Earlier this year, an estate in Bexhill, East Sussex, hit the headlines after residents were presented with bills of £7,500 or more for breaching restrictive covenants on their houses by building conservatories or putting up garden sheds.
A company called Asset Invest Ltd bought up restrictive covenants on an estate of houses for just £1 then issued bills to residents who had breached them – even when the owners had obtained planning permission. The BBC did a piece on this in April which tells us quite a bit about the people behind this.
But it turns out this is not an isolated case. A Worcestershire resident told a meeting held by Nigel Huddleston, MP for Droitwich and Evesham, that Asset Invest had sent him a bill for £70,000 relating to a breach of a restrictive covenant on a recently-built buy-to-let house he’d acquired.
As he told Mr Huddleston, the company has been buying up restrictive covenants, without telling the home-owners who are subject to them, and then enforcing them even if they are decades old. It is blighting properties, making them difficult to sell without coming to a settlement with Asset Invest. ‘It scares people and is clearly exploitative,’ he said.
There are others badly affected. One of those affected said on-line: ‘I am sure you will appreciate that I wish to post anonymously given this company’s behaviour. I live in another part of the country and only know about Asset Invest taking over our covenants as our MP wrote to us, have since discovered they have charged a neighbour over £30k for building works… it’s a living nightmare.’
Another said: ‘We've just had a letter from these people asking for £19500 to remove covenants from my late father's property on an estate near Portsmouth. The planning permission granted for a conservatory and estate agent’s sale notices seemed to draw their attention to us, now they want the money to go away and not scupper the house sale. Has anybody managed to find a way to fight these parasites?’
Though buying up covenants seems the latest ruse, two years ago, Asset Invest put up a 2,000 square metres strip of land 14 feet wide at its widest in Greenwich for £13,500 claiming it had potential for two dwellings. The company also offered 217 square feet of land in Wilmslow, Cheshire, as an ‘excellent Space - Freehold for Events/Pop-Up in Centre of The Carrs Picnic area’ for £8,500.
It does seem bizarre that a third-party can buy up covenants at knock-down prices and then impose what are little more than fines on people who have innocently gone about improving their homes.
Mind you, Asset Invest’s website includes a testimonial from one of its ‘clients’, a residents’ management company in Bedfordshire who seem very happy with them.
It says: ‘We were contacted by Asset Invest who informed the residents they had purchased a strip of land, this being the only access to our properties. Asset Invest gave the residents the option of purchasing the land collectively. The letter came out of the blue for the residents as we understood the land already has been passed to the residents! Asset Invest took time to explain how this would work. We were advised of the pros and cons and allowed time to seek advice. Once we made the decision to purchase Asset Invest were there to help with names of solicitors should we need it. The purchase of the title deed was straightforward and the only hold ups were from our end! The residents trusted Asset Invest and felt happy with the purchase price.’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddqry9zrl6o
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