RIAA Barker Gillette is a full-service law firm with offices in Central and North London. We offer specialist tailored advice to businesses and individuals across London and beyond. Never over-managed. Never under-resourced. We pride ourselves on our approachability and the accessibility of our partners to their clients.
Our real estate team have years of experience in commercial and residential real estate law including leasehold enfranchisement, the legal process of purchasing the freehold to your property or extending its lease.
Our expertise and in-depth market knowledge mean that we offer effective and pragmatic legal advice, around this complex area of law. We work closely with our property litigation team to provide a full 3D service to our clients.
Our leasehold enfranchisement team are all members of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP).
To read more about the range of services RIAA Barker Gillette can offer you, visit our website.
Expertise
- Application notices
- Conveyance rights and provisions
- Disputed claims
- First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property)
- Management company formations
- Premium negotiations
- Premium notices
- Property holding company formations
- Sourcing expert valuers
Our clients
- Leaseholders and groups of leaseholders wishing to make leasehold enfranchisement claims.
- Freeholders served with leasehold enfranchisement claims (firstly checking the claim’s validity).
- Leaseholders and freeholders, on protracted matters, in the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property).
Experience
- Repeatedly acting for a landlord with an extensive portfolio of freehold investments and managing the portfolio’s leasehold enfranchisement claims.
- Acting for freeholders of a high-end building in Highgate served with a tenants’ notice of claim to purchase the freehold.
- Acting for the freeholder of a valuable building in West Hampstead in response to a notice of claim for a lease extension.
- Acting for the lessee of a house in Regents Park regarding their lease extension.
Key Individuals
Stuart Jacobs
Partner and team lead
Stuart specialises in all types of property litigation and dispute resolution including landlord and tenant disputes, neighbour disputes, breaches of covenant and leasehold enfranchisement, as well as general commercial litigation and asset recovery and protection. Over the years, he has successfully conducted many high-profile and ground-breaking cases in a number of these different areas including litigation in the Lands Tribunal regarding the compulsory purchase proceedings brought by the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to the acquisition of the buildings immediately in front of Euston Station, acquired for HS2 on behalf of Euston Estate.
John Gillette
Partner
John Gillette is one of the founding partners of what is now RIAA Barker Gillette, and he focuses on commercial property and landlord and tenant matters including leasehold enfranchisement. John’s experience is invaluable. His clients benefit from a combination of his wisdom, experience, knowledge and commercial insight.
Laura St-Gallay
Partner
Laura joined RIAA Barker Gillette (UK) LLP in 2010. Before that, she worked at Shoosmiths and BP Collins. Laura specialises in all types of property litigation, leasehold enfranchisement, and construction litigation. Further, a substantial part of her practice covers commercial litigation and insolvency. Laura focuses on providing commercially driven solutions through advice, negotiation, and various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
Daniel Downes
Associate Solicitor
Daniel’s practice encompasses a wide variety of property and commercial litigation matters. He has considerable experience, qualifying as a solicitor in 2005. Daniel has experience of disputes arising out of leasehold interests such as rent and service charge recovery. Daniel receives regular instructions from commercial and residential landlords and tenants and has acted in many possession claims, and leasehold enfranchisements claims in both the First Tire Tribunal and the County Court during his career.
Peter Wright
Solicitor
Peter has a sound knowledge of dealing with the complex leasehold structures encountered within some major London estates including the Crown, Grosvenor and Cadogan estates.
Peter acts for several landlords in connection with the ongoing management of their portfolios. He is an experienced leasehold enfranchisement practitioner and acts for both tenants and landlords in connection with lease extension claims, collective enfranchisement, exercising the Right To Manage and other matters relating to leasehold property.
Gina Brodkin
Solicitor
Gina has great experience dealing with acquisitions and disposals of leasehold and freehold titles, new build developments, equity transfers, mortgages and re-mortgages, unregistered land and leasehold enfranchisement matters. Gina’s guidance has proven invaluable to her clients.
