Residential Property

Our team of residential property lawyers appreciate the time, effort, and emotion involved in selling and buying property. We provide tailored and commercial advice in order to ensure that all transactions run as smoothly as possible for each individual client from start to completion. Our expertise spans from advising both on and off-shore individuals and investors, in the sale, purchase, and financing of prime residential property. We also work closely with our colleagues to provide guidance in all areas of the transaction including tax, trusts, planning, employment, construction, and any contentious issue that may arise. 

• Advised on the sale of a freehold property, which included complex contract drafting and negotiation for deferred payments due to the seller.    
• Acted on the purchase of prime new-build apartments worth £7.5m with financing from a private bank.    
• Acted on the purchase of a portfolio of buy-to-let properties including 11 flats in a new development and 24 flats above a hotel.    
• Acting for an overseas ruling family who own several apartments in Park Lane, regularly handling licences for alterations and licences to underlet and assisting the client in acquiring additional apartments in the building in order to grow their portfolio    
• Advised a property seller on the sale of some adjacent apartments to a US high-net-worth client for a price exceeding £110 million.  
• Acted on the sale of a brownfield development site to a housing association.    
• Acted for HNW clients on the sale and purchase of prime family homes in St Johns Wood, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Belgravia, Chiswick, and Westminster.  
• Advised on the acquisition and redevelopment of farm buildings and listed barns into four high-value residential units and their subsequent disposal.    
• Advised various developers on the acquisition redevelopment and disposal of residential units on various private estates and Crown Estate in Surrey to include St George’s Hill Weybridge and the Wentworth Estate.    
• Acted for a UK client on the purchase of a mansion in one of London’s most exclusive roads at a price of £38m involving complex tax planning.    
• Acted for a UK client in the purchase of an incredible ‘futuristic property’ in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty deemed by The Architectural Review publication to be the ‘best on the world’ for almost £20m.    
• Acted for a famous YouTuber/Boxer and social media personality in the acquisition of their property portfolio which involved several complex mortgage and financing elements.  
• Acted for a high-profile international footballer on the purchase of his first London home.    
• Acted for a UK client on the sale of a large estate set in several hundred acres. comprising a palatial Grade II* listed mansion, cottages, outbuildings, and farmland.    
• Acted on the £16m acquisition of a historic Grade II Listed residence in central London, successfully achieving exchange of contracts within the seller’s 1-week deadline.    
• Acted on the purchase of 4 residential buildings, 2 house and 2 blocks of flats, together being 20 units in Mayfair for a purchase price of approximately £47m.    
• Led the team on a £34 million acquisition of one of the show townhouses at Chelsea Barracks  
• Advised on the sale and purchase of prime and ultra-prime residential properties with individual values up to £52 million. 
• Acted for a high-net-worth couple purchasing a £26 million family home in Holland Park.  
• Acted for a UHNW family in the sales of their property portfolio at Chelsea Bridge Wharf and Battersea Power Station.  
• Acted on the sale of a £45m house in Mayfair.  
• Acted on the purchase of a large riverside property in Oxfordshire with two islands.  
• Acted for clients selling land or property at auction, including preparation of the auction pack and attendance at the auction through to completion.    
• Represented the seller in one of the most prestigious homes in Barnes.

There are a number of obstacles involved in relation to agricultural land and landed estates matters. We can offer our clients tailored advice in terms of agricultural tenancies, as well as in the selling and purchasing of land, particularly with large country houses. We are also able to assist with the legal issues that often arise in the running of a farm or landed estate, working closely with our private client and tax colleagues to ensure our clients have all bases covered. 

• Acted in the purchase of a large country estate in Somerset with a Grade I Listed Building comprised within four separate titles and its related funding.   
• Acted in the purchase of a large country estate in Gloucestershire with a Grade II Listed Building with numerous other separate dwellings.   
• Acted in the purchase of a working farm in Devon.   
• Acted on the purchase of a property (main house and farm) for £4 million.   
• Advised on the purchase of a substantial country house. Various issues arose during the transaction relating to planning, private drainage, and access, as well as exchanging the contracts in a tight timeframe.   
• Advised on the purchase which included employment advice and company advice of a mixed estate consisting of a large Listed house, 3 other residential dwellings, commercial let units, and fishing over a very well-known and important part of the River Test.    
• Advised various developers on the acquisition redevelopment and disposal of residential units on various private estates and Crown Estate in Surrey to include St George’s Hill Weybridge and the Wentworth Estate.   

Our residential property experts are experienced in advising in all forms of buying or selling property, including when there may be a conditional contract in place. We have vast experience in acting for either the seller or the buyer where conditions are imposed and we work very closely with our clients to ensure that all of their requirements are met before final completion of any transaction. 

• Acted on the purchase of a listed building, with change of use from a public house including planning permission aspects following conversion with various conditions across multiple titles including possessory titles.  
• Advised a client on the sale of a high-value house in Chester Square, for which the sale was conditional upon the purchase of the freehold from Grosvenor Properties.  
• Acted for property developers in the acquisition of sites including conditional agreements, options and joint venture agreements.  
• Acted on an attended conditional exchange of a £6.8m freehold house in Chelsea.  
• Acted on a conditional exchange of contracts for a high-value Hampstead Garden Suburb property, arranging interim finance between exchange and completion and addressing lender enquiries.  

Our residential team understands the complexities that come with owning a property including the extensive rights, responsibilities, and obligations that are posed. We often advise and explain to our clients any potential implications which might arise and work closely with our contentious team, particularly to offset a potential dispute. We also regularly draft and negotiate easements, covenants, and reservations of rights where necessary. 

• Acted for one of the UK’s leading food companies in respect of the acquisition and disposal of farms, easements and leases.  
• Assisted on the purchase of a countryside property involving agricultural land, handling all aspects of due diligence, including rights of way, restrictive covenants, and rural land considerations.  
• Acted for a purchaser in suing solicitors for failing to advise as to restrictive covenants on a substantial house bought for redevelopment.  
• Acted for trustees of a convent on the refinancing of their premises, including deducing title of unregistered land, liaising with restrictive covenant beneficiaries, and funding the acquisition and redevelopment of a nursing home as a new convent (subject to planning).  
• Advised on the grant and release of easements.   
• Advised on the release of restrictive covenants. 

The relationship between a landlord and tenant can be of mutual benefit but can, at times, encounter a number of problems. We have extensive knowledge and experience of all kinds of residential leases and tenancies, whether long or short, and therefore understand the importance of drafting, advising, and negotiating the terms of a lease or tenancy with an eye to minimising any potential issues for our client in the future. We also act and provide a bespoke service for both landlords and tenants from companies and trusts to on– and off-shore individuals. 

• Acted for a trust, as landlord of a large block of flats, in relation to applications submitted by tenants for a lease extension.    
• Acted for landlords in the acquisition, financing and disposal of investment properties, subject to landlord licences, long-stop dates and tenancies.    
• Acted for landlord charities on residential landlord and tenant matters, including lease extension deeds, licences to alter, licences to assign and deeds of variation.    
• Acted in the acquisition of three ground-rent portfolios simultaneously within 20 working days for the landlord client following successful bids at auction, involving prioritising, delegate reporting on title and working to tight deadlines.  
• Acted for a landlord in the grant of an extension lease for a flat in Notting Hill.   
• Advised on licences to alter and deed of variation for major renovation of leasehold property.  
• Acted for a landlord in the grant of two new leases of flats in a purpose-built block of flats in an Essex seaside town.   
• Handled at least 50 ongoing statutory lease extensions, collective enfranchisements and voluntary freehold sales and lease extensions for a prolific landlord client, involving main client contact for the various directors and advising on prospective ground-rent investments, the strategy for dealing with particular estates within their portfolio and the day-to-day management of files.  
• Acted for numerous tenants against well-known PCL estates and property companies on statutory claims under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.   

Whilst long leaseholders in England and Wales have the legal right to buy their landlord’s freehold interest outright, this complicated area of law is ever-changing and specialist legal advice should always be obtained. Our team has extensive experience of acting for landlords and tenants in this field and works closely with other professionals, such as surveyors and valuers, to ensure that the best possible outcome is secured for our clients. 

• Assisted with the £17m acquisition of a complex collective enfranchisement in Grosvenor Square, W1, from the Grosvenor Estate and dealt with the putting into place of bespoke 999-year leases following completion.  
• Acted on the collective enfranchisement of one of the most high-profile and complex collective enfranchisements under the 1993 Act.   
• Acted for landlords and tenants in numerous tribunal applications for the determination of the premium and terms of acquisition in collective enfranchisements and lease extensions.    
• Acted on the £2m acquisition of the freehold under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 on the Cadogan Estate, the £1.8m lease extension on the Grosvenor Estate, and the £3m collective enfranchisement against The Wellcome Trust simultaneously.  
• Acted for 141 lessees in Docklands to successfully exercise their right of first refusal under section 5A of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 and to purchase their freehold valued at £1m.   
• Acted on behalf of a ground rent freehold investor in respect of its acquisition and re-finance of 7,000 leasehold units, in relation to property management (lease extensions and enfranchisement), acquisition of further ground rent portfolios.  
• Assisted numerous Middle Eastern ultra-high-net worth individuals and companies alongside their buying agents, mortgage advisors, real estate lawyers both within the UK and other jurisdictions as well as their representatives to advise on the leasehold enfranchisement aspects of their residential portfolios and initiating claims within all the Prime Central London Estates, namely Grosvenor, Portman, Howard de Walden and Cadogan Estates.  

The wide variety of the team’s client base enables us to proceed as efficiently as possible with a view to securing the draw down of a mortgage advance at the earliest opportunity. Businesses that we advise include a number of banks and building societies, institutional investors, and borrowers. 

• Acted for a famous YouTuber/Boxer and social media personality in the acquisition of their property portfolio which involved several complex mortgage and financing elements.  
• Completed a high-value remortgage of a family trust’s One Hyde Park Apartment in Knightsbridge in ten working days.  
• Acted in high-end property transactions including sales, purchases, re-mortgage and finance arrangements.  
• Acted for a client who was relocating from France to the UK. He purchased a flat whilst simultaneously completing a transfer of equity from his ex-wife under a consent order and remortgaging a third property. This required completion of all three transactions on the same day, which was successfully achieved.  

An option agreement can be a useful way of compelling a seller to sell a property, at the buyer’s behest, within a certain time frame. Our residential property lawyers understand that, in other circumstances, a client may require a pre-emption agreement for peace of mind and certainty for a future acquisition. Our experience extends to acting for either side, as well as to drafting and negotiating the terms of these agreements. 

• Advised on conditional agreements, options and pre-emption agreements.   
• Advised on option agreements.    
• Advised on conditional agreements, options to purchase, claw-back and pre-emption agreements.   
• Acted for an overseas client on the grant of an option to purchase 50% of their beneficial interest in an estate in Ascot in exchange for a business loan of £8 million, including advice on co-ownership and declarations of trust.   

Overage and clawback agreements can be complicated and often involve extensive negotiation and drafting. Our residential lawyers work closely with clients to guide them through the plethora of options available and provide bespoke tailored advice, whether on the seller or the buyer side. 

• Advised on conditional agreements, joint venture agreements, options to purchase, claw-back and pre-emption agreements.   
• Acted in the sale of residential development sites to, inter alia, Redrow Homes, Taylor Wimpey, Wates/Vistry, Abbey, and Bovis Homes for sale prices ranging from £5m to over £25m and ancillary legal charges to secure deferred payments as well as overage and clawback provisions.  

Tax relating to residential property has been subject to extensive reform over recent years, particularly with regard to on and off-shore companies and individuals owning more than one property. Our residential team works closely with our excellent team of tax experts to provide advice on all aspects of tax relating to residential property, particularly in respect of SDLT, Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings, Capital Gains Tax, and Inheritance Tax. 

• Assisting clients to claim back SDLT where either the previous main home has since been sold, or the purchaser has been in the UK for a period of time.  
• Provided SDLT advice in the reliefs available to a Middle Eastern property investor on the purchase of a development block with nine residential properties.  
• Advised a HNW Middle Eastern individual who was investing in UK property for the first time on UK tax and structuring advice – incorporating a UK property company and managing the real estate transactions.   
• Reclaimed the additional SDLT surcharge paid for a UK resident property owner on their new main residence.   
• Advised a new UK resident on the SDLT reclaim available for the non-resident surcharge paid and applying for the refund.   
• Advised a UK individual on the purchase of a new home and the availability of SDLT multiple dwellings relief as the property had a subsidiary annex.   
• Acted for numerous high-net-worth individuals on SDLT aspects of residential property acquisitions, including multiple dwellings relief and higher rate charges for acquisitions of additional dwellings and acquisitions of dwellings by non-residents, and acted on claims for SDLT refunds in these areas.  
• Advised on VAT and SDLT implications on an acquisition of mixed commercial and residential properties (for just under £20m) by a residential property developer.   
• Advised on VAT and SDLT implications on an acquisition of residential properties.   
• Acted for St Monica Trust dealing with the granting and surrendering of shared ownership leases for three large retirement villages. This often required arranging a short-term tenancy agreement for the purchaser, so that they could occupy the property prior to selling their own. Also liaised with the Trust and dealt with apportionments for repairs by the vendor prior to surrender and subsequent SDLT and registration back to the Trust.