Legal action for ban on Indian tenants |
A 69-year-old British landlord, who instructed agents not to let his properties to people from India and Pakistan, is facing legal action, UK`s human rights watchdog has said. Fergus Wilson, one of the UK`s biggest buy-to-let landlords, banned "coloured" people from renting his properties as they cooked curry and left behind lingering smell. The UK`s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) confirmed that it had applied for an injunction against Wilson at the Central London County Court. However, Wilson remained defiant over his policy, which he justifies on economic grounds to save costs on re-carpeting homes that smell of Indian cooking once tenants have left. It is not the colour of their skin, but the smell of the curry. A person is quite entitled not to purchase a house that smells of curry but to purchase the house next door which does not smell of curry. The EHRC appears to be saying that the purchaser then must let the house to someone who does cook curry, he added.The EHRC had demanded a written assurance from Wilson that he would not refuse to let a property based on race, colour, nationality or national origins.According to the UK`s Citizens Advice Bureau, refusing to rent or let a property based on race is unlawful.
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