Roger Hardwick

Roger is a property Solicitor and specialises in residential leasehold property law. His work includes statutory lease extensions, collective enfranchisement and right to manage claims; freehold acquisitions under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967; ground rent portfolio sales and purchases; residential service charge disputes; applications to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), including applications to determine service charge liabilities, applications to appoint a manager and applications to vary leases, under Part IV of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987.

Roger has a broad, national customer base, including well-known developers, ground rent investors and resident/tenant-owned management companies, as well as individual tenants.

Notable cases include:

• Various Leaseholders of the Brunswick Centre v Camden L.B. & Others [2016] UKUT 366 (LC) (on the application of s.20 consultation requirements, where a service charge demand for major works is raised by an intermediate landlord, in connection with works undertaken by a superior landlord)
• Miller v Tedworth North Management Limited [2016] UKUT 522 (LC) (on whether the replacement of windows in a block of flats amounted to an “improvement”)
• Admiralty Park Management Ltd v Ojo [2016] UKUT 421 (LC) (estoppel by convention prevented lessee from challenging method of apportioning service charges)
• Post Box Ground Rents v Post Box RTM Company Ltd [2015] UKUT 230 (LC) (on whether a landlord can recover costs incurred in connection with tribunal proceedings, where the application is withdrawn by the RTM company);
• Tedla v Cameret Court Residents Association Ltd [2015] UKUT 221 (LC) (on whether an intermediate landlord, which is also an RMC need comply with s.47, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987);
• Columbia House Properties (No.3) Ltd v Imperial Hall Freehold Ltd [2015] UKUT 45 (LC) (on whether managing agents fees incurred by a landlord can be recovered in connection with a collective enfranchisement claim);
• Columbia House Properties (No.3) Ltd v Imperial Hall RTM Co Ltd [2014] UKUT 30(LC) (on the scope of s.88, C&LRA 2002);
• No.1 Deansgate (Residential) Ltd v No.1 Deansgate RTM Co Ltd [2013] UKUT 580 (LC) (on the meaning of "structurally detached" in s.72, C&LRA 2002)
• Q Studios (Stoke) RTM Co Ltd v Premier Ground Rents No. 6 Ltd [2020] UKUT 197 (LC) (on whether units of student accommodation were “flats”, which could be the subject of a right to manage claim).
• York House (Chelsea) Ltd v Thompson [2019] EWHC 2203 (Ch) (on whether the grant of various leases of parts of a building, by a husband and wife, to one of their number, was exempt from the right of first refusal, by virtue of being a gift to a family member – the first decision on the meaning of gift under s.4(2)(e) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987)
• Moorjani and others v (1) Durban Estates and (2) Ivor court Freehold Limited [2019] EWHC 2307 (TCC) (the strike out of an application for damages, due to disrepair, following an earlier decision of the FTT on the related question of an equitable set off).

He is proud to have been recognised as a ‘Leader in the Field’ by the Chambers & Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2015, 2016 and 2017; and was named Regional Professional of the Year in the Enfranchisement & Right to Manage Awards 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, and Solicitor of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

Away from the office Roger loves to travel, particularly to South Africa where he was born, and is a keen critic of modern gastronomy.

Experience and Accreditations

• Qualified as a Solicitor in 2008
• Studied a degree in History from Cambridge (BA (Hons), converted to MA) (2003); GDL and LPC from College of Law (2004 and 2005)
• Worked in Leasehold Enfranchisement and Residential Leasehold Law since qualifying in 2008

Brethertons are members of ALEP The Association of Leasehold and Enfranchisement Practitioners.