INSIGHTSNews & Events

Guildford Chambers are pleased to have a number of barristers ranked as Leading Juniors in the South Eastern Circuit, in the latest Edition of The Legal 500.   George Coates – ‘George heads up the practice and is highly regarded for his excellent track record of handling high-value matrimonial finance cases.’ Christine Julien – ‘Christine has real attention to...

By Laura Smallwood In this recent county court case the meaning of ‘return’ of a tenancy deposit for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004 was considered in the context of delivery by the landlord of a cheque which was not cashed or credited to the tenant’s account. Although only of persuasive value, the decision...

Guildford Chambers are pleased to have a number of barristers ranked as Leading Juniors in the South Eastern Circuit, in the latest Edition of The Legal 500.   George Coates – ‘George is supremely experienced and a solid tactician. He has a reassuring manner and a keen eye for detail.’ Claire Shrimpton – ‘Claire is very approachable and...

Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWHC 631 (QB) Detrimental Reliance in Common Intention Constructive Trusts A starting point for considering a common intention constructive trust dispute may well be Lewin On Trusts 20th Edition, specifically Section 4: Beneficial Interests of Two of More Persons. The courts have increasingly recognised that, at least in the context of a...

Rowan Morton recently acted for the Claimant in a 4-day “TOLATA” claim before HHJ George in Guildford, whereby the jointly owned property (constructed by the Defendant) did not have the necessary building regulation approval, or energy performance certificate to be fit for sale or for residential rental. The Defendant had been living there for 7...

By Kimberley Clifton   Is delay sufficient to defeat an application to set aside default judgment? Unsuccessful applications There has been a flurry of recent cases from the last three years dealing with the significance of delay in applications to set aside a default judgment. The following cases are some interesting examples of applications...

Family finance 2021 – George Coates & Hannah McSorley TOLATA 2021 – Rowan Morton & Hannah McSorley Children Public Law update 2021 – Dominique Gillan & Suzanne Kelly Private Law Children update 2021 – Nicola Holland & Andrew Austin Tenancies and Covid – an end of year review Laura Smallwood – November 2021 Removing Executors...

By Laura Smallwood & Luke Trim Six months on from their webinar ‘Possession proceedings: where are we now?’ Laura and Luke reviewed the current situation and recent changes in relation to possession and other remedies, including case law on commercial tenants’ ‘COVID-19 defences’ to claims for arrears of rent and service charges, and potential replacements...

By Laura Smallwood This webinar reviewed The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium & Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England & Wales) Regulations 2020 which came into force on 4th May 2021. These regulations provide debtors with short term protection from action by creditors and will further affect the dynamics of the landlord-tenant relationship, which has been...

By Laura Smallwood   In Keshwala v Bhalsod [2021] EWCA Civ 492, the Court of Appeal, overturning a decision of the High Court, has held that there is no legal principle that an application for relief from forfeiture made within 6 months of re-entry will be deemed to have been made reasonably promptly.   Background...

Laura Smallwood and Luke Trim will be delivering an update on this webinar in May 2021. There have been extensive and repeated changes to the landscape of possession proceedings since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This webinar will review the current state of the law and will consider the Overall Arrangements for Possession...

  By Laura Smallwood The stay on possession proceedings now governed by CPR 55.29, which was brought in to replace PD 51Z from 25th June by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 will come to an end on 23rd August. What then? The answer lies in a new, temporary practice direction, Practice...