Amid the backlash from the public because of the racist comments, Vanessa Warwick steps down from the Property Redress Scheme.
The conflict between Vanessa Warwick, a supporter of racism against tenants of color, and Samuel Leeds, a property investment trainer and the owner of “Property Investors,” has taken a new turn, with Vanessa Warwick stepping down from Property Redress Scheme in the face of widespread public outrage. This has also led Samuel Leeds to acquire a 35% stake in Property Tribes, making him an essential influencing individual there.
Property Tribes was founded by Vanessa, a former MTV presenter who is also an investor in real estate and the community manager for the platform. She wanted to create a platform where property owners and landlords could share their knowledge and experience to help others in the sector operate more effectively.
A Step Towards Change
The explicit discrimination that certain of Warwick’s advice was brought to light by Samuel Leeds in one of his latest videos. Vanessa advised against disclosing the homeowner’s unwillingness to rent to Bangladeshi families because she detested the aroma of their traditional food, curry. She avoided any potential legal ramifications by doing this. As a result of rejecting tenancy applications from Bangladeshi families, one of several property owners queried on the forum whether they would be subject to race discrimination laws in the UK.
Warwick’s racist behavior was further showcased by Samuel in his videos. Despite having received criticism for encouraging discrimination against racial minorities in their forum, she was named as a new advisor to the board of the UK’s Property Redress Scheme. However, with widespread outrage from the public after assisting racist landlords in discriminating against ethnic minority tenants, Vanessa has now officially resigned as a PRS advisor. They have taken a step towards change by replacing her with the advisory panel’s first black member.
Vanessa vs Samuel
Warwick had also harshly criticized Samuel’s reputation as a property trainer, pointing out that his students belonged to a “vulnerable” group. Given that the majority of his students are ethnic minorities who aren’t regarded as “vulnerable,” Samuel called out the racist mindset that underpins this point of view. He began bringing the issue to light via his website and YouTube channel. As a result, he was accused by Warwick and her admirers. Later, Leeds filed a defamation lawsuit against Warwick, and she responded by filing a six-figure lawsuit.
Samuel Leeds is said to have bought a 35% stake in Property Tribes in an attempt to put a stop to the dispute. Although he is a minority shareholder with little influence, Leeds chooses to think he can contribute to “cleaning up the company” and lowering racism in the forum. “Because they trolled me, I wanted to at least get paid… Like Michael Jackson did to Eminem,” he jokes.
Furthermore, Leeds promises that every dollar from this sale will go to organizations that combat racism and cyberbullying. In addition, Leeds will donate an extra £50,000 to organizations battling hatred in the United Kingdom. He is showing through this action that he is determined to stand firmly against any type of discrimination in the real estate industry or any other related field.