Forfeiture 101: Revisiting how to forfeit residential and commercial property
Catch up on the recording of our latest business & property webinar, enclosed.
Published: 23rd Oct 2025
Howard Lederman is a specialist Barrister providing advocacy and advisory services in Landlord and Tenant and Property work with a particular interest in service charges, licensing and regulatory issues affecting private sector and public sector landlords and tenants.
Howard's specialisms include:
- Extensive experience in legal aspects of management of housing and multiple leaseholds including appointment of manager, variation of lease, long term stock transfer
- Extensive experience in licensing of house in multiple occupations and associated penalties
- Building Safety Act costs and recoveries
- Commercial landlord and tenant, including renewals rent reviews, dilapidations, forfeiture
- Residential landlord and tenant, including leasehold enfranchisement and service charges
- Telecommunications law related to real property
- Options, Easements, restrictive covenants/planning
- Property finance, mortgages and consumer credit
- Property related insolvency and fraud
- Title and the sale and registration of land
- Professional negligence: solicitors, valuers, agents
- Timeshare – advisory and contentious issues
Landlord & Tenant
Howard has a wide range of experience in many aspects of landlord and tenant relationships including;
- Service charges and management in residential and commercial properties; Building Safety Act
- Houses in Multiple Occupation, licensing, civil penalties, rent repayment order
- Business tenancy renewals
- Leasehold extensions; collective enfranchisement
- Rent reviews
- Stock transfer public sector housing and associated Equality Act issues
- Telecommunications
- Timeshare fractional and holiday ownership and associated consumer credit financial service issues
- Associated Professional negligence issues
Property
Howard’s Property relate work experience includes:
- Land registration disputes including rectification and mistake
- Options
- Property related insolvency and fraud
- Conveyancing disputes
- Mortgages
- Undue influence and incapacity
- Associated Professional negligence issues relating to solicitor valuer and agents
Selected cases
- Gorgievski v Griffiths | [2025] H.L.R. 41
- 1 Palace Gate, London W8 5LS LON/00AW/LVM/2023/0008
- Toner v Telford Homes Ltd [2022] EWHC 634 (QB)
- Michael Maunder Taylor v Eperstein SARL LON/00AW/LSC/2019/0301
- 2-12 Somercoates Close, Barnet, LON/00AC/OCE/2021/0060
- 12b St. Johns Crescent, London SW9 7LZ : LON/00AY/LSC/2023/0383.
- 8 Eton Hall, Eton College Road, NW3 2DW LON/00AG/LSC/2021/0294
- Geyfords Ltd v O’Sullivan [2015] UKUT 683 (LC);
- Garcha v Charity Commission for England and Wales [2015] W.T.L.R. 453
- Shellpoint Trustees Ltd v Barnett [2012] 3 E.G.L.R. 115
- Mohammadi v Shellpoint Trustees Ltd [2010] 1 All E.R. 433
- Beardsley Theobalds Retirement Benefit Scheme Trustees v Yardley [2011] EWHC 1380
- Trans-World Investments Ltd v Dadarwalla [2008] 1 P. & C.R. 18
- Sahota v Singh [2006] EWHC 344 (Ch)
- Mohammadi v Anston Investments Ltd [2004] H.L.R. 8
- Soteriou v Ultrachem Ltd [2004] I.R.L.R. 870
- Pratt v Medwin (2003-04) 6 I.T.E.L.R. 131
- H (A Child) v S (Damages) Court of Appeal [2003] Q.B. 965
- Straudley Investments Ltd v Mount Eden Land Ltd (No.1) (1997) 74 P. & C.R. 306
- Mallory v Butler [1991] 1 W.L.R. 458
Publications
- Forfeiture for different types of breach (podcast https://www.42br.com/)
- Forfeiture 101: Revisiting how to forfeit residential and commercial property
- Commercial Landlord obtains Interim Possession Order following Break In! (2025)
- Rent Repayment Orders: A virtual introductory workshop
- Civil financial penalties – how much is too much? (Local Government Lawyer) April 2020
- Rent repayment orders by local authorities (Local Government Lawyer) April.2020
- Controlling or managing an unlicensed House in multiple occupation – what does the person committing the offence need to know? (May 2020)
- Recovery of legal costs as a service charge – what has changed since Arnold and Britton? L. & T. Review 2016,
- The purpose of the filter T.E.L. & T.J. 2015,
- The Financial Ombudsman Service – Timeshare related claims
- The First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
- Sub editor International Timesharing
Direct Access
Howard is authorised to accept instructions direct from members of the public. He encourages clients who are considering this route to contact Chambers and discuss their problem.
Related News
Commercial Landlord obtains Interim Possession Order following Break In!
Charles Grossman of Druces LLP and Howard Lederman of 42BR explain how they obtained an Interim Possession Order (“IPO”) on behalf of their commercial landlord client.
Published: 3rd Feb 2025
Rent Repayment Orders: A virtual introductory workshop
Howard Lederman and Natalie Foster of 42 Bedford Row Barristers' Housing Group provide an overview of rent repayments orders as it affects local authorities.
Published: 14th Jun 2021
Electronic signatures - lease extensions and enfranchisement where are we now?
Published: 24th Aug 2020
Howard Lederman discusses the law surrounding HMOs
Published: 12th May 2020
Rent repayment orders by local authorities – consequences of procedural defects
Published: 14th Apr 2020
Civil financial penalties – how much is too much?
Published: 14th Apr 2020
Howard Lederman acted for the Claimant landlord in obtaining a declaration from His Honour Judge Alan Johns QC in Central London County Court...
Published: 2nd Apr 2020
Howard Lederman acted for the Respondent tenant in resisting an application by a Manager appointed by a Tribunal under section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987...
Published: 2nd Apr 2020
Recovery of Legal Costs as a Service Charge – What Has Changed Since Arnold v Britton?
The Supreme Court in Arnold v Britton [2015] A.C. 1619 has ruled that there are no special rules of interpretation which apply to service charge clauses. The old “restrictive” approach to the interpretation of service charge clauses has been criticised. The recovery of a landlord’s legal costs as a service charge remains a troublesome area, where the impact of Arnold v Britton is still being worked out.
Published: 23rd Feb 2016
Howard Lederman article ‘The purpose of the filter’ published by Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal
Howard Lederman examines Garcha v The Charity Commission [2014], which clarifies when permission to bring charity proceedings under s115 of the Charities Act 2011 will be granted.
Published: 2nd Jul 2015
Dispensing with the need to consult about service charges – at what cost?
The Supreme Court has changed the law about dispensing with the need for consultation for qualifying works or qualifying long term agreements where tenants of residential dwellings have to pay service charges: Daejan v Benson [2013] UKSC 14. The requirements for consultation in the 2003 Regulations (2003 SI 1987) are complex and lengthy. They vary according to
Published: 8th Mar 2013
