Richard Clarke

Richard is a specialist property barrister whose practice spans the full range of property litigation. He has extensive experience in residential and commercial landlord and tenant cases, as well with cases concerning easements, covenants, boundaries and adverse possession. Richard acts for both landlords and tenants and his clients include government agencies, local authorities, portfolio landlords and individuals.

Richard regularly acts unled in complex and high-value litigation, including at appellate level.  His recent reported cases include R (Sensar Ltd) v Chief Land Registrar [2021] 4 W.L.R. 36, a judicial review concerning the operation of s73(5) of the Land Registration Act 2002, and Football Association Premier League v Lord Chancellor [2021] 1 W.L.R. 3035; [2021] Costs L.R. 415; [2021] 2 Cr. App. R 16 (Divisional Court), an appeal concerning whether the investigate costs of a private prosecution are recoverable.

He regularly acts for and advises parties on applications for landlord consent under residential leases. His cases include acting for a tenant challenging their landlord’s refusal to grant consent to alterations. He successfully acted for a landlord challenging a substantial fine issued by a local authority under s249A of the Housing Act 2004, with the Tribunal reducing the fine by over 90%. Richard has significant experience of service charge claims before the First-tier Tribunal.

Richard is the author of ‘A Practical Guide to Alienation, Alteration and User Covenants in Commercial Property’ (July 2023, Law Brief Publishing), a book for solicitors and surveyors on the workings of covenants in commercial property.

Qualifications LLB (first class) from Southampton University: 2006 Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from Oxford University: 2007-2008 Bar Vocational Course: 2008-2009. Scholarships Queen Mother Scholar (Middle Temple) Harmsworth Entrance Exhibition Scholar (Middle Temple)