Brittany has acted in a range of real property matters, including boundary disputes and adverse possession claims, the enforcement of restrictive covenants and the creation of, and interference with, easements. Brittany’s focus is on achieving a workable, cost-effective solution at an early stage but where that is not possible, she is comfortable appearing in multi-day hearings, such as:
- Irvine & Prazsky v Clement [2018] UKFTT 0610 (PC): in which she successfully resisted a claim for adverse possession, dealing with discrete elements of the law of adverse possession such as the impact of the grant of tenancies on the running of time and the type of use that could be expected of different types of land. In a subsequent, related claim she also successfully resisted the implication of a prescriptive right of way over the land which was the subject of the adverse possession claim.
- Silverblue Homes Limited v Redchurch Equity Limited [2023] UKFTT 00932 (PC): Brittany acted for the applicant developer and persuaded the trial judge as to the position of the boundary, notwithstanding the absence of physical and expert evidence, and of the existence of a boundary agreement, in circumstances where the loss of a narrow strip of land would have resulted in the loss of rear access to six valuable mews properties in central Cheltenham.
- Nicholls v Hill (County Court at Weston-super-Mare, unreported): in a dispute concerning a retaining wall, Brittany successfully established, following a three-day trial, that the upper landowner was subject to a measured duty of care which required him to repair the subject wall, and was successful again following a one-day appeal against a KC which involved a wide-ranging challenge as to the existence and extent of the measured duty of care and apportionment of the repair costs.
- Gill v Hodgkiss and anor (County Court at Exeter, unreported): Brittany appeared on behalf of the claimant and successfully resisted a neighbour’s claim that they had the benefit of a dozen rights of way (by express grant, section 62, sections 56 and 65 of the Law of Property Act 1925, or because the same had been acquired through prescription) over the claimant’s agricultural land.
Real Property
Brittany has experience of dealing with a range of real property matters, including the creation of, interpretation of, and interference with, easements; the construction and enforceability of positive and restrictive covenants; adverse possession; boundary disputes; and claims based in tort such as nuisance, trespass and the measured duty of care. Brittany has a deep familiarity with the law of real property, and is comfortable advising on, and acting in, cases with particular eccentricities such as those involving railways, the Crown or matters of ecclesiastical law. She is also comfortable in advising on matters such as fraud, misrepresentation, and land registration.
The following are examples of the types of disputes in which Brittany has assisted:
- Measured duty of care: a client’s retaining wall was damaged following the neighbouring landowner’s increase of the level of their land as against the subject wall. In a 3-day trial against senior London counsel, Brittany established the fact of the increase of land levels, obtained concessions from the defendant’s expert supportive of the claimant’s case and persuaded the court that a measured duty of care had arisen, such as to fix the defendant with liability for remedying the damaged wall. The defendant appealed, instructing a London silk for the appeal, which lasted a day and which involved wide-ranging consideration of all corners of the law concerning the measured duty of care. Brittany also dealt with the matter on appeal and secured its dismissal.
- Easements:
– Brittany has advised landowners as to whether an express grant permits use of their land by members of the public when visiting neighbouring land owned by the government in circumstances where it was asserted that they did so under licence. As part of this dispute, Brittany also provided advice as to whether a misrepresentation claim lay against the vendors of the property.
– Brittany has advised rural landowners as to whether easements had been obtained over land belonging to the Church and Crown. - Adverse possession: Brittany is familiar with technical points such as the impact of tenants on the land, the ‘old’ and ‘new’ law, as well as with registration matters, such as whether the question is one of rectification or alteration, and issues arising upon the disposition of land when a squatter remains in possession.
- Chalets: Brittany has advised clients and acted in claims in which issues arise as to the nature of the occupier’s interest, whether buildings are classified as tenant or landlord fixtures or part of the land, the terms of occupation, etc.
- Boundary disputes: Brittany has considerable experience of sifting the wheat from the chaff when it comes to boundary disputes, providing clear advice which assists in identifying the most relevant evidence and suggesting resolutions that sensibly resolve the dispute and preserve neighbourly relations whilst avoiding the, often disproportionate, costs involved in litigation. In a recent trial concerning a valuable, but narrow, strip of land which provided access to the rear of properties worth in excess of £2million, Brittany persuaded the judge as to the position of the boundary and in respect of her secondary argument, of the existence of a boundary agreement, in circumstances where the original dividing conveyance was not available, there was no physical evidence as to the boundary’s location and there was no expert evidence.
- Proprietary estoppel: Brittany provides robust advice as to whether proprietary estoppel claims are likely to succeed, with a particular focus on providing up-to-date advice as to the likely outcome in the event of success, given the Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Guest v Guest.
- Covenants: Brittany has advised a commercial property developer as to whether a pre-1926 covenant was likely to impact a multimillion-pound development in the London area.
- Nuisance: Brittany has advised a landowner in connection with a valuable claim (c£300,000) arising out of damage caused by neighbouring farming activities.
Landlord and Tenant
In commercial matters, Brittany has experience of acting for both landlord and tenant in opposed and unopposed lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, disputes concerning assignment (including issues of delay or reasonableness), the enforcement of covenants and claims for possession (including arguments concerning forfeiture, waiver and relief). Brittany has advised clients at an early stage on matters such the likelihood of making out various grounds of recovery, and regularly appears in trials concerning the terms of lease renewals. In a recent trial, Brittany’s deep understanding of the nature of forfeiture was crucial in persuading the trial judge that relief from forfeiture was still required, even if the only breach was a failure to pay a sum in respect of nominal damages.
Brittany also regularly advises and appears on behalf of landlords and tenants alike in residential matters on issues including possession, disrepair, service charge disputes and the acquisition of freeholds or extension of leases. Brittany suggests practical courses of action in matters that are not straightforward, such as the appropriate course of action in circumstances where a tenant wishes to purchase the freehold of his dwelling but a landlord is unable to prove his title. She is also regularly instructed to advise in connection with matters arising out of non-compliance with the Deregulation Act 2015.
Her knowledge also covers discrete points, such as the law as it relates to the service of notices. Her knowledge of the technical aspects of the law means that she is able to pick up on obscure points at an early stage that require careful management in order to ensure that they do not cause difficulties down the line. Recently, Brittany identified a deficiency in a notice and recommended a course of action that avoided costly consequences and which put the landlord back on track for possession.
Brittany is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, Property Bar Association and the Agricultural Law Association.
