Laura Tweedy

Introduction & Contact details

Laura specialises in housing and property. Her practice encompasses all aspects of housing law, homelessness, anti-social behaviour, property law (residential and commercial), landlord and tenant (residential and business) and public law.

Laura accepts instructions to appear in court, attend conferences, advise and draft.

Laura has recently been led in the Supreme Court in Berrisford v Mexfield, where she appeared for a large housing cooperative in relation to a landlord and tenant matter.

Laura is listed in the 2012 edition of Chambers UK in both social housing and in real estate litigation. She is described in the following way: “marked out by top property solicitors as "an interesting prospect for the future." She "sells herself fantastically, backs it up with her performance and has a very feisty personality," they say.” Additionally for social housing the following is stated “noted by instructing solicitors for her client care skills and ability in court. "Personable towards clients, she shows great tenacity once in court."“

Qualifications

• LL.B hons (University of Durham, St Mary’s College)
• Master of Jurisprudence (University of Durham, Ustinov College)
• Bar Vocational Course, very competent (BPP, Leeds)

Prior to coming to the bar Laura tutored at Durham University in European Law. She continues to regularly lecture and advise, often for students and professionals at Lincoln’s Inn.

Professional Associations

• Housing Law Practitioners Association
• Property Bar Association
• Social Housing Law Association
• Administrative Law Bar Association

T: 020 7242 2523 (Switchboard)
F: 020 7691 1234
E: laura.tweedy@hardwicke.co.uk

Social Housing

Laura’s practice encompasses all aspects of housing law, including:

• homelessness appeals and allocations;
• anti-social behaviour orders and injunctions;
• possession claims (including issues of tolerated trespass, succession and disability discrimination);
• demotion claims;
• committals for breach of injunctions and undertakings
• disrepair and nuisance cases;
• right to buy;
• judicial review of local authority decisions;
• unlawful eviction and harassment claims.

Recent cases

Berrisford v Mexfield Housing Co-operative limited [2011] UKSC 52

Ruza Berrisford v Mexfield Housing Co-operative [2010] EWCA Civ 811
Laura (led by Kerry Bretherton) succeeded in the appeal brought by Miss Berrisford in relation to the issue of whether a notice to quit could determine a tenancy granted by a fully mutual housing co-operative.  The Supreme Court have granted permission to appeal and the appeal is listed for October 2011.

Recent work

Laura is frequently involved in large anti social behaviour cases, ASBIs committals and possession proceedings. She acts for local authorities and tenants in obtaining and defending anti social behaviour injunctions. Recently, Laura successfully obtained an ASBI including an ouster order.

Advising and attending court in relation to possession under the protected, secure and assured regimes.

Laura enjoys court work and recently obtained a possession order for a property following a two day trial raising issues of only or principal home, abandonment, succession and validity and service of the notice to quit.

Laura regularly advises tenants in relation to homelessness JRs and recently had a council change their decision based on the grounds of appeal.

Property & Private Client

Laura has already developed a successful practice in this area having, as she does, the knowledge and skills required to deal with all aspects of commercial and residential property related law at her level and above. Laura’s clients include private and corporate landlords, developers, cooperatives, investment funds, local authorities, housing associations and individuals (both privately and publicly funded).

Land and Real Property

Laura has a burgeoning practice in real property with a particular focus on boundary disputes, issues surrounding the ownership of and interest in property and claims related to and arising out of mortgages.

Recent work

Laura has recent experience of advising on adverse possession and a boundary related dispute. She has also advised on the destruction of goods by an involuntary baliee and the effect of the Torts (interference with goods) Act 1977.

Landlord and tenant commercial

Laura has already had a wide range of experience in commercial landlord and tenant disputes. She regularly advises land owners and tenant businesses. She has court experience of possessions, rent reviews, dilapidations and other disputes in this context.

Recent work

Laura has recently advised a business as to the renewal of the lease of its business premises. She gave legal and tactical advice about whether the tenant should initiate a claim or wait for the landlord to act in light of the client’s business needs and priorities.

Laura advised, drafted proceedings and attended court in relation to rent arrears following a backdated rent review. Laura worked with the client to successfully devise a commercially viable solution to the client’s potential financial difficulty.

Landlord and tenant residential

Laura acts for both landlords and tenants in relation to all aspects of residential landlord and tenant. In particular, she regularly advises, drafts proceedings and other documents and attends court in relation to the possession proceedings. Laura has extensive experience of issues relating to service and the interpretation of notices. Laura’s experience of pursuing and defending possession proceedings extends to matters such as accelerated possession proceedings, possession under the Housing Acts, Rent Act and under the common law, forfeiture proceedings, tenancy deposits and the effect of the Housing Act 2004, unlawful eviction, protection from harassment injunctions, breach of covenant, the effect of failure to serve s.146 notices and how to remedy the problem, and service charge disputes.

Recent work

In a recent case Laura was required to advise and subsequently attend court for a possession which raised issues of the failure to serve a s.46 notice, the validity of the s.21 notice, and whether there should be mandatory compensation for failure to register a deposit. Despite a number of arguments advanced by the tenant, Laura was able to successfully overcome all of the above issues and gained possession of the property.

Laura has experience dealing with common law contractual tenancies and the effect of being outside of the statutory schemes. She has successfully gained possession orders for properties under such tenancy agreements despite difficult opposition from not only the tenant but also initially from the Judge.

Trusts

Laura has enjoyed her experience of working with matters involving trusts and intends to expand her practice to include more of this work. Laura has already identified the surprising significance knowledge and experience of trusts can have in the context of other areas of her work such as her benefits work.

Trusts of land

Laura enjoys work relating to trusts of land which fits well with other elements of her  growing practice and intends  to expand her practice to include more of this work.

Recent work

Laura has advised and attended court in relation to a dispute over the beneficial interest in land where one party paid for the property and another was registered as having the beneficial interest.

Public Law

Laura enjoys and regularly acts for tenants and local government in judicial reviews, in particular in relation to homelessness matters.

Laura has a strong public law practice comprising of allocations and homelessness, welfare benefits, local government, community care, discrimination and judicial review, including human rights and civil liberties.

Laura advises and represents local authorities and registered social landlords as well as public-sector tenants. She has undertaken a secondment with the housing department of a London Borough Council which gave her an insight into and appreciation of the working mechanisms of local authorities that has been hugely beneficial to her in practice. Having also specialised in housing since the start of her pupillage Laura has an exceptional depth of knowledge and experience in the area and can provide fast, specialist, client focused advice in relation to the full range housing matters.

Benefits and social welfare

The most recent and one of the most exciting developments in Laura’s practice is the extension of her work regarding welfare benefits and social security law. She accepts instructions in relation to overpayments of benefits, income support, job seeker’s allowance, bereavement benefits, disability living allowance, attendance allowance and housing benefit cases.

Recent work

Laura was involved in a multi million pound case seeking a review of welfare benefit decisions including a dispute relating to supported accommodation, the care provided and transitional housing benefit.

Laura recently attended court in relation to a housing benefit dispute.

Laura won an appeal against an award of a lower rate care component of disability living allowance.

Central and local government

During pupillage Laura gained a breadth of experience matters of local government, particularly licensing arrangements for pubs and nightclubs and she has managed to build on that experience.

Recent work

Appeal against the decision to restrict a bar’s opening hours.

Community care

Laura accepts instructions in relation to community care work including advising in relation to care assessments and residential placements.

Recent work

Laura was recently involved in a case which turned on the description care needs of the individuals provided in their community care assessment, and whether the support provided was actually necessary.

Discrimination

Laura has a keen interest in discrimination law and currently practises in the area insofar as it relates to social housing.

Recent work

Laura recently defended a claim based on the London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm arguing about direct discrimination and the relevant comparator.

Human rights and civil liberties

Many of the strands of Laura’s practice encompasses human rights arguments. Laura has provided seminars dealing with human rights challenges in public law and is well equipped to deal with human rights arguments in housing law.

Recent work

Laura has successfully argued against a human rights defence raised to a possession claim, arguing that the facts of the case did not fit within the gateway A or B as set out in the recent case law.

Judicial review

Laura accepts instructions in relation to judicial review of local authority homelessness decisions. She has gained wide experience drafting judicial review grounds of appeal and skeleton arguments for housing related judicial review hearings. Using these public law principals Laura is able to act in other judicial review claims.

Allocations & Homelessness

Laura has wide exposure to homelessness and allocations at a senior level. She has provided advice on local authority allocation policies. Laura has worked for a significant period of time on homelessness law. She was trained by senior counsel and since honed her skills in this area. She has drafted numerous skeleton arguments, grounds of review for homelessness decisions, and has been involved in s.204 appeals.

Given her wide ranging experience in this field Laura accepts instructions in relation to all aspects of homelessness and allocations.

Recent work

Laura’s social housing practice encompasses all aspects of housing law, including:

• homelessness appeals and allocations;
• anti-social behaviour orders and injunctions;
• possession claims (including issues of tolerated trespass, succession and disability discrimination);
• demotion claims;
• committals for breach of injunctions and undertakings
• disrepair and nuisance cases;
• right to buy;
• judicial review of local authority decisions;
• unlawful eviction and harassment claims.