Catherine Flexer
For advice on who to talk to, call
+44 (0)20 3826 7510Our specialist charity property solicitors advise charities and not-for-profit organisations on their property disputes. These include:
- dilapidations claims for tenants (this being claims by landlords for disrepair at the end of leases)
- dilapidations claims by charity landlords
- residential possession claims against beneficiaries of charities (under licences or tenancies)
- residential possession claims against tenants of investment property
- disputes with landlord in relation to breaches of tenant covenants
disputes with commercial tenants - claims in relation to breaches or freehold restrictive covenants
alleged breaches of planning law - construction claims
- disputes over ownership of or trusteeship of an organisation's property
- claims for breaches of mortgages or clawback arrangements
- contentious adverse possession claims
- breaches of liquor and other licensing rules
- breaches of environmental legislation
- claims by persons injured on property
Our team
- Our specialist team consists of two partners and three assistants with wide experience of property law as it relates to the voluntary sector.
- Legal review Chambers refers to our strong reputation in the charity field. The Legal 500 describes the team as "knowledgeable, quick, trustworthy, and nice to deal with".
Our approach
- We work closely with our property litigation team to provide a cost-effective and risk-aware approach to property disputes, grounded on an understanding of charity law and the way the voluntary sector works.
- Our team will consider the most appropriate way of dealing with a problem and if necessary will pass the matter to our dispute resolution lawyers.
Briefings
26/11/2020 Getting the most out of your charity’s property: changes to the Use Classes OrderE-updates
28/10/2019 Charity law update 28 October 2019 - A first look at the new data sharing code of practiceIn the press
24/10/2019 Top gongs for solicitors who go above and beyond - Russell-Cooke in The Law Society
Charity Law Association
The Charity Law Association currently has over 900 members including many of the country's largest charities and leading charity lawyers. Members or their representatives are able to attend quarterly meetings at which charity law and related issues are discussed. All members of the team are members of the Charity Law Association.
charitylawassociation.org.ukCharges are usually based on hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements but we are flexible with regard to charging rates and will discuss with you budgets for work on a particular matter, or, where it is not entirely clear how things will develop, for the initial stages or a particular stage of a matter. We will always provide you with an initial estimate of your likely legal costs and will update this as your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.
In circumstances where we can more or less either anticipate the work to be done or prescribe the work, we can act on a fixed or capped fee basis.
We would be pleased to discuss your requirements free of charge and tailor a costs proposal accordingly.
It is fundamental to our policy on allocating work that one of the factors we will consider is the likely cost outcome of using particular solicitors for particular pieces of work. Whilst almost invariably a partner will be able to carry out work more quickly than a less experienced solicitor, a less experienced solicitor under appropriate supervision may be able to produce a more cost effective result. Partner input is more likely to be appropriate and cost-effective in more complex or more specialised matters.
