Ria specialises in real estate disputes and advises clients on all aspects of commercial property litigation including unopposed and opposed lease renewals, interim and terminal dilapidations, break notices and other property notices, rent arrears claims and all matters relating to telecommunications sites. She is keen to become involved in clients' disputes at an early state to ensure that she can provide strategic advice at the outset to protect the client taking into account the clients' commercial objectives so as to mitigate risk and costs and protect and maximise the clients' property assets.
Ria has particular expertise in telecommunications having previously acted for both telecommunications operators and site providers / landowners. She has experience in respect of telecommunications lease renewals, the acquisition of new sites on both an interim and permanent basis and the removal of telecommunications sites and has frequently conducted litigation in both the County Court and Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
She acts for a range of clients including individuals, privately owned companies, plcs, property developers, house builders, commercial landlords and tenants, telecommunications operators and statutory undertakers.
Experience
Examples of experience include:
- Acting for both telecommunications operators and site providers in respect of:
- The removal of telecommunications equipment under the New and Old Electronic Communications Code in the County Court and Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), for example, because the site provider is redeveloping the property
- The renewal of telecommunications leases under both the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the New Electronic Communications Code in both the County Court and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)
- The acquisition of interim and permanent rights under the New Electronic Communications Code in respect of new telecommunications sites
- Interim and terminal dilapidations claims including recently settling a long-running terminal dilapidations claim valued at circa. £450,000 at mediation for £200,000 on behalf of the tenant in order to ensure the tenant did not have to expose itself to further costs and litigation risk
- Advising in respect of applications for consent to underlet / assign including acting for a commercial landlord in Part 8 Court proceedings brought in the High Court by its tenant for a declaration that it had unreasonably withheld consent where the landlord had legitimate concerns about covenant strength of the proposed assignee
- Overage, clawback and other disputes arising from development projects including running litigation in the High Court on behalf of a house-builder in respect of a dispute with the vendor of development land arising from an overage provision in the sale and development agreement
- Opposed and unopposed lease renewal proceedings under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
- Service of break notices on behalf of both landlords and tenants and advising as to the validity of break notices received
- Service of other property related notices including notices under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, option notices, notices to complete etc as well as advising on the validity of notices received.
