Going against court order, which states that all parties must maintain status quo, has deepened the face-off between Treasure Park & Gardens residents, City of David Estate, Simawa, Ogun State, and its developer.
Treasure Park & Gardens is a moderate estate where Adron Homes, the developer, sold land to interested buyers. These buyers built their houses on the land they bought, meaning that they are the buildings’ owners while Adron Homes says the estate still belongs to it.
BusinessDay gathered that there has been a subsisting face-off between the developer and the property owners, mainly over who should take charge of maintaining facilities in the estate.
The residents see themselves as co-owners of the estate, having bought their plots of land outright from the company, built their houses, and also paid for the development of amenities. Therefore, they are not happy being treated like tenants by the developer.
According to them, “we have concerns regarding why a corporate entity like Adron Homes would choose to openly disregard a court order. The company drafted the contract we both signed, and in doing so, included a comprehensive dispute resolution process that spans from mediation to potential court litigation.
We are perplexed as to why the company is now so resistant to mediation and litigation that it would choose to ignore court orders, thereby adversely affecting customers who sought judicial clarification on the contract they entered into with it.
Additionally, we are troubled by the company’s decision to unlawfully disconnect some residents from the national grid while they are still actively subscribed to power services.”
They explained that these worries and the unhealthy relationship between them and the developer, which failed to improve, compelled them to take the matter to Ogun State Multi-door Court House for mediation, but the developer refused to sign the agreement reached at the mediation centre.
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Among other things, the property owners prayed the court for a declaration that, having purchased the land outright and paid for the development of the facilities, they are not tenants and should not be treated as such.
They also prayed for a declaration that the developer does not have the right to take unilateral decisions in managing the estate such as appointment of security outfit and personnel in the estate, restricting access of the property owners through the introduction of access code and naming of streets.
However, the developer debunked all the claims made by the property owners as a team of lawyers from Afe Babalola (SAN) (Emmanuel Chambers), representing the developer, insisted that it did not sell land to the buyers with the understanding that they would own the estate.
The team led by Ola Faro stated further that contrary to the property owners’ claim, the company bought the land, constructed perimeter fence, estate gate, the layout and graded roads before selling to the buyers.
The lawyers insisted further that the terms of purchase were that the developer would manage the estate, not the property owners, as contained in the Deed of Restriction and Management and letters of provisional allocation of plots.
It is on the strength of this that Adron Homes has gone ahead to manage facilities in the estate without recourse to the property owners, disconnecting electricity supply to the houses of some property owners who allegedly failed to pay N250,000 annual facility maintenance levy imposed by the developer.
Though these actions have prompted the property owners to file for contempt of court recently, they are still suing for peace, urging the developer to restore power to those that he has disconnected.
They also want an acknowledgment from the developer that, as property owners, they are stakeholders and co-owners of the estate, just as they want the developer to comply with court orders and any enforceable agreements that may have been established between both parties. They also want a commitment from all parties to foster collaboration.
