A FAMILY who say they have been unable to rent out a house they own for 10 years because of a covenant held by a Chinese takeaway have marketed it as a film location in a last attempt to make it pay.

Karen and Craig Waggott bought 1 Alfred Street, Wantage, in 2005 to rent it out as office space.

Then the recession hit and they say they have not been able to find a single tenant or potential buyer.

The couple of Didcot, parents to seven-year-old twins Luke and Jamie, have now created a website especially for their property touting its potential as a possible filming location or other uses.

Mrs Waggott said the couple would look at using it in such a way on a case-by-case basis.

They would have leased or sold the property as flats long ago if they could, the couple said, but that is forbidden by the covenant, which they were aware of when they bought the property.

The legal agreement was drawn up in 1978 by the owners of what used to be The Castle public house at neighbouring 3 Mill Street.

That later became the Villa Chinese Restaurant, which is now closed, but owner John Yip runs the adjoining Jade Palace Chinese takeaway in Market Place and still holds the covenant.

The document includes rules not to use the property for any purpose other than offices, not to permit “any act to the property which shall be a nuisance or annoyance to the vendors or owners/occupiers of 3 Mill Street” and not to trade or sell alcoholic drinks without permission of the occupier of 3 Mill Street.

Mr and Mrs Waggott say Mr Yip is perfectly civil, but does not want to discuss altering the covenant.

They have set up a website for the house, offering a rent-free tenancy in exchange for long-overdue renovation work or an arrangement where the couple would renovate the house to a tenant’s specifications in exchange for a longer tenancy agreement.

Mrs Waggott said: “I was just feeling so guilty about it being left empty for years and years, and it’s not through lack of us wanting to do something about it.”

She said Mr Waggott just wanted to get rid of the property, but she wanted to make more of it.

Mrs Waggott said they had almost sold the house twice, but each time, the buyer pulled out when they discovered they could not get rid of the covenant.

She said: “One hundred per cent, if we could we would get it turned into residential.

“With the pressure on the local area to get new houses built, it seems like such a tragedy that we can’t.”

Mr Yip told the Oxford Mail he did not want to alter the covenant in case he or someone else wanted to re-open the Villa restaurant. He said: “I have still got the restaurant licence from the council so it could be restored.”

* See the website at waggoc2526.wix.com/1-alfred-street