Direct Access Barrister
Katie Elizabeth Gray
Direct Access Barrister
Katie Elizabeth Gray
Katie was called to the Bar in 2013. She has a busy real property practice with a particular focus on boundaries, easements, party wall disputes and agricultural land. She is also experienced in residential and commercial landlord and tenant matters, frequently dealing with disputed 1954 Act renewals, the Electronic Communications Code, and the interpretation of leases, as well as possession actions, breach of covenant claims and forfeiture proceedings.
Katie also frequently appears in the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in service charge disputes, enfranchisement matters and Land Registry claims.
Katie writes for the Landlord and Tenant Review, is an editor of Property Law UK, and is the co-founder of the Up to Date Property Law Podcast.
Katie is a member of the Property Bar Association, the Chancery Bar Association, the Agricultural Law Association and the Pyramus & Thisbe Club.
Area of Law
Chancery
Recent trusts of land cases in which Katie has acted include:
Advising and drafting a defence to a TLATA claim between family members relating to four investment properties and the family home;
Advising and drafting a defence to a TLATA claim between parties in a religious (but non-legal) marriage relating to a valuable London property;
Obtaining an urgent freezing injunction in TLATA proceedings where trust property was at risk of dissipation;
Enforcing a deed of trust relating to mixed residential and commercial premises and seeking an order for sale of the property.
Landlord and Tenant
Recent Landlord and Tenant cases in which Katie has acted include:
Negotiating a substantial damages agreement for a Rent Act protected tenant whose flat was in serious disrepair;
Advising an executor on the determination of a Protected Shorthold Tenancy granted under the Housing Act 1980;
Obtaining a vesting order for a long lessee in a prolonged and hotly contested dispute under Section 48 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993;
Acting for a large London estate owner in dilapidations proceedings relating to PCL property;
Acting for a commercial landlord in a terminal dilapidations dispute relating to warehouse and office space;
Advising and representing at trial the freeholder of a large PCL block in proceedings brought by a group of lessees for determinations relating to service charges and, latterly, the appointment of a manager;
Advising and representing at trial the freeholder of a holiday complex in three contested applications to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) relating to service charges for an on-site leisure complex;
Advising and representing at trial a group of lessees in a dispute relating to fire safety and cladding on two high-rise, mixed-use blocks.
Property
Recent Real Property cases in which Katie has acted include:
Advising three residential landowners in a dispute with a neighbouring property developer in respect of their rights to block the development under various restrictive covenants;
Advising and representing at trial a developer in an application under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 to modify a restrictive covenant in order to permit the construction of a dwelling;
Advising and representing at trial the owners of a residential property in a hotly contested boundary dispute;
Advising a property developer on an application to the Upper Tribunal to remove telecoms apparatus from commercial land under the Electronic Communications Code;
Advising and drafting proceedings in a damages claim by a seller following the buyer's failure to complete a purchase of property;
Advising and securing a release of a restrictive covenant for a property developer seeking to build an additional dwelling on land previously acquired from the Local Authority under the Right to Buy legislation;
Successfully resisting an application by an adjoining owner under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 for an injunction requiring the building owner to cease works.
What sort of work do I do?
Landlord and Tenant: Katie deals with all areas of landlord and tenant litigation, from run-of-the-mill residential possession proceedings to commercial dilapidations claims, contested 1954 Act lease renewals, Electronic Communication Code disputes and breach of covenant litigation. She is also very experienced in disputes relating to residential service charges, leasehold enfranchisement and missing landlord proceedings.
Real Property: Katie is a member of the Pyramus & Thisbe Club and is one of the go-to junior barristers in party wall matters. She is also experienced in boundary disputes and rights of way litigation. She frequently advises landowners on restrictive covenants and applications under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
Trusts of land: Katie often advises and acts in contested TLATA proceedings, including constructive and resulting trusts claims in both the domestic and investment contexts.
Who do I work for?
Katie acts for owners of commercial and residential land, developers, landlords, tenants, LPA receivers and other private individuals.