Landmark Chambers

Tom is a leading property silk. He is ranked in “Band 1” for property litigation in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. And he was named “Legal 500, Property and Housing Silk of the Year 2023” and “Chambers UK, Real Estate Silk of the Year 2023”.

Tom has appeared in significant cases in the Supreme Court, the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal. And he regularly appears in the High Court, the County Court and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). His recent cases include Fearn v Tate Trustees [2024] AC 1 (succeeded in a groundbreaking Supreme Court case establishing that the Tate was liable in nuisance for operating a viewing platform at Tate Modern so as to enable visitors to engage in viewing/photography into flats), Bath Rugby Ltd v Greenwood [2023] 1 P&CR 6 (succeeded in the Court of Appeal establishing that Bath Rugby’s ground is not subject to restrictive covenants that might impede the development of a new stadium) and Reeve v McDonagh [2024] EWHC 439 (Ch) (succeeded in the High Court establishing that restrictive covenants do not prohibit the erection of a replacement house at Sandbanks, Poole).

Recommendations in the legal directories include:

• “...very driven and fantastic in submissions…and incredibly easy to work with." (Chambers and Partners, 2024).

• "…a deep thinker and strategist” (Chambers and Partners, 2024).

• “…the person clients go to when they have a ridiculously complex case” (Chambers and Partners, 2023).

• “…undoubtedly one of the leading property barristers in the country” (Legal 500, 2023).

• “…a leading specialist in restrictive covenants…he is user-friendly and very bright” (Chambers and Partners, 2022).

• “Carving out a name as the primus inter pares for property development disputes” (Legal 500, 2020).

• “He is brilliant – very reactive, straightforward, practical and commercial” (Chambers and Partners, 2020).

Tom regularly appears in cases about the development of land. He advises developers at an early stage about private law impediments to developments. Tom has appeared in many leading cases about restrictive covenants: including cases brought under section 84(2) of the LPA 1925 about the enforceability or interpretation of covenants; applications to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) under s.84(1) of LPA 1925 for the discharge/modification of covenants; and cases about whether consent has been unreasonably refused. As the co-author of Rights of Light: The Modern Law (Jordans, 2015, 3rd ed), Tom is a leading specialist in the field of rights of light. He has also appeared in cases about whether developers have succeeded in exploiting drafting loopholes to avoid paying overage; in disputes about options; and in cases about whether developers can escape from contracts to buy sites.

In relation to land ownership, Tom has appeared in many cases (including leading Court of Appeal authorities) about adverse possession, land registration, trusts of land and boundaries. And he has acted in many conveyancing disputes (including cases about whether contracts of sale have been rescinded for misrepresentation). Having succeeded the leading modern case about nuisance (Fearn v Tate), Tom is instructed in the full range of nuisance disputes (relating to such things as noise, vibrations, smells and light).

In the field of commercial landlord and tenant litigation, Tom acts on lease renewals and in litigation about forfeiture, dilapidations, rent reviews and consents. He has appeared in many cases about whether tenants have satisfied break conditions. As the author of Property Notices (LexisNexis, 2021, 3rd ed), he regularly acts in cases about the service and validity of notices (including break notices).

Tom accepts instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Qualifications

• New College, Oxford (1992): First-Class Honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

• Tom taught economics for a year at Winchester College before studying law at City University.

Scholarships

• Tom was awarded scholarships by New College, City University and the Inner Temple.

Awards

• Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2023 Property and Housing 'Silk of the Year'

• Shortlisted for the Legal Business Awards 2023 'Barrister of the Year'

Publications 

• Rights of Light: The Modern Law (Jordans, 2015, 3rd ed)

• Property Notices (LexisNexis, 2021, 3rd ed)