Laura Checkley

Expertise

Commercial landlord and tenant litigation: Advising on lease renewals, break notices, surrender, forfeiture, dilapidations, rent review, withholding of consent and other disputes arising under commercial leases
Residential landlord and tenant litigation: Advising on possession claims (including against protected tenants), succession, service charge disputes, rent increases, housing disrepair, termination of long leases and other disputes arising under residential leases
Claims for possession against trespassers/squatters
Professional negligence: advising on property related negligence claims against solicitors, architects and surveyors
Property related contractual disputes: including advising on misrepresentation claims, options, breach of condition/warranty and rights of pre-emption
Land disputes: advising on adverse possession claims, easements, boundary disputes and restrictive covenants
Nuisance/property related negligence claims
Insolvency: advising landlords and tenants on all issues arising from their landlord/tenant’s insolvency and conducting bankruptcy/winding up proceedings
Injunctions: bringing and defending claims for injunctions, for example, in respect of damage to property, breach of lease, protection from harassment and interference with easements

Acted for a commercial landlord in a challenge to the validity of the tenant’s attempt to exercise a one-off break option in the lease
Acted for a client in a multi party professional negligence dispute involving negligent advice given by its former solicitors on the purchase of a high value property
Advised on a high value nuisance/negligence claim brought by multiple claimants against a client landowner for damage caused by flooding from a culvert running underneath the client’s land
Forfeited a Central London headlease on the grounds of rent arrears and immoral use, and successfully defended subsequent proceedings for relief from forfeiture
Advised an investor client on all contentious issues arising from its purchase of a prime development site in Central London, including advice on obtaining vacant possession and rights of way
Defending a claim in the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal brought by 28 applicants for the variation of the service charge provisions in their leases
Advised an Administrator for a national retailer on securing vacant possession and exiting leases
Advised a landowner in a claim for an injunction and damages against a private individual who caused damage to a property, followed by committal proceedings for breach of the injunction
Acted for various London landed estates on commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes/general property management matters