Property and Land
Landlord and Tenant
Rachel was delighted to achieve an exceptional high mark on her LL.M dissertation “The Law of Forfeiture: Antiquated, Problematic and More Popular than Ever?” Her academic achievements are reflected in a practice with regular instructions in relation to Forfeiture, a notoriously technical minefield through which Rachel can readily and confidently guide clients. Instructions in relation to forfeiture, as with the rest of her Landlord and Tenant Practice encompass commercial, agricultural and long- lease residential properties.
Rachel is experienced and adept in negotiations surrounding business tenancies and business licences. She has a pragmatic approach in dilapidations disputes and utilises her skills as a mediator to achieve a fair result.
Disputes between electricity suppliers and tenants of commercial properties/ landlords of investment (residential) properties are another regular feature of Rachel’s practice. Rachel has experience in acting for both sides of such disputes involving a niche area of law.
Rachel is experienced in claims arising from services charges in long residential leases: either for damages in respect of the service charge or forfeiture. She recently secured judgment in a case involving a substantial history of debt to the landlord, previous court judgment, and variations of covenant. Rachel’s ability to process the numerical aspects of a claim and present a case with clarity despite its many facets is a sure strength.
Rachel has acted for landlords in Wales and England for over 15 years and is at ease with both Welsh and English legislation. She recently appeared and was successful in a matter involving the construction and interpretation of the Housing (Wales) Act and Section 8 notices.
She is often instructed in cases involving complicated family relations and private rentals. Some recent examples include successfully acting for a landlord on appeal from a finding of unlawful eviction arising from a complicated factual and legal matrices involving life tenancies, levels of force used to secure a Landlord’s property and police powers; advising in a case where Father had lost capacity and his EPA sought possession again against a background of claims of a life trust but additionally with undue influence allegations, and successfully acting for a landlord in a claim that they had unlawfully evicted the tenant and who had counterclaimed in damages for disrepair to the property.
Rachel has also acted for councils and social housing associations on many occasions crossing the full breadth of such work including possessions, licences granted to minors, injunctions, exclusion orders and applications to commit.
Tenants benefit from Rachel’s uncomplicated but thorough approach. Rachel has acted for tenants for over 15 years and has expert knowledge in both Welsh and English forums. Her thorough and common sense has led to good results for clients. She has successfully defended applications for possession sought on the grounds of drugs being (non-commercially) supplied at the property, anti social behaviour by children, drunken misbehaviour in sheltered housing and political expression. She handles determined and forthright clients well. She is often called upon to advise as to the proper limitations to a tenant’s expression of dissatisfaction with a service provider. Rachel has advised clients with fire-setting tendencies, drug addiction issues, neighbour harassment issues, and privacy issues relating to CCTV (both neighbours’ CCTV and formal surveillance.)
Rachel has worked well with clients with severe mental health issues for many years and is often instructed by the Official Solicitor. She has a genuine passion to see that vulnerable people retain their housing despite a period of illness which is often frightening for them and for their neighbours. Many of Rachel’s clients have faced eviction due to problems stemming from anti-social personality disorder, emotionally unstable personality disorder, or mental health problems arising from psychosis. Her experience in understanding the mental health and social services links in managing housing for incredibly vulnerable people is invaluable in such disputes. Rachel is often successful in arguing that the eviction in circumstances of such illness is unlawful discrimination.
Claims and counterclaims by tenants are a feature of her practice. For example, Rachel successfully secured substantial damages on behalf of tenants who were unlawfully evicted from their home by being in a property by the Landlords’ henchmen: both tenants being disabled. Rachel has secured damages on behalf of many clients who had been unlawfully or wrongfully evicted, or whose goods have been wrongfully disposed of by their landlord. Disrepair, particularly mould and boiler related issues, have featured heavily in Rachel’s practice. She has achieved a 100% success rate in securing damages on behalf of clients in all cases in which she has been instructed.
Rachel is well versed in all aspects of agricultural and farm business tenancies.
Commercial property
Forfeiture in relation to business premises have featured heavily, as well as advising in respect of termination and renewal of leases. Rachel has experience in relation to claims brought under deemed contracts with electricity providers. Rachel has experience of advising in dilapidations claims.
Land Law and Trusts
Rachel has extensive experience in relation to all aspects of Land and trusts. She has extensive experience in claims involving trespass, boundary disputes, easements of all types, overage, restrictive covenants and trusts of land. She has frequently advised in relation to claims for rectification, party walls and nuisance claims. Examples include successfully defeating a claim for relief from forfeiture in a long running dispute over arrears and repairs, successfully seeking injunctive relief in a neighbour dispute involving the siting of shipping containers so as to trespass slightly on to the neighbours’ property but thereby causing damage and intimidation, advising in a long running dispute involving enforcement of a previous judgment against the client’s deceased partner and further claims of trespass and harassment.
Property
Rachel has achieved a high level of success in claims involving conversion and trespass to goods. She recently advised in a multi-million pound claim centring on the issue of when the property in the goods passed. She has a solid understanding of issues raised in sales of goods in domestic legislation, and international claims. She has experienced in claims for delivery up and claims involving possession issues with High Court Enforcement.
