為富不仁！英國夫婦坐擁千套房產，卻不給殘疾租戶供熱水
Landlord fined ￡25,000 over lack of hot water for disabled tenant
因未給殘疾租戶供應熱水，房東被罰款25000英鎊
素材來源：《衛報》 翻譯：世界播
Fergus and Judith Wilson outside one of their rental homes; at one time they owned 1,000 properties. Photograph: Jenny Goodall/Daily Mail
費格斯和朱迪思?威爾遜站在他們的出租房外面；他們曾經擁有1000處房產。照片：Jenny Goodall/每日郵報
The wife of Britain』s most controversial buy-to-let landlord, Fergus Wilson, has been ordered to pay ￡25,000 in fines and legal costs after a court ruled that she had failed to supply hot water to a disabled tenant.
英國最具爭議的購房出租房東費格斯?威爾遜的妻子被勒令支付25000英鎊的罰款和訴訟費，因為法院裁定她未能供應熱水給殘疾租戶。
The court found that Judith Wilson, who revealed she has more than 300 houses in her name in the Ashford, Kent area, ignored council enforcement notices demanding she fix the problem.
法院獲悉，朱迪思?威爾遜無視地方委員會要求她解決這個問題的執法通知。威爾遜曾透露，她在肯特郡阿什福德地區名下擁有300多所房屋。
Ashford borough council hailed the outcome of the case as 「a powerful reminder to private-sector landlords that there will be serious consequences if they fail to deal fairly with their tenants」.
阿什福德區委員會對此案的結果表示贊成，稱其「有力地提醒了私人房東，如果他們不能公平對待房客，將會產生嚴重後果」。
The Wilsons said they would appeal against the decision – and threatened to crash the local property market by putting their remaining properties on the market at the same time.
威爾遜夫婦表示，他們將對這一決定提出上訴，同時威脅要將剩餘房產投放市場，讓當地房地產市場崩盤。
In a statement, Fergus Wilson said: 「Following my wife』s conviction for not restoring hot water without due course she immediately withdrew from letting further houses in Ashford and has greatly accelerated the disposal of her portfolio.
在一份聲明中，費格斯?威爾遜說：「在沒有經過適當程序的情況下，我的妻子因沒有恢復熱水供應而被定罪後，她立即放棄了在阿什福德再出租房屋的計劃，並大大加快了她投資組合的安排。」
「This will result in a flooded market in Ashford and a drop of house prices by ￡50,000 to ￡100,000. That means all houses of Ashford residents will fall by the same figure.」
「這將導致阿什福德市場崩潰、房價下降5萬到10萬英鎊。這意味著阿什福德所有居民的房子都將下降相同的幅度。」
The Wilsons, who at one time owned a 1,000-strong property portfolio, are no stranger to court rulings.
威爾遜夫婦曾擁有1000多套房產，他們對法院的裁決並不陌生。
In November last year, Fergus Wilson』s ban on 「coloured」 tenants because they allegedly left curry smells in his properties was overturned in a court victory for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
去年11月，英國平等人權委員會在法庭上勝訴，推翻了費格斯?威爾遜禁止「有色人種」租戶進入他的房產的禁令（據說是因為他們在他的房產中留下咖喱味）。
Wilson, 70, had emailed a local letting agency, Evolution, saying: 「No coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy,」 but at Maidstone county court, Judge Richard Polden said: 「Such a policy has no place in our society.」
現年70歲的威爾遜曾給當地的租房中介Evolution發過電子郵件，說：「租約結束時，不再租給有色人種，因為他們會留下咖喱味。」 但是在邁德斯通縣法院，理查德?波爾登法官說：「這樣的規矩是我們社會無法容忍的。」
The latest court case centred on an allegation that a property in Ashford owned by Judith Wilson had ongoing problems with its hot water and heating system that led to Ashford borough council serving an enforcement notice requiring that the defects be remedied. The council told the court that Judith Wilson failed to ensure the defects were remedied within the period allowed by the notice, which led to the authority carrying out the work itself.
最新一起法院案件的焦點是，有人指控朱迪思?威爾遜在阿什福德名下一處房產的熱水和供暖系統一直存在問題，導致阿什福德區委員會發出強制令，要求對其缺陷進行修理。該委員會通報法院，朱迪思?威爾遜未能確保缺陷在通知允許的期限內得到修理，導致相關機構自行開展工作。
In her defence, Wilson claimed she had 「a reasonable excuse」 for failing to comply with the notice – namely that the damage to the boiler and heating system was caused by the tenants or their agents; that she was not permitted access to the premises; she had insufficient time to complete the work; and she reasonably relied on the council to carry out the repair itself.
在她的抗辯中，威爾遜聲稱她有「合理的理由」不遵從通知書：即鍋爐及供暖系統的損毀是由租戶或其代理人所造成；她不被允許進入該處所；她沒有足夠的時間完成這項工作；她合理地依賴委員會自己進行修復。
In his verdict, Judge Barron said Judith Wilson had 「every opportunity to resolve the issues, but Mr Wilson was consistently difficult, and stubbornly refused to make any genuine commitment to the council to get the work carried out」.
法官巴倫在判決書中表示，朱迪思?威爾遜「完全有機會解決這些問題，但威爾遜一貫態度強硬，頑固地拒絕向委員會做下任何真正要解決問題的承諾」。
He added: 「The Wilsons have shrewdly built up what can best be described as a property empire. They know very well that there is no duty on the council to carry out repairs on their behalf and then bill them for the work. As owners of around 300 properties, it is entirely reasonable to expect them to have arrangements in place to enable this type of issue to be dealt with promptly.」
他補充稱：「威爾遜家族精明地建立了一個房地產帝國。他們非常清楚，委員會沒有義務代表他們進行修理再向他們收取費用。作為約300處房產的業主，他們完全應該自己作出安排，儘快處理這類問題。」
Ashford borough council warned there could be consequences for the Wilsons, but did not confirm or deny that it was proceeding with moves to place the couple on the database.
阿什福德區委員會警告說，威爾遜夫婦可能會受到影響，但沒有證實或否認他們正在採取措施將這對夫婦列入資料庫。
A spokesperson said: 「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.
一位發言人表示：「阿什福德區委員會捍衛租戶的權利，我們確定房東應繼續承擔責任，履行法律規定的責任。如果他們不這樣做，就要自己承擔後果。」
「In this case we did everything we could to resolve the situation. We gave Mrs Wilson every opportunity to find a solution to the problem, but we were ignored. In the end, we realised that the only way to get justice for the tenants involved was to prosecute.」
「在這種情況下，我們盡了一切可能來解決問題。我們給威爾遜夫人找到解決問題的一切機會，但她完全不領情。最後，我們意識到，要為涉案租戶討回公道，唯一的辦法就是起訴。」
TAG:世界播 |