Social Welfare

Partner - Joint Head of Social Welfare

Having joined TV Edwards in 2013, Katie now heads up the Social Welfare department jointly with Senior Partner, Jacky Starling. Katie qualified as a solicitor in 2009.

An experienced housing and public law solicitor, Katie represents clients across a range of housing law.

In possession work, Katie represents clients facing eviction for rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, sub-letting, breach of tenancy, and under the “section 21 notice” procedure. Within those cases, Katie helps tenants avoid eviction by bringing counterclaims for poor housing conditions, harassment and breach of tenancy deposit rules.

In a recent case, Katie acted for a homeowner who was found by the High Court to have been evicted in breach of a breathing space. It was only the second time that the Court had considered the debt respite scheme, which brought in breathing spaces in May 2021.

Katie’s background training in welfare benefits law means she can provide effective representation to clients facing eviction for rent arrears caused by benefits issues. In many of her possession cases Katie uses her benefits knowledge to help clients resolve their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit issues and obtain substantial backdated benefit to reduce their rent arrears.

With a working knowledge of community care law, Katie provides holistic and effective representation to clients with additional needs facing injunction and/or possession proceedings. For example, Katie helps clients obtain specialist support from local authorities to enable them to manage their tenancy. In other possession cases, Katie assists clients to secure alternative suitable accommodation that meets their needs, which avoids the risk of homelessness.

In homeless cases, Katie represents clients from the beginning of their application (by challenging local authorities’ gatekeeping practices) through to challenging negative decisions during the review process and representation in an appeal in the county court. Given her background in migrant support work, Katie is particularly interested in eligibility issues in homeless cases. She represents clients challenging local authority decisions on priority need, intentional homelessness and local connection.

Katie acts for clients in stand-alone disrepair and poor housing condition claims, helping them obtain orders for works and compensation.

Under this firm’s community care contract, Katie represents migrant families with children and adults with care needs. She is also experienced in using judicial review claims to help children obtain accommodation from social services when they have become estranged from parents and to help young people enforce their entitlement to leaving care duties.

Katie is often instructed by the Official Solicitor to act in possession and injunction proceedings brought on the basis of anti-social behaviour against tenants lacking capacity. She has also been instructed by lay litigation friends, including family members and the Refugee Council in possession cases and judicial reviews.

Using her advocacy skills, Katie has represented tenants and occupiers on the housing possession duty schemes at Bow and Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Courts.

In 2016 Katie won the “Rising Star” award at the inaugural Solicitors Journal Awards for her work as co-chair of Young Legal Aid Lawyers and her commitment to access to justice.

Her commitment and dedication to her clients has been recognised by the Legal 500 who rated Katie as a “leading individual” in social housing law in 2017. Katie continues to be recommended by the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners UK.

Housing Law Practitioners Association (HLPA); member of the Housing and Immigration Group; founder member of Junior HLPA; former co-chair Young Legal Aid Lawyers.