Tanfield Chambers

Property litigation

James accepts instructions in all areas of property law, and specialises in each landlord & tenant and real property litigation.

In his landlord & tenant practice, James deals with both residential and commercial properties, acting for both landlords and tenants across both the Court and Tribunal systems. His expertise spans the full range of leasehold disputes, from possession (including forfeiture) claims, to business lease renewals, dilapidations, service charges, leasehold enfranchisement, and the right to manage.

James is uncommonly practiced for his year of call in cross-examining expert surveyors regarding valuation evidence in (for example) leasehold enfranchisement disputes and interim rent claims under the 1954 Act. And even fewer junior members of the Property Bar have James’s extensive experience in dealing with property guardianship disputes; James is the go-to junior counsel for a number of major property guardianship companies.

Further, James has a busy real property practice dealing with boundary disputes, adverse possession, encroachment, easements, restrictive covenants and matters arising under the new Electronic Communications Code.

James is the co-author (with Kerry Bretherton QC) of A Practical Guide to the New Electronic Communications Code for Property Lawyers (1st ed. 2022), and a contributor to Service Charges & Management (4th ed. 2018).

James is licensed to accept direct access instructions.

Areas of Expertise

Landlord & Tenant

James is currently representing a settlement trust in a complex residential forfeiture dispute concerning a former ambassadorial residence.

In 2021, James acted for a major property guardianship company in a four-day multi-track possession trial.

From 2019 to 2021, James represented a critically acclaimed London cocoa house in a long-running dispute with its landlord involving proprietary estoppel.

James also appeared unled before the Deputy President of the Upper Tribunal (Property Chamber) in Robert Court RTM Company Limited v The Lough’s Property Management Limited [2019] UKUT 0105 (LC).

Real Property

In 2021, James represented a professional footballer and his wife in a four-day multi-track trial concerning freehold covenants, harassment and nuisance.

Across 2020 and 2021, James acted for a professional landlord and property investor in a five-day multi-track misrepresentation trial related to the sale of a property.

Across 2017 and 2018, James appeared a number of times before Masters in the Chancery Division of the High Court acting for a homeowner in a case where his equitable chargee had obtained possession of his home pursuant to an order for sale, and then failed to sell the property for the better part of a decade, permitting it to fall into substantial disrepair in the meantime.

Commercial Disputes

In 2017, James represented the daughter of a property developer in a high value multi-track trial that involved undue influence and unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

James is currently representing a property investor in a dispute with a development company related to the sale of a number of flats at a substantial undervalue.

Year of Call: 2015

Property Bar Association Chancery Bar Association

BPTC (Very Competent), Kaplan Law School (2013-2014) BA in Law (Jurisprudence, First Class), St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford (2010-2013)