coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy.”

His request was subsequently leaked to the media, at which point dozens of social media users condemned “vile” and “disgusting” Mr Wilson for racism, and speculating that he would be sued.

Responding to the backlash, Mr Wilson insisted he was “not racist” and said his move was an “economic decision”, claiming his stance was no different from his ban on letting his properties to smokers and dog owners.

Speaking to Sky News, the 69-year-old said: “There has been much support for the stance I have taken. I do not apologise for it. Faced with the same circumstances, I would do it again.”

Mr Wilson added that he was happy to rent to “negroes” as “they haven't generated a curry smell at the end of the tenancy”.

He said he was “wary” of letting to Indians after losing more than £12,000 in rent and re-carpeting costs over a six-month period because one of his properties smelled of curry.

“If you want to sell your house to a market mainly composed of white British purchasers, then you considerably reduce your chances of selling by having a house that smells of curry,” he said.​

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has pledged to investigate the matter.

Roy Fever, manager of Evolution Properties, said the company did not support the move.

“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,” he said.

Mr Wilson told Sky News the leaked email was from August last year, pre-dating his current letting criteria for 2017, drawn up last December.

Zakariya Cochrane, of Stand Up to Racism, told The Independent: “Mr Wilson’s comments hark back to the days of ‘no blacks, no dogs, no Irish’ signs in windows that were commonplace in the rented sector during the 60s and 70s.

"Although British society has come a long way, this example of discrimination against whole communities of people based on racial stereotypes, shows we cannot afford to be complacent. We still have our work cut out in tackling racism.

"The landlord’s ‘letting criteria’ has not come about in a vacuum. The government’s Immigration Bill of last year effectively turned landlords into border guards by requiring them to check a tenant’s immigration status.

"This has opened the door to widespread discrimination and the everyday racism displaced by Mr Wilson."