Landlord and Tenant, Housing, Property, Planning and Environmental Law
Andrew has significant experience of housing, property, planning, and enforcement issues. He undertakes cases on behalf of private clients, local authorities, public agencies as well as legally aided tenants.
Andrew has recently been involved in the unusual introduction by a local Council of interim management orders under section 102 of the Housing Act 2004: taking over the management of 18 tenanted properties from a non-compliant landlord subject to a selective licensing scheme.
A recent focus is on remedies under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and the accompanying regulations enacted as a response to the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire.
He undertakes work in:
Landlord and Tenant
- Remediation, remediation contribution and building liability orders under the BSA 2022
- Actions under the Defective Premises Act 1972
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 proceedings
- Improvement notices
- Service charge issues
- Possession proceedings
- Tenancy deposit disputes
- Rent reviews
- Repairing obligations
- Opposed lease renewal and relief from forfeiture under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
- Trespass and quiet enjoyment
- Provides advice on remedies related to non-compliance by landlords with selective and additional licensing schemes
Housing
- Disrepair
- Possession proceedings
- Anti-social behaviour
- Improvement notices, prohibition orders and hazard awareness notices
- Selective licensing and additional licensing schemes
- Housing allocation and homelessness.
- Disability discrimination
- Human Rights
Property
- Easements and restrictive covenants
- Environmental nuisance
- Boundary disputes
- Land registration disputes and rectification of title
- Proprietary estoppel, resulting trusts and vesting orders
- Compulsory purchase orders
Planning
- Planning appeals
- Planning inquiries
- Enforcement proceedings
Seminars
Andrew provides seminars to Solicitor clients and external organisations.
You can find more information on the seminars and publications that Andrew has undertaken, here.
Direct Access
Andrew is able to accept direct access instructions.
Achievements, appointments and memberships
- LLM in Environmental Law, UCL
- MSc in Politics and Administration, Birkbeck College
Outside of legal practice, Andrew has extensive experience of executive leadership in local government having served as a leader and cabinet member of a London borough for many years.
He has also served as a peer reviewer of local government and TfL, as an Inspector with the Audit Commission, as a member of the London Sustainable Development Commission and the Commission for London Governance. He has twice been a parliamentary candidate.
He has a passion for improving the living circumstances of residents who are seeking better quality, secure and energy-efficient homes.
He has served as the appointed tenants’ champion, receiving enquiries from many tenants with concerns about disrepair, rent increases and eviction in the PRS, disrepair of housing association properties and also from those seeking relief from homelessness.
As cabinet member for housing and sustainable development, he has introduced schemes for selective and additional licensing, introduced an Article 4 direction requiring those converting properties to HMOs to seek planning permission, and is engaged in efforts to provide more temporary accommodation to meet increasing demand.
He is also leading a program to build council housing for the first time in a generation.
Andrew initiated the Merton Rule. This was the first prescriptive planning policy to require new commercial buildings over 1,000 square meters to generate at least 10% of their energy needs using on site renewable energy equipment. This initiative has now been followed by 140 local authorities and incorporated in the Planning and Energy Act 2008.
He also helped create the local planning policy that enabled a stadium to be built for AFC Wimbledon in Merton.
Looking to the future, Andrew is particularly interested in reform of the PRS, leasehold reform and of planning and compulsory purchase.