Kate Richmond

Kate has a broad property practice and accepts instructions in all aspects of landlord & tenant law and real property.

Kate acts in residential and commercial landlord & tenant matters including possession proceedings. She receives instructions to advise and represent freeholders, leaseholders, property managers and tenants on lease extensions, break clauses, service charges, and applications for the appointment of a manager. Her work includes advice and representation in disputes involving boundaries, easements, and party walls.

Kate also deals with enforcement actions arising from related property proceedings and has acted in contempt and in third party debt order applications. She provides added insight from her previous roles along with a pragmatic and commercially sensitive approach.

Selected Cases

• Representing a commercial leaseholder in HMO licencing appeals at the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
• Acting for a landlord of a large Estate before the First Tier Tribunal relating to the recovery of service charges under long residential leases.
• Mathewson v Crump & Crump [2020] EWHC 3167 (QB): successfully defended joint owners against a £200,000 claim under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 relating to a property conversion.
• Settled a tenancy dispute and multi-track dilapidations claim on behalf of a landlord relating to a substantial mixed-use property. Obtained a favourable result for the legal owner.
• Advising a building owner in relation to a building regulation dispute.
• Advising a freeholder in a right of way dispute and associated injunction proceedings.
• Representing a Defendant to a Housing Trust application for an anti-social behaviour order injunction and possession order at a 7-day trial.
• Acting for a Tenant in possession proceedings which involved a lengthy ownership dispute.
• Advising on the service charge liability of a leaseholder for a potential claim for the determination of service charges.
• Advising a Defendant to a claim for service charges on issues relating to challenging the validity of a Lease.

Kate has experience of dealing with a wide range of commercial disputes. Her solid grasp of contract and tort law means that she is often instructed for commercial fast track and multi-track interlocutory hearings and trials relating to consumer contracts and business-to-business contracts.

She has advised and acted for property developers, software and web hosting companies, cosmetics manufacturers and FMCG businesses in contractual disputes and payment claims, supply of goods and services matters and debt recovery both in court and through mediation. Kate has a ready grasp of the wider strategic objectives that can drive commercial disputes.

Kate acts in company matters including shareholder actions; rectification of the register and disputes relating to the allotment and transfer of shares. Kate’s firsthand knowledge of the realities of operating a business give her a unique advantage when advising and representing companies, their directors, and members.

In addition, Kate has a busy consumer credit practice representing and advising clients in challenges to the enforceability of regulated and unregulated agreements, claims under s.75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and unfair relationships under s.140A of the Act. She is regularly instructed by SMEs and individuals on mis-selling cases involving large banking groups. Kate was recently successful in a significant case concerning unfair terms in a consumer credit agreement.

Kate also advises and represents clients in relation to public body obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998, the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and advises on issues relating to privacy policies.

Kate accepts instructions in personal and corporate insolvency matters for debtors, creditors, companies, directors, and insolvency practitioners.

Kate accepts work from lay clients via Direct Access. You can view her profile here.