Dispute Resolution

When we can help

Rent Reviews

As time may be of the essence in rent reviews, it is important to ensure compliance with all the procedural requirements in a lease.   Errors or delay can often have serious consequences.   We have extensive experience of rent review arbitrations over many years, including dealing with complex valuation evidence.

Business Lease Renewals/Occupation Issues

We take a practical but thorough approach to an area of law which is relevant to most businesses.   We enable landlords and tenants, licensors and licensees to pursue and protect their legal and commercial interests.   For example, we work closely with our clients from an early stage to prepare strategies and collate evidence to resolve problems that can arise in potential development sites.

Leasehold Forfeiture/Possession

Claims for forfeiture or possession are a minefield for the unwary. The legal and commercial interests of a business can easily be prejudiced by something as simple as a poorly expressed letter or the rendering of a demand.   We work closely with our clients to avoid potential pitfalls and to ensure they achieve their commercial objectives.

Service Charge Disputes

For business tenants, service charges can be a real drain on resources; for a landlord, effective recovery of service charges is essential to maintaining both the value of their asset and the services they are contractually obliged to provide. Our detailed advice focuses on the commercial realities that lie behind the figures.

Dilapidations

Dilapidations are almost always an issue for both landlord and tenant at the end of the lease; they are often an issue during the currency of that lease. We advise our clients on how to resolve problems whenever they arise, working closely with surveyors when necessary.

Leasehold Reform/Enfranchisement

This growing area of the law is also one of the most technical. We help our clients to avoid potential pitfalls that may have serious consequences for parties seeking to exercise their right to a lease extension or to acquire a freehold.

Title Disputes

We combine a thorough knowledge of Land Registry practice and procedure with a commercial and practical approach to resolving disputes that may have a significant impact on the value or extent of a party's land. This includes dealing with issues relating to restrictive covenants, easements, rights of way (both public and private) and claims for adverse possession and rectification.

Planning Disputes

Planning disputes can take many forms. We have recently advised on appealing enforcement notices and refusal to grant planning consent, modification of a Definitive Plan and strategising in relation to an Environmental Agency's failure to restrain tipping on a mammoth scale in a rural area.  

Professional Negligence

We act for and against surveyors, valuers, architects, solicitors and other property professionals in claims brought against them by clients.

We deal effectively with problems when they arise and help to prevent problems arising in the first place. We provide an advisory service at an early stage to ensure that any given transaction proceeds to a successful completion.