Land Development - Property Litigation

True experts

With our close links to the property development and housebuilding industry, our expert property litigation team has substantial expertise in dealing with disputes concerning land and property.  Existing clients include property developers of all sizes from owner managed businesses to listed housebuilders, landlords and tenants, local authorities and other public bodies providing us with a broad insight into different situations organisations may face, alongside possible solutions.  We are well known in this area for obtaining excellent results on challenging cases for our clients.

We are aware that litigation is not appropriate in every circumstance and wherever possible we will endeavour to obtain the right result through negotiation and mediation.  When litigation is required however you can rely on our nationally recognised specialist team to work on your behalf.

Expertise

As part of a larger team of property specialists, we can draw on the expertise of lawyers in land acquisition, planning, construction, plot sales and debt recovery to ensure we have access to the right information to obtain the best result for your case.  The services we can offer in this area include:

• conflicts arising out of restrictive covenants
• ransom strips
• conflicts arising out of ontracts for the sale and purchase of land
• lease renewal proceedings
• rent and service charge recovery (including distraint, court proceedings and insolvency proceedings)
• dilapidations claims and actions relating to other breaches of covenant
• forfeiture actions and applications for relief
• recovery of land or premises from unlawful occupiers/squatters
• lease surrender and extension negotiations
• disputes over consent to assignment/sub-letting/change of use
• disputes with neighbouring occupiers over boundaries/rights of way
• planning and environmental disputes
• village green public enquiries
• leasehold enfranchisement for commercial landlords, for example dealing with residential leaseholders applications to extend a lease, buy the freehold or exercise the right to manage
• residential possession actions/rent recovery for commercial landlords

We are closely involved with the local and national property market as members of the House Builders Federation, British Property Federation and co-sponsors of the Guildford Property Club.  We regularly provide factsheets and newsletters for clients on relevant advice and provide seminars for our clients and close contacts.