My experience
I am a senior associate in the Property Litigation team. I have extensive specialist experience having started my career in the Real Estate Commercial Department of a leading firm in Chancery Lane. After qualifying as a solicitor in 2001 I joined one of the largest commercial property departments in the City where I learned strategies to enable me to identify pitfalls before they even arise.
I have extensive knowledge of and experience in complex landlord and tenant issues of all kinds including:
- co-ordinating all contentious aspects of large portfolios of properties for commercial, retail and industrial clients – business lease renewals (contentious and non-contentious), service of schedules of dilapidations, litigation in pursuing/defending dilapidations claims;
- serving & reviewing s.25 Notices and s.26 Requests, commencing and defending Landlord & Tenant 1954 Act Business Lease Renewals;
- break Notices/Options to determine leases – including the interpretation of break clauses acting for both landlord and tenant and service of related notices;
- arrears claims and recovery actions against tenants and guarantors to include rents, service charges and insurance charges enforced through court action, bailiffs and statutory demands. Defending such claims for tenants;
- breach of other tenant covenants – including service of s146 and other notices to enforce tenant’s obligations and/or to gain possession;
- breach of landlord’s obligations – including injunctions to compel compliance with repair obligations; and
- possession proceedings against “persons unknown” or tenants who remain unlawfully in occupation.
Recent examples of work undertaken:
- Acting for a national retailer tenant in a service charge dispute for road resurfacing on the landlord’s estate.
- Recovering possession of various public recreation grounds for local parish councils from “persons unknown / trespassers”.
- Advising a national funeral care home operator in withdrawing from the site and settling a large dilapidation claim.
- Acting for global telecommunications provider in securing and retaining active network sites throughout the UK for its expansive portfolio.
- Pursuing commercial tenant for recovery of substantial arrears, commencing forfeiture proceedings for consent from court to recover premises and resultant negotiations with Administrators.
- Drafting and serving multiple break notices acting for a light industrial commercial landlord implementing its strategy for redevelopment.
- Giving complex advice on agricultural tenancy issues and the termination of such a tenancy to facilitate the client’s sale to a national home developer.
- Acting for wealthy private clients protecting their second home from an adverse possession claim brought by a neighbour.
- Providing strategic advice to a landlord/freeholder on bringing tenancies protected by 1954 Act to an end to implement redevelopment strategy.
More recently, I have been advising on boundary disputes that can arise from residential properties and adverse possession claims which are becoming more and more frequent and call for careful, strategic handling.
I roll up my sleeves to work alongside clients to find practical, cost effective solutions to real estate focussed problems.
I am a member of the Southampton Property Association.
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