Property Newsletter: September 2026

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Introduction

Hello dear readers! Welcome to the September 2026 Gatehouse Property Newsletter. Hopefully you all managed some down-time over the summer, and that, like me, your holiday blues disappeared as soon as you picked up that first client file and remembered that property law is, it turns out, actually really interesting. To ease you back into the swing of things we have just one article this month, from Laura Tweedy, giving us all twelve tips for preparing for mediation. But fear not! We are preparing for our Property Litigation half-day conference on 22 October and, even if you can’t attend that, we will be back in October with the first full-fat Newsletter of the new legal term containing all the features you know and love. Until then, why not check out the weird and wonderful things that the Gatehouse Property Team do to relax in our “What have we been up to” section, below.

Editor – David Peachey

News

Brie Stevens-Hoare KC wins Property and Housing Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2026

We’re proud to share the news that Brie Stevens-Hoare KC won the Property and Housing Silk of the Year award at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2026.

Many congratulations to Brie on this fantastic achievement, and to all of the other winners and finalists celebrated at this year’s awards.

Learn more about Brie’s practice here.

Events

“The Lay of the Land”: Property Litigation Half-Day Conference

Gatehouse Chambers’ Property Team will be hosting a half-day conference on Thursday 22 October.

Topics include:

Abolition of upwards-only rent reviews
Building safety
What’s new in property litigation in 2026
Section 2, Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989

Speakers:

Topics include:

Abolition of upwards-only rent reviews
Building safety
What’s new in property litigation in 2026
Section 2, Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989

Venue: Gatehouse Chambers, 1 Lady Hale Gate, Gray’s Inn, London WC1X8BS

Please register your interest using this form. We will be in touch to confirm places in due course.

If you have any questions, please email events@gatehouselaw.co.uk

What have we been up to?

Brie Stevens-Hoare KC has been working focused on conditional contracts, rights to park and her Cayman work this month. She has been in Cayman on the annual Gatehouse trip and looking at a couple of Strata matters. She has also been speaking at a few conferences, most notably on Contractual Control Rights generally and termination in particular with Clare Anslow.

After mountain hiking in Slovenia, and then taking his Lotus across the Pyrenees, Andrew Skelly settled back into the rather more familiar, but no less thrilling, setting of a commercial lease service charges trial in Swindon, and a mediation of a dispute involving misrepresentation relating to the sale of land. The summer has also seen Andrew advising and settling proceedings in a variety of cases involving restrictive covenants.

James Hall has been advising a local authority in his occasional (very)niche area of inclosure awards, this time re: whether allotments ought to be removed! And has also been advising a charity on freehold restrictive covenants that it may (or may not?) be the beneficiary of.

After a delightful holiday in the Canadian wilderness, Jamal Demachkie has been back to forfeiture this month, which has seen him preparing for an upcoming forfeiture case in the Court of Appeal, and a vesting order trial in the County Court. Only for the trial to be adjourned to await the outcome of another (separate) forfeiture case in the Court of Appeal!

Laura Tweedy has been loving doing an unofficial mediation tour of the UK. Very reminiscent of the early days at the Bar travelling to County Courts at the back end of nowhere!

After a run of trials culminating in a two-week fraud trial in July, David Peachey was definitely ready to swap early morning pre-court conferences for early morning pre-sunbathing surf sessions in Indonesia. Then back to London (via the Taj Mahal) and straight onto a wave of commercial service charges, freehold covenants and a forfeiture trial.

Lina Mattsson is nursing a severe case of the holiday blues, though requests for tiny violins after six weeks of globetrotting have so far gone unanswered. She has returned to two section 60 determined boundary disputes and one refreshingly “ordinary” boundary dispute in the County Court, and she’s thrilled about all three. She is, as far as chambers can tell, the only person in the building who feels that way.

Clare Anslow is enjoying being back in the ‘normal’ (and mercifully colder) routine after the juggle of work/childcare over the summer holidays. She particularly enjoyed the silence of her train ride up to Birmingham to speak to the PLA with Brie Stevens-Hoare KC on Contractual Control Rights and the new registration requirements.

Cameron Stocks has had a TLATA heavy month. When not editing his chapters of the 4^th edition of his and Charlotte John’s Dictionary of TLATA and Inheritance Act Claims (available in all good bookstores soon!), he has been arguing about whether a trustee’s “functions” include mandatory litigation of alleged breaches of covenant and separately prepping for a 6-day trial concerning an order for sale of commercial properties in Central London.

Victoria Dacie-Lombardo returned from a very enjoyable Italian road trip this week and was immediately dispatched to another of her favourite places, Yorkshire, for a hearing in a tricky and long running possession case. Elsewhere and since returning she has been thinking (with Brie) about conditional contracts.

Philip Marriott spent the summer looking at forfeiture and disrepair allegations in a longstanding commercial lease. He also managed to fit in an interim injunction against Andrew Skelly before two weeks driving and walking around the Norwegian fjords to prepare him for the wet English autumn.

Aside from a week away in Estonia, David Lipson has been keeping busy over summer. Of particular note are a trial on a contractual dispute regarding a serviced office licence agreement (which settled on the door of court), an advice on nuisance concerning farmland machinery, and pleadings in respect of a possession claim with a disability discrimination defence and counterclaim.

Mark Erridge has been appearing, advising and drafting in a variety of property disputes, including acting for a local authority in obtaining an injunction to remove a cemetery memorial, advising on succession to a Rent Act regulated tenancy, obtaining forfeiture of a mixed residential and commercial property, and successfully opposing an application in the FTT for a rent repayment order on the basis of unlawful eviction and harassment.

In addition to buying her own first house, Imogen Gander has been involved in obtaining multiple Orders for Sale for other properties, including a beautiful (if run-down) pub in the Cotswolds. She has been spending the rest of her time drafting witness statements in a commercial lease dispute and attending courts far and wide for possession hearings.

How to Prepare for Mediation as Counsel: Twelve Terrific Tips

Mediation is now a routine component of the litigation game. In Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council the court changed the traditional litigation rules, leading to a dramatic increase in lawyers encouraging mediation, the court mandating it, and hefty costs sanctions for those who refuse to play along.

Article by Laura Tweedy

Read more

Contact us

If you would like to discuss any of the topics in this newsletter, please contact the H Team at hteam@gatehouselaw.co.uk or get in touch with one of our Practice Managers.

Patrick Sarson, Senior Practice Manager

Jim Findley, Practice Manager

Samuel Read, Practice Manager

To find our 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!