Land, Tenancies & Housing

Members have experience of dealing with most types of litigious work involving land.

Apart from the more usual aspects of the law relating to land our long connection with the region's local authorities has enabled us to develop a particular knowledge of matters such as public sector and housing association tenancies.

Our location means that we have, in addition, particular expertise in all aspects of land in the countryside. The familiarity of team members with both the geography and history (for example, of local Inclosure Awards and other private Acts of Parliament) of the areas in which they work is a major advantage in cases such as those involving adverse possession and where boundaries are disputed. In addiiton, several members have written and lectured on property-related subjects.

The team's areas of special expertise include :

• Agricultural, commercial and residential tenancies - possession, forfeiture, dilapidations, management, lease renewal and rent review, residential long lease extensions, missing landlord cases and collective enfranchisement
• Registered and unregistered land - defective title, acquisition by adverse possession, and boundary disputes
• Common land, and registered town or village greens
• Public and private rights of way, rights to light, drainage, to lay pipes & cables, and other easements and profits
• Gaining access to neighbouring land
• Party walls
• Nuisance and other property-related torts
• Appeals under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 against findings of intentional homelessness

As well as appearing before the courts a growing number of our members have become familiar with practice before the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry, Leasehold Valuation Tribunals and the Lands Tribunal.

 

 

See also: Planning, Environment & Local government

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