The social housing offering at Swinburne Maddison LLP runs the gamut of contentious and non-contentious matters, spanning the full range of developments, housing purchases, anti-social behaviour issues, and disrepair claims. Practice head David Low is a seasoned litigator with particular experience handling tenancy problems, injunction orders, and various other disputes for registered providers. Kate Stephenson acts for developers and landlords and is a key name for portfolio management and grant funding issues, while Chris Ross handles the sale and disposal of development sites. The core team also includes Lewis Brown, who handles housing disrepair claims.
Social housing in North
Swinburne Maddison LLP
Practice head(s):
David Low
Other key lawyers:
Kate Stephenson; Chris Ross; Lewis Brown
Testimonials
‘David Low has provided responsive and professional advice on a litigation matter, demonstrating great communication skills and a firm guiding hand.
‘Kate Stephenson continues to provide fantastic and responsive contract advice, achieving completion on a number of significant deals within tight timeframes and receiving compliment from another law firm.’
‘We are really pleased with the relationship we have with the team at Swinburne Maddison, we consider them part of our in house team as they are always available on the end of the phone to discuss any issues or concerns we raise.’
‘When it comes to residential transactions, I wouldn’t be comfortable using anyone else other than Chris Ross, he is consistently able to foresee issues and deal with them before they become a disaster time after time.’
‘The team at Swinburn Maddison have provided tremendous support to my team. Not only have they been on hand to provide legal advice, they have worked hard to improve my teams understanding of the housing disrepair protocol, enabling us to be more self-sufficient in certain areas, and improve our defensibility. ’
‘Great team of Partners who are always happy to help us out! Swinburne Maddison know our geography and invest in the client teams to understand our individual starting points that require their advice. They discuss the options we might have, seek our views, and tailor the advice to suit our specific needs. One size doesn’t fit all and generic advice imposed on clients, as so often with larger firms, becomes difficult to manage in terms of desired outcomes.’
‘With Swinburne Maddison you are made to feel that the relationship is personal. That you’re not just another client. They taken an interest in your needs.’
‘Chris Ross is helpful, willing to roll up his sleeves, commercial and knowledgeable in the sector. ’
Key clients
Beyond Housing Limited
Karbon Homes Limited
Livin Housing
Leeds City Council
Believe Housing
Moving On (Durham) Ltd
My Space Housing Solutions
Broadacres
Mulberry Homes Limited
Work highlights
- Acting on behalf of Beyond Housing Limited and other Registered Providers buying houses using funds provided by Homes England in the acquisition of over 400 affordable homes.
- Acting for a large Local Authority in connection with ongoing housing disrepair claims.
- Acting for Registered Providers across the North East and beyond in connection with a range of enforcement matters, primarily relating to possession cases based on anti-social behaviour and applications for injunctions.
Ward Hadaway LLP
The multidisciplinary social housing team at Ward Hadaway LLP acts for leading registered social providers and developers across the region and on a national level, leveraging the strength of its network of offices. The group has recently seen an increase in instructions related to housing disrepair, development acquisitions, and the disposal of affordable housing. Key names in Newcastle include Neil Williamson, who handles the construction aspects of developments, and Kamran Hyder, a key contact for planning issues. The firm further strengthened its offering with the arrival of Kelly Pearson from DWF in February 2024; Pearson has extensive experience across the full range of social housing issues including s106 agreements, disposals, option agreements, and refinancings. Julia Thomson left the team in April 2024.
Other key lawyers:
Kelly Pearson; Neil Williamson; Kamran Hyder
Testimonials
‘Very experienced individuals, great links to its busy house builder practice, comprehensive service with planning, construction, specialist housing litigation, unique plans service, good resource for major projects. Recent arrivals of Robert Emson and Kelly Pearson will make this a national team standard.’
‘Jen Robinson is technically very strong and very hard-working. Kam Hyder and Carolyn Akerman are very knowledgeable and supportive Neil Williamson very unflappable and commercial for construction work Robert Emson calm and assured for housing litigation Kelly Pearson technically strong and experienced in the sector.’
‘The team are highly knowledgeable about the law in respect of the matters we refer to them. This extensive knowledge is invaluable in determining the best way to handle particular claims, in order to both successfully resist unmeritorious claims, but also to discourage more of the same. ’
‘Simon Thirtle and John Murray demonstrate an in depth knowledge of the subject area, as well as a helpful awareness of the changing attitudes of the Judiciary and the changing tactics of predatory claimant law firms. They, along with their teams who share the dedication of their leaders, are a hugely valuable source of advice and guidance, as well as effective representation in Court. ’
Key clients
Karbon Homes Limited
Together Housing Association Limited
Yorkshire Housing Limited
Places for People Group
54 North Homes
Livin Housing Limited
Leeds Federated Housing Association Limited
Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust
South Lakes Housing
Gentoo Group
Inclusion Housing
Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP
Finance and investment specialist John Ralph and residential property specialist Nigel Emmerson jointly lead the cross-disciplinary social housing team at Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP, which advises national and regional providers, housing associations, and local authorities on the full spectrum of relevant matters. Non-contentious mandates, including development and regeneration projects, feature prominently in the group’s workload; housing disrepair disputes, tenancy management, and anti-social behaviour injunctions are other areas of expertise. The group further strengthened its Newcastle offering with the April 2024 arrival of Julia Thomson, formerly at Ward Hadaway LLP.
Practice head(s):
John Ralph; Nigel Emmerson
Other key lawyers:
Julia Thomson
Key clients
Bernicia Group
Home Group Limited
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute
Rentplus UK Limited
Work highlights
- Advised Bernicia on a dispute relating to the maintenance of water supply installations and a septic tank arising from a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer from Northumberland County Council.
- Acting as the main advisers for Rentplus UK Limited, which works in partnership with national government, housing associations, local authorities, local enterprise partnerships, developers, house builders and private investors, on funding and building new homes across the country.
- Advising Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute – Development Programme on dealing with the appointment of project management and design consultants and the procuring of development partners/specialist contractors to upgrades its care home and build out the extra care facilities.