Housing Law

Housing

Cobden House Chambers is proud to be one of the very sets outside London with a dedicated team of housing practitioners who deliver a full range of advice, drafting and representation services across every conceivable aspect of residential landlord and tenant practice. Members of the Department act for social and private landlords, tenants and regulatory bodies and appears in every level court and tribunal throughout England and Wales

The core of the Department’s work revolves around possession claims and anti-social behaviour related proceedings.  These range from simple rent possessions to the most complex and sensitive cases involving serious criminality and vulnerable witnesses.  All members of the Department have extensive experience of both bringing and meeting defences based on proportionality, public law and the Equality Act 2010, and regularly deal with the complex issues which often arise in succession, left in possession, Starter Tenancy and tenancy fraud cases.


The Department also undertakes a substantial volume of Housing Disrepair work for both Claimants and Defendants including cases involving significant injury claims for physical or psychiatric harm. Members are often involved in a claim from the stage of initial advice and drafting to providing representation at the allocation hearing, mediation and trial.


Individual members have their own specialisms including homelessness appeals and judicial review, regulatory work arising from HMO and Selective Licensing and Right to Buy litigation.


In addition, members of the Department are often instructed in matters as diverse as unlawful eviction, harassment, closure orders, sale and rent back cases, matrimonial property interests, regulatory prosecutions, trespasser cases and tenancy deposit disputes.


The Department also undertakes a full range of advisory work encompassing policy issues involving allocation, starter tenancy, ASB and rent for Social Housing Providers, advice on management and development issues such as footpaths,boundary structures and the release of restrictive covenants and the drafting of key documents such as Tenancy Agreements and Tenant Notices.


Our Service

The defining ethos of Cobden House Chambers’ Housing Department is applicability.  Members of the Department are always available to give initial advice on a case by telephone or email and, where necessary, to offer urgent assistance and support.


Every member of the Department regularly delivers seminars and training to suit the needs of our client base.  These programs can be individually tailored to a client organisation’s needs and can be directed to suit legal professionals or front line staff at every level.  Where appropriate, seminars are CPD accredited.


As a Department we are always conscious of the need to deliver a cost effective service.  We are always happy to discuss structured fees and service level agreements for volume work and fees can always be discussed and fixed in advance for each stage of more complex matters.


Please contact one of our Designated Housing Clerks for further information:-

Steven Tobias -  Senior Civil Clerk/Deputy Director of Clerking

Christina Crook - Senior Clerk for Housing

Mitchell Bibby - Housing Clerk


‘The social housing team at Cobden House Chambers has a solid track record in handling anti-social behaviour cases and possession claims, as well as advising on disrepair matters. Gary Lewis is well versed in representing landlords in a range of housing issues; for example, he acted for a landlord in a complex possession claim involving issues arising under the Equality Act 2010. Lucie Wood is sought after for her experience in advising on leasehold, tenancy fraud, and unlawful eviction cases.’   


‘The Chambers are extremely reliable and will always go that extra mile to assist. As a whole, Chambers are approachable, professional and are a solid team of professionals who always deliver.’‘The set is blessed with many barristers who are experts in this area. They are able to offer suitable alternatives when preferred Counsel is unavailable.’


‘They are very accommodating for all of my needs. Whether this is shuffling things around in order to arrange cover at short notice or being flexible on the fees charged. Moreover, I have attended a number of training sessions provided by them and they have always been very well prepared and in-depth.’


Barristers in our Housing Department:


This site uses cookies that enable us to make improvements, provide relevant content, and for analytics purposes. For more details, see our Cookie Policy. By clicking Accept, you consent to our use of cookies.