Housing Law

• • Court of Appeal Cases: Ngnoguem v Milton Keynes Council [2021] EWCA Civ 396 and Mayor and Burgesses of the Tower Hamlets London Borough Council v Khan [2022] EWCA Civ 831
  • Representation in possession proceedings. Recently one such case was reported in national newspapers (Gibbons v Gibbons);
    • The Times
    • The Mirror
    • Daily Mail
    • The Sun
    • Daily Express

• Unlawful eviction claims, both against local authorities and landlords eviction orders;
• Appealing and setting aside warrants of eviction, s184 and s202 appeals, s204 reviews;
• Housing cases in cases involving welfare benefits where the tenant has mental health issues and specialist community care needs;
• Cases involving social care for adults or children;
• Challenging allocation and the suitability of accommodation in social housing decisions;
• Homelessness cases, including intentional homelessness;
• Regulatory enforcement against landlords;
• Validity of deeds of gift;
• Sharia mortgages;
• Drafting advices and particulars of defence in cases of fraud;
• Disputes concerning the beneficial ownership of a freehold purchased at undervalue;
• Inheritance cases involving the right of survivorship;
• Drafting advices on credit-hire agreements;
• Drafting advices in relation to sale and rent back agreements;
• Advising and representing in all aspects of mortgage repossession cases;
• Drafting pleadings in cases raising issues of promissory estoppel;
• Drafting advices, pre-action correspondence and pleadings in a case of private nuisance;
• Drafting advices in lease cases;
• Charge on the property;
• Drafting advices and pleadings in cases of mortgage re-entry;
• Drafting advices on registered property charges;
• Drafting advices and further pleadings in adverse possession cases.

Property Disputes

• Property and use of land disputes including matters before the Land Adjudicator (Property Chamber): restrictive covenants, easements, boundary disputes, rights to light, adverse possession and others;
• Issues for leaseholders: all Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (Property Chamber) disputes (breaches of a lease, lease extension, enfranchisement, right to manage, and service charge disputes) right to buy and right of first refusal, lease variations;
• Trusts of land including Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, other disputes about property rights;
• Proprietary estoppel;
• Commercial landlord and tenant issues: Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 disputes including advising on security of tenure and contracting out, termination and renewal; compensation, alterations and dilapidations, breaches of covenant, rent review assignment, renewals, rent review, service charges issues, and disclaimer, forfeiture or surrender;
• advices in relation to housing disrepair, including pest infestation, subsidence, leaking roofs, cracked walls, damp and mould and defective appliances;
• trespass;
• validity of ss 20 and 21 notices;
• advices in cases of potential personal injury caused by exposure to asbestos;
• cases of anti-social behaviour and nuisance;
• cases involving people with mental or physical impairments giving rise to challenges or grounds of defence in possession proceedings under duties contained in s.149 of the Equality Act 2010;
• quantum calculation in disrepair cases;
• entitlement to housing by care leavers;
• right to succession;
• challenges in relation to affordability;
• advices on declaration of incompatibility;
• issues of public defence to possession proceedings;
• advices on adequacy of offers to settle the proceedings;
• subletting;
• fixed tenancy surrender.

Romani Gypsy and Travellers’ Rights

• Provides advice and representation in respect of challenges to planning decisions and unauthorised occupation of land, in particular judicial review claims;
• Was one of 7 speakers who delivered a 10 Point Action Plan to better the lives of the Gypsy, Romani and Traveller communities in the UK to the Government (23 May 2019);
• Court of Appeal Case of R(SO) v Thanet City Council.

Immigration: Asylum and Human Rights

• Experience in all areas of immigration law;
• Deportation appeals and JR challenges, including the Court of Appeal case KM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 693 ;
• Extradition challenges;
• Right to rent and issues associated with housing for migrants and asylum seekers;
• Entitlement to British nationality;
• Investor and business visa applications, appeals and JR challenges;
• Asylum appeals;
• Foreign family visitor appeals and JR challenges;
• Unmarried partners appeals and JR challenges;
• Family reunion appeals and JR challenges;
• Non-EU family migration cases;
• EEA applications for permanent residence by EEA nationals and non-EEA dependant applicants;
• Challenges of lawfulness of continued detention;
• Civil claims for damages following a period of unlawful detention;
• Calculating quantum in unlawful detention cases;
• Challenging lawfulness of the SSHD’s delay in decision making;
• Challenging certification of cases as clearly unfounded under section 94 or appealable from outside the UK under section 94B;
• Cases involving best interests of children;
• Challenges to the SSHD’s refusal to prioritise decision making;
• Appeals against administrative removal;
• Lawfulness of the SSHD’s decision to accept new documentary evidence as fresh representations under paragraph 353 Immigration Rules;
• Article 8 applications, appeals and JR challenges.

Professional Negligence

Prisoner’s Rights

• Provides advice and representation to prisoners in respect of challenges to parole decisions. Civil claims in respect of infringement of prisoner’s rights and discrimination claims. Specialises in improving prison facilities, categorisation challenges and unlawful imprisonment.

Community Care

• Asylum support and care provision for migrants;
• Provides advice and representation in cases involving persons who lack capacity in all jurisdictions.

Court of Protection

• Considerable experience specialising in Court of Protection proceedings concerning health and welfare decisions, accommodation and DOLS issues for applicants and all respondents, including emergency applications and instruction by the OS;
• Recent cases have concerned disputes over residence, contact and care together with DOLS and court authorisation of deprivation of liberty including damages claims for false imprisonment.

Civil Law

• Provides advice, drafts particulars of defence or particulars, particulars of claim and grounds of appeal in cases involving disputes as to the validity of the terms of a will.

Welfare Benefits Law

• Provides advice and representation in respect of judicial review and tribunal challenges to welfare benefits decisions.

Misc

• Assessing merits in applications to set aside a judgment in default;
• Assessing merit of applications to set money judgments aside;
• Drafting advices and particulars of defence in cases of professional negligence;
• Advising in relation to contractual disputes;
• Bankruptcy cases;
• Drafting contracts for individuals, companies and local authorities;
• Drafting Tomlin orders, Beddoe orders, Lockley orders;
• Drafting advices in cases of partnership liability, also raising issues of undue influence.

Pro Bono Work

Court of Appeals cases

Leading

• Ngnoguem v Milton Keynes Council [2021] EWCA Civ 396
• Mayor and Burgesses of the Tower Hamlets London Borough Council v Khan [2022] EWCA Civ 831

Junior

• KM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 693
• R (SO) v Thanet District Council [2023] EWCA Civ 398

High Court cases

Leading

• R v P [2023]- Private family hearing

Junior

• R (SO) v Thanet District Council [2022] EWHC 1731

Upper Tribunal cases

• Balente v The Secretary of State for the Home Department HU/15885/2019