Introduction
Autumn is firmly upon us and we have welcomed England’s first Lady Chief Justice Dame Sue Carr has been appointed the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1 October 2023 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary along with the cold weather.
This month our “2 Minutes With” is an opportunity to get to know our fantastic two new tenants Victoria Dacie-Lombardo and Philip Marriott. Both already have great property law experience and an interest in pursuing this work. If you are considering booking them please email: propertypracticeteam@gatehouselaw.co.uk
We had a fantastic turn out in Legal 500 so a big thank you to those of you who provided us with references.
Laura Tweedy – Editor
Updates
For my sins I promised an update on the Building Safety Act. Before I get into the recent changes, for those of us who have not quite got our heads around the vastness of this new legislation, I thought it might be useful to provide a summary of what the Building Safety Act 2022 does. I have also included some links to helpful documents on each part.
Click here to view the Building Safety Act in overview.
Click here to view the Building Safety Act update July – October 2023.
News
New rankings for Gatehouse Chambers in the latest edition of The Legal 500
We are delighted to be ranked again in the latest edition of The Legal 500, which positions Gatehouse Chambers in Tier 2 for Property Litigation (London Bar) and ranks 23 members of our Property Team, this year lifting Katrina Mather and Cameron Stocks into the Juniors table.
The Legal 500 has also ranked Gatehouse Chambers as a set for Mediation this year, recommending John de Waal KC, Brie Stevens-Hoare KC, Sara Benbow and Laura Tweedy as mediators.
Our Practice Management Team has also received very positive feedback in the directory.
Some highlights included:
‘The property set at Gatehouse is exceptional.’
‘Very commercial, impeccable service, but crucially A1 barristers.’
‘The clerks are extremely supportive and helpful.’
Read the full Legal 500 Rankings (2024 edition) for Gatehouse Chambers.
In other news, we have been shortlisted for Chambers of the Year at the British Legal Awards. Winners will be announced at the end of November.
What have we been up to?
Jamal Demachkie has enjoyed some intra-chambers rivalries this month, with a contested 1-day application against Daniel Gatty on rights of way and abuse of process, and a mediation against Laura Tweedy on a High Court L&T case.
Phil Marriott has had a busy start to life as a tenant, settling pleadings in a claim involving a defectively installed wooden floor and appearing in a trial for an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction, as well as the usual possession and injunction hearings.
October is off to an exciting start for Victoria Dacie-Lombardo who has just become an Auntie for the first time. Closer to chambers, she has very much enjoyed the transition from pupil to tenant. Highlights from the past month include her work on a fraudulent misrepresentation claim in respect of a commercial lease and a High Court appeal to determine whether a contract is void for non-compliance with s.2 LP(MP)A 1989.
Andrew Skelly has been down on the farm, advising on succession to Agricultural Holding Act tenancies, and drafting a statement of case in response to a claim for adverse possession of an area giving access to fields. When not wearing his wellies, Andrew obtained costs decisions in two Upper Tribunal matters, in relation to which both the clients were extremely happy.
Daniel Gatty’s month has been spent on partnership/trusts of land, secured lending, conveyancing negligence and assorted other topics – including the hearing over rights of way and abuse of process against Jamal Demachkie mentioned above.
Lina Mattsson had a busy month dealing with a s 60 determined boundary application, a s 84 application, and a number of TOLATA applicants. To keep her on her toes, she has added two Rag Doll kittens to the household. Too cute.
Steven Woolf has had a busy month with a great variety of work, topped and tailed by two urgent injunctions; the first ensuring the sale of strawberries, the second protecting land from unlawful excavation.
Rent Free Fitting Out Periods in 1954 Act Renewals
In a 1954 Act claim for a renewed business tenancy, the Court will (if the parties cannot agree) need to determine the rent payable by the tenant in respect of the new lease. As part of this process the Court will, invariably, hear expert evidence and consider comparables (ideally in the form of open-market transactions of similar properties in a similar area).
As anyone who has been involved in the letting market in recent years will know, commercial landlords, on the open market, tend to offer incentives to incoming tenants: one of these is usually termed a ‘rent free period’.
Read the full article by Jamal Demachkie here.
Construction of a Right of Way
You are fortunate enough to own a house on a large plot of land and wish to realise some of its value by dividing it in two and building another house. Access to the plot is gained via a lane which passes over, and is part of, a neighbour’s land; your land enjoys an express right of way over the lane “at all times and for all purposes with or without vehicles”. Are you going to be able to use the lane for the construction traffic, and thereafter for access to the second house in addition to the current house?
Click here to read the full article by Andrew Skelly
Did you miss? How to rent guide 2023
The ‘how to rent guide’ was updated 2 October 2023.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent
Gill v Lees News Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1178
1954 Act opposed lease renewal – breach of covenant- material time – whether a tenant “ought not” to be granted a new lease.
Click here to read the full summary by Lina Mattsson.
'2 Minutes With' Victoria Dacie-Lombardo & Philip Marriott
We have a bumper edition this week featuring our two new tenants, Victoria Dacie-Lombardo and Philip Marriott. Watch below.
Contact us
If you would like to discuss any of the topics in this newsletter, please contact a member of our Practice Management Team:
James Duncan-Hartill, Practice Director
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 Laura Tweedy. Comments or queries about this newsletter? Please get in touch with her!