Gemma Horner recently achieved success and an excellent settlement for her client in a professional negligence claim against the client’s former solicitors.
| Background
Our client invested in a buy to let apartment, which they bought off-plan. Once the building had reached practical completion, the client inspected it. They formed the view that the apartment was not completed and not fit to let out.
As a result of the issues with the building, our client decided to withhold rent and service charges. Due to the arrears, the landlord forfeited the client’s lease by peaceable re-entry.
| Relief from forfeiture
The rules in relation to forfeiture are strict.
Put simply, after a landlord forfeits a lease, the tenant can apply to court for an order that they may go back into the property. The result is that the parties act as if the lease had never ended. This process is called relief from forfeiture.
Tenants have six months to apply for relief from forfeiture.
| Instructing solicitors to apply for relief
Our client’s first step after the landlord forfeited their lease was to instruct a solicitor to apply for relief from forfeiture.
Unfortunately, the solicitors missed the six-month deadline to issue proceedings against the landlord. Not only that, but as the landlord had not heard from the client’s solicitors for almost 4 months, they presumed the tenant did not want relief. The landlord subsequently sold the lease to a third party, resulting in our client losing their investment property.
| Instructing Levi’s professional negligence team
Our client contacted Gemma Horner and the professional negligence team, to bring a claim against their previous solicitor.
Gemma sent a letter of claim and received an offer of settlement. Following a fairly short period of negotiation, Gemma achieved success for the client in the professional negligence claim. She secured substantial compensation for the client to cover their losses, plus reimbursement of their costs.
As well as professional negligence claims, Gemma has experience in dealing with property disputes, including advice on forfeiture and claims for relief. She was able to use this knowledge to great effect, ensuring that her client received practical and commercial advice, a swift resolution and an excellent settlement result.
If you would like to speak to one of our property disputes or professional negligence specialists, call us on 0800 988 7756. Or fill in our contact form, and we will call you back.
