Property litigation

We undertake the full range of portfolio management work to include:

• Lease renewal litigation
• Forfeiture and possession proceedings
• Enforcement of breaches of covenant including dilapidations
• Rent review and service charge disputes
• Break notice disputes
• Issues in relation to assignment and subletting

We appreciate that some disputes require a bespoke approach as they may be high value or have particular commercial importance to your portfolio; or that your requirements may be different for your high volume work such as unopposed lease renewals.

Our work for property occupiers is the flip side of the coin to our work for property investors. The legal issues are the same, but the requirements of the client will often be different. It is our emphasis upon understanding your business and unique drivers that allows us to best bring our experience to bear for your benefit.

We have extensive experience of all freehold issues which can arise in relation to development projects. We advise on easements for the supply and discharge of water as well as easements for other services, rights of way and third-party rights, options, overage disputes, specific performance and rights to light. We have the necessary skills in all aspects of Landlord and Tenant law to provide vacant possession strategies. We advise upon the termination of all forms of residential, commercial and agricultural occupancy including litigation where necessary. We appreciate the need to provide fast, effective, commercial advice.

We have acted for some of the country’s largest energy companies managing their property portfolios and advising in relation to the contentious aspects of their energy generation developments. We provide advice upon site acquisition and clearance disputes to facilitate development, including all aspects of agricultural tenancy legislation which can often be vital to the success of a generation development project. We also advise energy generation clients upon nuisance claims made as a result of flicker (caused by wind turbines), noise and emissions.

We act for both Further and Higher Education establishments in relation to their property portfolios. This ranges from disputes in relation to the development of new buildings, third party rights over an institutions’ land (to include Village Green Applications) and student protests on campus. We advise on all student accommodation issues to include duties in relation to physical alterations for disabled students as well as the interaction between the accommodation agreement and the student contract.

We advise our public sector and not for profit clients upon the full range of disputes which relate to their property portfolios. This can include commercial, residential and agricultural tenancy issues including management of County Farm Portfolios as well as freehold disputes involving adverse possession claims, trespass, subsidence, public and private rights of way and the full range of development disputes. In addition to our dispute resolution work, we offer specialist advisory advice in conjunction with our commercial property team to ensure that our clients benefit from our ability to see where disputes could arise and to take preventative action. Prevention is in our view almost always better than cure.