Property Newsletter: Winter 2025
Introduction
Hello one and all, welcome to our special bumper Christmas edition of the Property newsletter. This month, Cameron Stocks tells us about his victory on appeal in relation to proprietary estoppel, and Victoria Dacie-Lombardo extends our knowledge of varying covenants that prevent house extensions.
But wait – there’s more… This edition we introduce two exciting new features. You can now listen to the newsletter articles – just click on the “listen to this article” button and pop your headphones in. Secondly (some would say more importantly), we have a new “who am I?” feature, where a mystery member of the team answers a few cheeky questions and you, dear reader, must guess which team member it is. We will start off with the practice team, to celebrate their role in Gatehouse Chambers winning the award for client service set of the year. Well done guys!
Winter Property Newsletter- Full Audio
News
Gatehouse Chambers wins two awards at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025
Gatehouse Chambers proudly celebrated two major wins at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025:
- Daniel Gatty – Real Estate Junior of the Year
- Gatehouse Chambers – Client Service Set of the Year
A huge congratulations to Daniel on this well-deserved recognition, and heartfelt thanks to our clients for their continued trust and invaluable feedback featured in the latest Chambers UK Guide.
Daniel specialises in property disputes, with particular expertise in real property and commercial landlord and tenant matters. He is widely recognised for his knowledge of mortgages, secured lending, and land registration law—key strengths that make him a standout property litigator. Lean more about his expertise here.
Our award for Client Service Set of the Year reflects another year of growth for Gatehouse Chambers and acknowledges the impact we are making through our profile and exceptional service to clients and the wider industry.
Many congratulations to our talented team!
‘Top 10 Tips for Mediation’ new training video now live
We are pleased to share that a new training video by Laura Tweedy ‘Top 10 Tips for Mediation’ is now available to view via the Property Bar Association’s resource library.
In this practical and engaging session, Laura shares her expert insights on achieving more effective and strategic outcomes in mediation, offering clear guidance that practitioners at all levels will find invaluable.
Learn more about Laura’s expertise here.
What have we been up to?
Brie Stevens-Hoare KC has returned from fun in the Arctic Circle seeing the Northern Lights and trying her hand at ice sculpture. She has dived straight back into two substantial claims arising out of water damage to commercial buildings, unjust enrichment and a bit of forgery. Brie has also had several mediations booked in between now and the end of year so is looking forward to helping disputing parties to find creative solutions that are significantly better than litigating.
Daniel Gatty was pleasantly surprised to be named Real Estate Junior of the Year at the recent Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025. He was disappointed to learn that it is not the done thing to have the award embroidered in fluorescent letters onto his gown for when he next wears it in court.
Just when he thought they had gone away, the fly-tippers taking over a huge industrial site came back to haunt Steven Woolf, but happily he remembered how to get an immediate mandatory injunction and possession order. In addition to a Persons Unknown trespass possession claim, Steven has been acting on numerous other possession related claims, including residential and commercial forfeiture, an out of time lease renewal claim that has now resulted in the tenant having to give up possession, and a claim by a licensee that it is not a tenant at will.
John Clargo is pleased to be back running properly and has just done a half-marathon along the beautiful shores of Lake Maggiore in Italy. Back in this jurisdiction he has been dealing with easements, boundaries, rectification (in equity and at the land registry), some professional negligence (surveyors) and repossessing residential and commercial property. No change there then!
November has been a month of advices and pleadings in more rights to light and Party Wall Act matters, for Andrew Skelly. He has also been busy preparing submissions in response to applications to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal in two matters – one a boundary determination, and the other an FtT decision in respect of breaches of a lease (or not, as it turns out).
Peter Petts and Jamal Demachkie were delighted to see the launch of the second edition of their book, Forfeiture of Leases (https://bookshop.lawsociety.org.uk/forfeiture-of-leases-2nd-edition/). Peter has been putting it to good use in getting a tenant back into its property and trading within 36 hours of the landlord peaceably re-entering. It would have been 12 hours, but the landlord was given the opportunity to see the errors of its ways. Jamal has been relying on the new edition to support his application for permission to the Court of Appeal on a long-running forfeiture dispute.
James Hall has been instructed on yet another claim against monitoring surveyors relating to a development, and has been busy writing his chapter of the forthcoming second edition of Risk and Negligence in Property Transactions (published by the Law Society and edited by John de Waal KC), on mortgage lending.
Lina Mattsson enjoyed speaking at the PLA Conference with Emily Betts – who knew that ‘Adverse Possession Blockbusters’ was a thing?! Lina is now buckling down for two back-to-back week trials. Roll on Christmas!
David Peachey has been arguing about forfeiture of various commercial leases converted for residential use, preparing for a property fraud trial and dealing with collapsing retaining walls. He has also been assisting Brie Stevens-Hoare KC with one of her water damage claims.
Cameron Stocks has had a varied month dealing with everything from consequentials following successfully resisting a High Court proprietary estoppel appeal, to injunctions for trespass, to a dispute as to whether an agreement tied to the life and death of a family dog is an enforceable license or tenancy agreement.
November has been all about interim hearings for Victoria Dacie-Lombardo, who is in the midst of preparing for a chunky strike out application which concerns judgment on an admission under CPR 14 and, elsewhere, a CCMC in a high value unjust enrichment claim where she is led by Brie Stevens-Hoare KC.
Philip Marriott has been looking at prescriptive easements, whether a company is bound by a lease entered into by a former director who was still named on Companies House, and registration gap issues in the Schedule 10 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 procedure following expiry of a long lease.
David Lipson has been maintaining his practice alongside his part time secondment. Notably, he was successful in a s.21 possession trial, where the Court agreed that a historic gas safety certificate that omitted a landlord’s name and address could be subsequently amended so as to comply with the prescribed requirements.
Equity’s Escape Hatch – can Proprietary Estoppel outflank s2 LP(MP)A 1989?
Another proprietary estoppel claim involving a farm?! The recent High Court appeal in Conway v Conway & Anor [2025] EWHC 33314 (Ch) seeks to put to rest the question of whether Section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 can operate as a bar to the operation of the doctrine of proprietary estoppel. Cameron Stocks acted for the successful Appellant at first instance and on appeal to the High Court.
Article by Cameron Stocks
Read more or listen below.
Planning permissions and restrictive covenants: Section 84 and the decision in Hassan v Heath
The Upper Tribunal’s recent decision in Hassan & Osman -v- Heath [2025] UKUT 242 (LC) is a timely reminder of the oft-encountered tension between the grant of planning permission and the existence of restrictive covenants which prevent the intended development of a property.
Article by Victoria Dacie-Lombardo
Read more or listen below.
Who am I?
Each month one of our team answers three questions, all you have to do is guess who it is! We start with the practice team, to celebrate their role in winning the award for Client Service Set of the Year.
Q: What’s your signature coffee/tea order?
A: It depends on the time of day. Usually a strong cappuccino/flat white in the morning, and a builder’s earl grey with two white sugars mid-afternoon.
Q: What’s your most controversial food opinion?
A: Cranberry sauce should not feature on a Christmas dinner or festive sandwich (/insert any other savoury December treat here). I am afraid that this also extends to apple sauce on a roast dinner, and lingonberry sauce with the meatballs from a well-known Scandinavian furniture shop. There’s something about cold, sweet fruit in a savoury context that my palette just can’t understand.
Q: What’s your favourite item on your desk?
A: A (mostly) sealed tropical terrarium complete with glow-in-the-dark aliens, although I’ve never actually seen the aliens glow because of our automatic office lighting.
Who am I?
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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 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!