Litigation & Disputes

Most property litigation is complex, and the facts are rarely straightforward. The Law is not easy and the dispute often emotionally charged. Property Disputes will usually require expert evidence from land agents and land surveyors too.

Our civil litigation solicitors can help with a variety of claims such as:

• Boundary Disputes
• Neighbour Disputes
• Dilapidations and Repairs
• Lease renewal disputes
• Rent arrears and service charge arrears
• Forfeiture
• Trespass
• Landlord and Tenant disputes
• Insolvency issues
• Charging orders
• Land registry rectification

Boundary Disputes

Our litigation solicitors deal with Boundary Disputes and Neighbour Disputes, primarily in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Disputes over joint boundaries are very common but my advice to everyone involved in a boundary dispute is to consider early mediation. The worst cases can be resolved by agreement and in the long term, given that you need to live next door, it will be better to reach an agreement rather than go to Court and get a Judge to decide where the Boundary should be.

Boundary Disputes involving reviewing title deeds, aerial photos, expert surveyor evidence, photographic evidence of historic boundary positions plus anything else that might demonstrate where the boundary might lie.

If a boundary dispute cannot be resolved, then as a boundary dispute solicitors, we can assist you with issuing Court Proceedings (usually in Leicester County Court, but sometimes in the Lands Tribunal).

Trespass (including Japanese Knotweed claims)

Trespass to land involves a wrongful interference with your land by another. I have dealt with trespass by horses (gypsy’s fly-grazing), trespass by people (gypsy travellers on your land or fields) as well as more common things such as neighbour trespass (building fences, overhanging trees etc).

Many of our trespass claims involve Japanese Knotweed and Josiah Hincks are local experts in Japanese Knotweed Claims in Leicester.  Japanese Knotweed is a very fast growing, difficult to get rid of, weed. It will move from one person’s property to another, usually when the land is not maintained. For instance, we’ve dealt with cases from railway sites, derelict buildings and building sites as well as natural land.

Insolvency, Bankruptcy and Charging Orders

As a litigation solicitors in Leicesters, our team frequently act for individuals (and companies see our separate page) who are being made bankrupt or liquidated, and property is involved.

For individuals, it is usually the family home being repossessed by a Bank or other creditor. Our litigation lawyers can help defend such actions, whatever the stage of proceedings. It is important to know what equity is in the property and even if it is in one persons name, whether in fact the equity should be shared with your partner/husband/wife etc. It is also usually important to consider the underlying loan or guarantee documents, to see whether there is any liability in the first place.

If you are owed money, and have a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against the debtor, then I can help you get a Charging Order in place with a view potentially to getting an Order for Sale. You may have issued the claim yourself online, but it can be tricky meeting all the very exact process requirements to enforce a CCJ, so as expert property litigation solicitors, we can help you. Equally, if you are facing a Charging Order application as a debtor, we can help ensure you get expert advice on the issues at hand.

If you’re a consumer and you purchase goods or services that aren’t up to scratch, then you are entitled to bring a claim against the supplier. As civil litigation solicitors in Leicestershire, we are instructed by consumers and homeowners, to assist them in bringing a claim against the selling company.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (which has been refreshed and included in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 specifically for consumers) requires goods and services to meet certain minimum standards. These are called the Statutory Rights, and they include:

• Goods to be of satisfactory quality
• Goods to be fit for particular purpose
• Goods to be as described
• Other pre-contract information included in contract
• Goods to match a sample
• Goods to match a model seen or examined

Our team are experts in civil litigation and consumer rights and have vast experience in advising on disputes and claims in relation to the Sale of Goods Act, the Consumer Rights Act and in relation to other consumer protection laws.

Works Done At Home / Construction / Builders / Plumbers / Electricians etc

We often see Sale of Goods / Supply of Services claims when a homeowner has work carried out at their house. Although this would be a breach of contract dispute too, it is usual for there not to be any written contracts. As lawyers, we therefore need to look at the statutory rights, sometimes known as “implied terms” into what was agreed.

Our civil litigation lawyers regularly see disputes with builders all the time, both defending and bringing claims. Acting for the householder, the argument is usually that the cost is much higher than expected, or that the quality is not good enough – or even that the builder has caused more damage. All of these usually mean that the homeowner has “lost all faith” in the builder to carry on work, and therefore tells the builder not to come back. Another builder will be brought in to finish the job. We have dealt with claims for overruns in budget whether fixed priced contracts or estimated build costs. We have also been involved in claims for unpaid invoices and disputes over unpaid invoices.

In all the circumstances, we look at what was agreed by the parties, look at the Sales of Goods / Supply of Services Act (and more recently the Consumer Rights Act and consumer law), and decide what action to bring.

The first step will be to write a letter before action or letter of claim to the supplier or business, setting out the issues you have. If they are ignored or not dealt with satisfactorily, then we will need to consider issuing County Court proceedings. As civil litigation solicitors in Leicester, we are frequently instructed by individuals or businesses in Leicester to deal with their case.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

We are seeing many businesses fall foul of this new legislation. It used to be known as the “door step” regulations, and involves contracts concluded at your home or elsewhere not at the businesses premises.

The law gives consumers 14 days cooling off period to cancel contracts made at your home. If no notice is given, the 14 days starts once a notice is given. This is a really strong consumer protection, as it allows homeowners to cancel a contract even if work has started and if no notice is given, they can potentially avoid payment!