Property Litigation - 2024 Virtual Conference

Introduction

Chaired by Hannah Mackinlay, this annual virtual conference with a panel of leading experts offers a comprehensive update as to the current hot topics in this fast-moving area.

Each session will provide a full opportunity for questions and answers.

Conference Agenda

This 5 hour conference will cover the following:

10:00am-11:00am: But the Plan Is Wrong!

Chair: Hannah Mackinlay, Propertylaw.guru

Poor quality conveyancing is a plague of our time, and deficient plans give rise to all sorts of disputes.

When you are faced with an irate client who says the boundary is wrong, what is the process you should go through to work out how you triage the problem and identify whether they have an arguable case or a hopeless one?

The Land Registry plan is usually useless for this.

This session will cover:

• What should you look at and what type of dispute is it - adverse possession, interpretation of deeds
• How do you interpret deeds anyway?

Morning Break

11:10am-12:10pm: What’s Wrong with Lease Renewals?

Mark Shelton, CPM Law Training Limited

With the Law Commission about to review Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, it is a good time to look at some of the problems in the light of recent caselaw and developments.

This session will cover:

• Assessing rent on renewal - why can’t it be the same as a rent review?
• What are the options for dispute resolution?
• How could contracting-out be improved?

12:10pm-1:10pm: Landlord & Tenant: Recovering Costs

Mari Knowles, Commonhold and Leasehold Experts Limited

Landlord and tenant law is complex and can lead to a multitude of disputes of all natures. The costs rules between the court and tribunal systems vary substantially, with further changes on the horizon as part of the ongoing reforms.

This session takes a look at costs recovery in a broad spectrum of landlord and tenant cases, including a look at proposed changes to the costs rules.

This session will cover:

• Types of contentious landlord and tenant law cases
• Court costs jurisdiction
• Tribunal costs jurisdiction
• Contractual costs recovery
• Administration charges assessment
• Common pitfalls
• Avoiding client complaints
• Reform proposals for costs

Break for lunch

2:00pm-3:00pm: Rights to Light - Step into the Light

Bryan Johnston, Dentons

Rights to light have the potential to stifle development and be very costly to resolve.

This session will look at the legal issues that are at the cutting edge of rights to light law and will include:

• Types of prescriptive rights to light
• Measurement of loss
• Injunction
• Damages
• Light Obstruction Notices

3:15pm-4:15pm: Trees are a Nuisance! (And so is Knotweed)

Hannah Mackinlay, Propertylaw.guru

Where are we with the perennial problem of overhanging branches, tree root damage, and when do you have an actionable case?

The consequences can have unexpected long term effects on the innocent party. Plus - what would your remedy be & when is it too early to sue?

Of course, there is also the pesky knotweed to consider - the RICS recent views on this have changed but what do recent cases tell us?

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.