John Critchley has co-written an article for New Law Journal on the evolving interrelationship between assisted dying, public policy and estate administration and the approach of the courts. He and his co-author Alexa Payet of Michelmores LLP have acted in all the key decisions in this area.
The Renters’ Rights Act represents the most significant overhaul of private rental law in a generation. By abolishing the familiar Section 21 “no-fault” route to possession and consolidating all private tenancies into open-ended assured tenancies, the Act reshapes the delicate balance between landlord flexibility and tenant security. It also reconfigures the web of statutory compliance duties that have, until now, functioned as “technical bars” to possession.
In Stenner v Teignbridge DC [2025] UKUT 204 (LC) the Applicant claimed a right to store boats on a small part of the Respondent Council’s car park during the winter months. The application was confined to the small area of land said to be subject to the right and for a limited period, 1st October to 31st May. The FTT (Colin Green) rejected the application on the basis that the ouster principle was engaged and that the right claimed effectively denied the servient owner any reasonable use of the land subject to the right during the period in respect of which it was claimed.
Hot on the heels of the Court of Appeal decision in Lowe v The Governors of Sutton's Hospital In Charterhouse, the county court decision in Macintyre v Cowdray Trust Ltd and Rathbones Trust Company provides encouragement to both landlords and tenants on the thorny issue of tenancy deposits. Aristide Hoang-Brown considers how the judgment impacts landlord and tenant advisers.
Harrison Engler discusses the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decision in a complex land registration case about the registration of an easement. He represented the respondents. The applicant sought to register a right of way over the respondents’ land, relying primarily on a 2010 County Court order and, in the alternative, on prescription.
Dr Sara Hunton discusses Standish v Standish in which the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s largest ever reduction of a divorce award. Previously, the Court of Appeal had reduced the wife’s award from £45 million to £25 million finding that some of the husband’s assets should not have been treated as ‘matrimonial’.
Miriam Shalom discusses Dervis v Deniz [2025] EWHC 902 (Ch) in which she defended the successful respondent. She highlights points lawyers advising a separating cohabitant will need to bear in mind when considering communications between the former cohabitees about their home.
LexisNexis has published Keith Chipato and Jonathan Pennington Legh's analysis of First-tier Property tribunal decision (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities v Grey GR Ltd).