Sector

Leasehold

BUSINESS OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED

We are specialists in providing leasehold advice and assistance to the social housing sector. The laws around management of residential and commercial leases are often complex and technical. Our team of expert solicitors are always on hand to guide you through your legal obligations and make your task as straightforward as possible.

Our leasehold management team is led by partners and higher court advocates Lachlan McLean and Lucie Cocker, who are both recognised in the Chambers and Legal 500 directories. Clients frequently praise them as being technically gifted lawyers with a knack for dealing with even the most complex situations. They are supported by a large team of property litigation solicitors with experience in both residential and commercial disputes. Lachlan and Lucie are highly qualified and experienced advocates who carry out their own advocacy in the County Court, High Court and First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

We cover all aspects of residential and commercial lease disputes including service charge statutory consultations (section 20), rent and service charge debt recovery, forfeiture, shared ownership rent possession, rent reviews, right to manage, leasehold schemes for the elderly, Right to Buy lease disputes, contested commercial lease renewals, break clause activation, terminal dilapidations, and leasehold insolvency issues.

Examples of our work include:-

Managing a residential leasehold dispute with over 200 respondents, from claim commencement through to representing the management company at the final Tribunal hearing.
Successfully recovering over 95% of service charges owed by a leaseholder stretching across 6 years, including representing the social landlord at Tribunal and resisting allegations of disrepair.
Recovering unpaid charges owed to a landlord by a corporate tenant which was being liquidated, after seeking reimbursement from its mortgage lender.
Securing repossession and evicting the unlawful sub-tenants of a leaseholder under a mixed-use commercial/residential lease, after the leaseholder was declared bankrupt.
Obtaining a declaration in the Tribunal for a housing client against a residential leaseholder who had repeatedly disputed the interpretation of the lease and raised vexatious complaints. We managed the case from start to finish and conducted our own advocacy in Tribunal.
Advising a housing client with leasehold flats in a residential block on its options regarding ownership of the scheme, where the freehold company had been liquidated and title had vested in the Crown.
Obtaining an injunction for a housing client against a shared ownership leaseholder who had engaged in unlawful sub-letting through Air B'n'B.
Assisting a housing client who had inadvertently lost its right to end a business tenancy by failing to acknowledge a Section 26 request in time, but which needed possession of the premises for demolition in the near future. We successfully negotiated a break clause into the renewed lease and terms of statutory compensation, so that the client was able to terminate the lease and demolish the premises.
Advising a housing client on the rights of a tenant under Farm Business Tenancy which was in place on land which was being purchased for a new housing development.
Advising our clients in the wake of the Grenfell disaster regarding their obligations for fire safety in blocks of flats, including the allocation of duties between freeholder, management company and long leaseholders.

For further information about how we can assist, please contact Lachlan McLean or phone 01257 240834 | 07976 242526) or Lucie Cocker or phone 01257 240824 | 07976 268268).