Brie Stevens-Hoare KC – Mentor of the Year
Ebony Alleyne – DE&I Champion of the Year
Amy McClean – Unsung Hero
Nadia Carby – Unsung Hero

Introduction
Hello and (drum roll please) welcome to Gatehouse’s first Property Team newsletter of 2025! I have the pleasure of standing in as your editor this month, on behalf of Laura Tweedy who is busy mediating after winning Best Newcomer at the National Mediation Awards.
This year promises to be a momentous one in property, with everything from landlord and tenant law to stamp duty and planning processes being shaken up. I offer you a run-down of these reforms and other things to look out for in 2025, in my article A New Lease of Life, which will either delight or evoke groans, depending on how you feel about bad puns. Meanwhile Joshua Griffin educates us on the perils of over-reliance on presumptions in contractual interpretation, in his commentary on Weston Homes plc v Henley Developments 211 Limited.
All that’s left is for me to wish you all a happy and successful 2025.
(Guest) Editor – David Peachey

What have we been up to?
Daniel Gatty had a professional liability heavy month (other people’s rather than his own, he hopes), dealing with several cases concerning alleged negligence by solicitors in the course of property transactions. He has also been preparing for a trial early in February featuring a secret commission challenge to a residential mortgage.
Andrew Skelly has had another month of boundaries, easements and drainage. A site visit to get ready for an impending claim in a dispute as to the boundary between two development sites, a few CCMCs, a PTR in a 4 day trial about boundaries and rights of drainage from higher land to lower land and a very successful strike out/summary judgment knocking out a claim involving boundaries, easements, and the application of the ad medium filum principle.
Jamal Demachkie has had a busy (largely advisory) start to the year, focusing on development disputes, rescission of leases, and unjust enrichment following the sale of land.
Carl Brewin has started the new year with service charges, relief from forfeiture relating to non-payment of service charges with a lender stepping in and the basis of terms of relief, and he has also dealt with a stay of execution of enforcement in an appeal. Carl is very jealous of Victoria Dacie-Lombardo’s February escape!
Gemma de Cordova was also back on 2nd January with a good old ‘lease v licence’ issue in relation to commercial premises; somehow the 2-day trial evolved into might best be described as a 3-day CMC…with the trial now due to be re-listed for 4 days! Litigation is full of surprises!
Gemma has since been busy advising on lots of new matters including: managing the impact of a company’s dissolution on multiple leasehold titles; the termination of a licence to occupy for commercial purposes; enforcement of repair covenants in a commercial lease; and a dispute involving fixed charge receivers and allegations of fraud.
Gemma ends the month with a call regarding a potential claim for a new high-profile client involving drone activity. 2025 is looking very bright!
Lauren Godfrey started 2025 in a hearing that, after a failed but extremely heated mediation in the summer, the other side had seen sense and threw in the towel on a contested will and related property dispute. The case which was due to be heard in the High Court was like a crime novel in terms of the extent of the other party’s fraudulent conduct. While Lauren was disappointed to hear that it will not go ahead, he is equally pleased for his clients who have been vindicated in their position. Otherwise, Lauren is acting in a multi-party property dispute where one of his clients is a Self-Invested Personal Pension (aka “SIPP”) which raises some novel points blending financial regulation, property, and trust law principles. Interesting but not quite as gripping as an interfamilial fraud!
After being designated cook over the festive period, David Peachey hardly had time to come up for air before successfully opposing a summary judgment application on 2nd January, where the other side sought to kick out his client’s counterclaim for unlawful means conspiracy. It seemed only moments later that he had a hearing in (yet another) case in which the Tribunal try and interpret the meaning of “relevant defect” under the Building Safety Act. Then he went on a short break, so he could finally relax!
Laura Tweedy is enjoying a month off editing the newsletter while preparing a Notice of Objection, opposing permission in the Supreme Court and mediating, mediating, mediating. It is such a great job!
Charlotte John has had a busy start to the year (after a busy end to the year) with mediations and advisory work. She was very pleased to start the year with judgment in her client’s favour in Ellis v Care, a contentious probate and proprietary estoppel claim, featuring some unusual facts, including the opposing expert’s theory that the deceased’s passion for his rare breed cattle amounted to a personality disorder depriving him of testamentary capacity. The will leaving the deceased’s estate to her client, a young local farmer who had formed a friendship with the deceased and helped on his farm, was upheld and the brother’s proprietary estoppel claim dismissed.
Lina Mattsson has started 2025 with back-to-back trials including acting for a landlord resisting the grant of a new lease under ground (f) and arguing about what weight to put on physical features on the ground v features shown on a plan marked for “identification purpose only” in front of Mr Justice Marcus Smith. The Christmas break seems like a distant memory!
Rory Cochrane started the year as he has done many a year, instructed for a telecommunications operator in an application for renewal of a telecoms lease under paragraph 26 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (although the hearing was adjourned). He is looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings on the ever-changing Communications Code/telecoms lease front! Other than the Communications Code, Rory is also instructed for a telecommunications operator on a long running trespass to land case involving telecommunications apparatus situated near to a house.
Cameron Stocks has had a service charge heavy start to the year with a whole host of issues arising in a knotty set of litigation involving a block of flats in North London. Cameron is being led in this dispute by Brie Stevens-Hoare KC and Emily Betts in the County Court, First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal (almost a full house!). He is counting down the days before being back on the French slopes at the start of February.
Victoria Dacie-Lombardo has had a busy start to the year, advising on and acting in all things trespass, including in relation to the airspace of a Grade II listed building and more recently, representing a property owner in connection with a trespass claim where a proprietary estoppel defence has been asserted. She’s back in court next week dealing with housing disrepair, before she escapes the February drizzle for some winter sun – the beach is definitely calling!
Phil Marriott started 2025 off with questions of capacity and anti-social behaviour in a possession claim, before looking at forfeiture of a pub, a trespasser claim, and preparing for a CCMC in a multi-party leaseholder dispute arising out of property damage.
David Lipson has spent most of January preparing for and acting in a six-day High Court trial, led by Peter Petts alongside Mark Erridge, concerning a claim for negligent advice given in respect of forfeiture proceedings. He has also worked on separate forfeiture proceedings and advised on the application of section 13 Housing Act 1988.

News
Laura Tweedy wins Newcomer of the Year at the National Mediation Awards
We are thrilled to report that Laura Tweedy won Newcomer of the Year at the 2024 National Mediation Awards.
Laura is known as a results driven, pragmatic and methodical mediator, she is willing to mediate any dispute although she has particular interest and experience in property and private client related issues. She is particularly known for her ability to deal with highly contentious, emotionally fraught disputes.
Many congratulations, Laura. Learn more about her expertise on her profile.
Women and Diversity in Law Awards 2025: 4 finalists from Gatehouse Chambers
Spanning 35 categories, these awards honour outstanding women leaders and practitioners as well as the legal teams and businesses making significant strides in ensuring the UK legal profession is more equitable and reflective of the society in which it operates.
Many congratulations to all of the finalists. The full list can be viewed here.
Events 2025
MIPIM 2025
11-14 March – Cannes
Gatehouse Chambers’ barristers and staff will be heading to Cannes for MIPIM 2025.
Do get in touch if you or some of your colleagues will be there too and would like to meet up.
UKREiiF 2025
20-22 May – Royal Armouries Leeds & Leeds Dock
We will also be attending UKREiiF 2025, which will take place in Leeds and offer opportunities for networking, learning, and investment.
Feel free to reach out if you or your colleagues will be there.

A new lease of life: Property law reforms in 2025
2025 promises significant change to the property law landscape. Let David Peachey be your right-land man (sorry!) so that navigating these changes will be a lease of cake (Really sorry! No more terrible puns – I promise).
So what can we look forward to in 2025?
Article by David Peachey

Weston Homes Plc v Henley Developments 211 Limited, Henley Property Investments (UK) LLP
Weston Homes Plc v Henley Developments 211 Limited, Henley Property Investments (UK) LLP
The claimant (‘the Buyer’) agreed to buy freehold property in Ebbsfleet, Kent (‘the Property’) from the first defendant (‘the Seller’) under a conditional contract of sale dated 21 June 2022 (‘the Contract’), and paid a deposit of £870,000 (‘the Deposit’).
Clause 23.2 of the Contract entitled either party to serve written notice terminating the contract “if the Compliance Date had not occurred by the expiry of the Relevant Period”. In the event such a notice was served, the Seller was to repay the Deposit to the Buyer within 10 business days.
Article by Joshua Griffin

Contact us
If you would like to discuss any of the topics in this newsletter, please contact a member of our Practice Management Team:
Patrick Sarson, Senior Practice Manager
Jim Findley, Practice Manager
Adam Macdonald, Practice Manager
Samuel Read, Practice Manager
To find out more about our Property Team and their work, visit the property page on our website. To view a copy of our privacy statement, please click here.
This edition of the property newsletter was edited by David Peachey. Comments or queries about this newsletter? Please get in touch with him!