Steven Woolf

Areas of expertise

• Property
  • Commercial landlord & tenant

    Commercial landlord & tenant

    Steven is extremely experienced in this field, which involves daily analysis and interpretation of technical lease terms and their effect on the use of commercial premises, the covenants that landlords and tenants offer to each other and the operation of termination and renewal provisions.

    Recent work

    • Numerous 1954 Act related cases.
    • Acting for a landlord against a tenant who used the premises for purposes other than commerce.
    • Recovering a hotel from unlawful forfeiture.
    • Acting for a tenant seeking to establish a proprietary right to commercial lease.
    • Acting for a tenant seeking damages against a shopping centre developer due to dust and smoke nuisance.
    • Acting for a tenant seeking to avoid substantial service charge demands relating to underground work.
    • Acting for landlord in relation to terminal dilapidations at a brewery.
  • Real property & mortgages

    Real property & mortgages

    The main area of Steven’s property work is land related, in particular boundary disputes, rights of way and Adverse Possession.

    Steven has experienced a significant increase in land related litigation over the last five years. These disputes are most often very personal, involving the classic legal truism, an Englishman’s home is his castle. Steven’s sensitive and pragmatic approach to litigation has resulted in favourable results for clients from as far afield as Pembrokeshire in West Wales to the Yorkshire Dales.

    In recent months Steven has been at the vanguard of assisting local authorities with obtaining Borough wide “green space” injunctions seeking to protect parks, sports fields and other green spaces from unlawful fly-tipping.

    Steven has many land related cases ongoing at any one time and therefore it is difficult to find the highlights, but the following are good examples of his recent work.

    Recent work

    • Acting in a dispute relating to the extent of land adversely possessed for near on 50 years.
    • Acting in a dispute where the neighbour literally tore up trees that had been in place for hundreds of years and bulldozed a pond leading to subsidence to the surrounding land.
    • A dispute relating to the acquisition of a prescriptive right of way.
    • Acting in a dispute relating to the escape of sewage from a caravan park onto farmland.
    • Acting in a dispute relating to the title to ancient woodland.
  • Leasehold & leasehold management

    Leasehold & leasehold management

    Steven has considerable experience in all types of residential occupation from bare licenses to 999 year leases. The majority of this work would be possession and enfranchisement related. In addition, Steven has acted for landlords and tenants seeking consent to alterations, extensions to leases and service charge related disputes.

    Recent work

    • Whether storage area was appurtenant for the purposes of enfranchisement.
    • Whether it remains possible to occupy two homes.
    • Liability of the leases for electrical installations in new residential development.
    • Forfeiting of a residential lease following persistent arrears of service charge.
• Commercial litigation

  Commercial litigation

  Steven has over the last five years developed a significant successful commercial law practice. These disputes substantially involve the interpretation of commercial agreements which with Steven’s background as a property lawyer has proven invaluable.

  The description commercial disputes covers a huge variety of subject areas, from banking to partnership and from insolvency to contract. Steven has much experience in all these areas, regularly acting for clients who have been the victims of breaches of agreements. Steven’s ability to grasp the facts and apply this to the law has enabled him to be able to advise clients with sound, comprehensive advice.

  Recent Work:

  • Acting for a photo-copier supply company in relation to numerous hire purchase agreements.
  • Acting for an internet business which had their telecommunications disconnected for three weeks.
  • Acting for an International Steel trader in an action for the recovery of steel portside.
  • Recovering a high worth luxury motor vehicle.
  • Enforcing restrictive covenants and non-solicitation agreements.
  • Volume litigation against brokers and lenders mis-selling mortgages.