Subscribers lock horns with Haven Homes over inflated service charges, restraining order obtained

In an emerging David versus Goliath story, a group of purchasers of properties at Richmond Pearl Estate, Lekki, Lagos who purchased from Haven Global Resources Limited (also known as Haven Homes), are fighting to prevent Haven Homes from charging them an inflated service charge before being handed their properties.

This is despite the fact that the properties have either been fully paid for or amounts that are currently due and proper have been made. Despite not owing, Haven Homes threatened to sell the purchasers’ properties in a bid to coerce them to pay an inflated service charge amount of N10 Million. When the purchasers wrote a letter to request a meeting with Haven Homes in order to get an explanation of the high service charge amount, Haven Homes’ response was to write to notify some of the purchasers that their contracts had suddenly been terminated and reallocated. Haven Homes gave yet other purchasers 6 days to pay an increased amount of N14 Million or have their properties reallocated.

A High Court sitting in Lagos, has however issued a restraining order preventing Haven Global Resources Limited and its CEO, Sotayo Sonuga, their agents, servants and/or privies from “re-allocating, re-selling or selling the units, flats, apartments and blocks” of the purchasers and directing the defendants/respondents not to part with possession of the various units, flats, apartments purchased by the claimants to any third parties”. The purchasers, represented by Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, brought their application before Hon. Justice O. Atinuke Ipaye in Suit No. LD/7841/2024 who saw fit to grant the injunction.

Haven Homes is seeking to raise at least N10 Million from each of 155 purchasers (at least N1.5 billion) which it intends, in part to use to build a road to the estate. The payment for a road to the estate was never in contemplation when the properties were being marketed and sold to the purchasers and the purchasers claim it is not a lawful or reasonable charge.

The basis for the purported termination by Haven Homes in 2024, is force majeure [sic] as a result of “COVID-19, EndSARS, Initial Naira devaluation and other tangible economic upheavals”. A reasonable person will ask how all these things resulted impact only one flat in a block of flats and only the flat of the person who asked for an explanation for an anticipated high service charge.

As the matter is unfolding, the purchasers are also finding a number of sharp practices by Haven Homes which touts itself as being an “innovative, commercial contemporary-luxury-residential real estate developer”, building homes in Lagos, Nigeria and Atlanta, USA. Haven Homes has built a number of high-rise apartments within Richmond Pearl Estates that have only one access stairwellat the front of the building. There is no alternative stairwell in contravention of Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, Cap U2, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Regulations 2019. There is no alternative stairwelleven at the back of the block of flats, such that, if there is a fire in front, residents either jump from their balconies or go through the fire. With the spate of building disasters in Lagos State over the last few years, it is shocking that a developer of Haven Homes’ claimed stature would resort to practices such as this. Is it putting cost above human lives? Have we become a society where developers think they can take unbridled risk with human lives?

One of the claimants engaged stated that a service charge cannot be for capital intensive projects like a road build. There may be emerging, an attempt by developers generally, to raise bogus and over-inflated service charges to recoup losses they incurred as a result of the increase in prices of building materials in the last few years as he is aware of a similar situation involving another developer. It is suspected this is part of Haven Homes’ ploy.

It gets worse, the claimant said. Haven Homes has also been putting reduced values in the deeds of assignment they have been issuing to purchasers instead of what they actually received from purchasers. It is suspected that they may be doing this to under-report their revenues to avoid paying appropriate taxes to government authorities. One has to wonder why this “contemporary-luxury-residential real estate developer” should be resorting to practices such as this. Why would it be doing things in Nigeria to Nigerians which it would not contemplate doing in Atlanta, USA and to Americans? The purchasers intend to have appropriate government agencies look into these issues. We will continue to monitor this matter.

The claimant said that the purchasers would have preferred engagement by Haven Homes over the service charge instead of a threat to sell properties that have been bought by the purchasers with hard earned money. Haven Homes has behaved like a bully instead of a developer with the interest of its customers in mind.

The return date for the court case is fixed for the 26th of February 2024 for report of service of originating processes and completion of pre-action protocols.