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Property disputes can delay a development, prevent work starting or materially affect the value and viability of a site.
Our specialist solicitors advise developers, landowners, investors, businesses and neighbouring property owners where legal rights over land are affecting a proposed or ongoing commercial development.
Taylor Rose combines experienced property litigators with one of the country's largest and most experienced commercial property teams. We can also draw on construction and other specialists where a dispute crosses into the development or building process.
Our focus is on finding a solution which allows the development, sale or use of the property to proceed wherever possible.
Property developments can give rise to disputes with joint venture partners, investors, landowners, sellers, contractors, consultants, neighbouring owners, utility providers, funders and purchasers. Problems can arise before land is acquired, during construction or when a completed development is sold or occupied.
We advise developers, landowners and investors on disputes including:
Joint venture and development agreement disputes – including disagreements over funding, responsibilities, decision-making, delays, profit shares, development obligations and exit arrangements.
Land acquisition and sale disputes – including conditional contracts, options, overage, deferred consideration and disputes about whether contractual conditions have been satisfied.
Contractor and construction disputes – including defective or incomplete work, delays, variations, payment disputes, termination and contractors leaving site.
Architect, engineer and consultant disputes – where design, advice, certification or project management is alleged to have caused delay, additional cost or defects.
Boundary, access and right of way disputes – particularly where access to the site, construction traffic or the proposed development depends upon rights over neighbouring land.
Rights to light and neighbouring land issues – including objections or claims that threaten the design, timing or commercial viability of a scheme.
Party wall and construction-related neighbour disputes – where adjoining owners challenge proposed works or allege that development has caused damage.
Restrictive covenant disputes – including whether existing covenants prevent or restrict the proposed development and whether they can be challenged, released or varied.
Utility and infrastructure disputes – involving access, connections, easements, diversion of existing services and responsibility for infrastructure works or costs.
Development finance disputes – including disagreements with lenders, investors or other funding parties where finance is withdrawn, conditions are disputed or a project gets into financial difficulty.
Buyer and purchaser disputes – including disagreements over completion, specification, defects, deposits or obligations relating to newly developed property.
Development disputes can become expensive quickly because a relatively narrow legal issue may delay construction, prevent a sale or refinancing, or hold up an entire scheme. Our priority is therefore usually to identify what is preventing the development from progressing and the quickest commercially sensible way of resolving it.
Depending on the issue, this may involve urgent negotiations, enforcing contractual rights, obtaining an injunction or declaration, restructuring an agreement, negotiating with a neighbouring owner or other stakeholder, mediation or court proceedings.
Timing can fundamentally change the importance of a development dispute.
An access issue which might ordinarily be capable of months of negotiation becomes very different if contractors are due on site, funding depends on a development timetable or a sale is conditional on resolving the problem.
The first priority is therefore to establish precisely what right is being asserted, the strength of the respective positions and whether the issue actually prevents the proposed development.
We can then consider the quickest realistic solution rather than allowing a discrete property problem to delay the whole project.
A development may depend on access across land which the developer does not own.
Disputes can concern whether a right of way exists, the route which can be used, the types of vehicles permitted and whether an existing right extends to the increased use created by the proposed development.
A right which was adequate for the historic use of a site may become contentious when construction traffic, additional properties or substantially greater commercial use is proposed.
We advise developers and neighbouring owners on the scope of existing rights and the options where those rights are disputed or inadequate.
The practical solution may be to establish the existing right, negotiate additional access rights or restructure how the site is accessed.
A restrictive covenant can become a significant obstacle where it appears to prevent or restrict the intended development.
The wording, land benefited by the covenant, enforceability and proposed use all need to be considered before assuming that the development cannot proceed.
Depending on the circumstances, possible solutions can include negotiating a release or variation, redesigning aspects of the scheme or pursuing a formal route to modify or discharge the restriction.
We advise both developers seeking to overcome restrictive covenants and landowners seeking to protect rights which benefit their property.
The commercial value of the proposed development and the practical effect on neighbouring land will often influence the strategy.
Development can interfere with rights enjoyed by other landowners.
These might include rights of way, drainage, parking, services or other rights over the site.
Equally, the development site itself may depend on rights over neighbouring land.
Disputes can arise over the existence of those rights, their precise scope or whether the proposed development would amount to an excessive or unlawful interference.
We can investigate the title and historic evidence, assess the strength of the legal position and look for a solution which allows both properties to continue functioning where possible.
A proposed development may interfere with light received by neighbouring buildings, creating a potentially significant obstacle to the project.
These disputes can involve specialist surveying evidence alongside complex property law.
For a developer, the issue needs to be assessed against the design, value and timetable of the proposed scheme. For a neighbouring owner, the question may be whether the development materially interferes with an established right and what remedy should be sought.
We work with specialist surveyors where required and advise on negotiation, potential compensation and litigation where agreement cannot be reached.
Development frequently exposes title problems which were of little significance while land remained in its previous use.
A boundary may not correspond with the physical occupation of the site. A strip of land required for access may fall outside the registered title. A neighbouring owner may assert ownership of land needed for the development.
These issues can affect planning implementation, construction, funding and eventual sale.
We can investigate the title position and pursue solutions including boundary agreements, transfers, Land Registry applications, adverse possession claims or negotiated acquisition of the land concerned.
Where the issue is principally a boundary or adverse possession dispute, we can coordinate the matter with our specialist services in those areas.
A developer may need temporary access to neighbouring land to carry out construction, maintenance or other works.
Where access is refused, the development programme can be affected even though there is no dispute about ownership of the development site itself.
The first step is to establish whether an existing right permits the required access and whether another legal route is available.
In many cases, a negotiated access agreement may provide a faster and more controlled solution.
Such an agreement can deal with timing, contractors, protection of neighbouring property, insurance, reinstatement and compensation.
Disputes can also arise from agreements entered into specifically to enable or control development.
One party may allege that a contractual condition has not been met, an obligation has not been performed or a payment has become due.
The issue may affect whether land can be acquired, developed or sold.
We can advise on the interpretation and enforcement of development-related property agreements and seek a solution which preserves the underlying transaction where that remains commercially possible.
Development sites are often acquired through arrangements which depend on future events.
Disputes may arise about whether an option has been validly exercised, whether contractual conditions have been satisfied or whether one party is required to proceed with the transaction.
The consequences can be substantial where the underlying site has increased significantly in value or considerable money has already been invested in the proposed development.
Our property disputes lawyers can work with our commercial property team to establish the contractual position and pursue or defend claims where necessary.
Disputes over overage can arise after development increases the value of land or triggers a payment mechanism agreed when the property was originally sold.
The parties may disagree about whether the relevant trigger has occurred, how the payment should be calculated or whether steps have been taken which affect the operation of the agreement.
These disputes can involve substantial sums and detailed property documentation.
We can advise on the interpretation and enforcement of overage arrangements and negotiate or litigate disputed payments where necessary.
Not every objection from a neighbour gives them a legal right to prevent development.
Equally, obtaining planning permission does not override private property rights.
A development may therefore have planning approval but still face a legitimate claim based on a covenant, easement, right to light, boundary or other private right.
We can establish whether the objection has a proper legal basis and what remedy the neighbouring owner could realistically obtain.
That distinction can significantly affect the developer's negotiating position.
We also act for neighbouring landowners whose established property rights are genuinely threatened by proposed development.
Development disputes are particularly suited to commercial negotiation because delay itself can be expensive.
The solution might involve:
acquiring additional land or rights;
varying an existing easement;
agreeing a temporary access arrangement;
releasing or modifying a restrictive covenant;
changing part of the proposed scheme;
agreeing a boundary;
granting new rights;
agreeing compensation;
resolving an overage or contractual payment;
documenting how neighbouring land will be protected during works; or
settling the dispute so that funding or a sale can proceed.
A negotiated solution can sometimes have considerably greater value than winning litigation after the development opportunity has been delayed or lost.
Our property disputes and commercial property lawyers can work together both to negotiate the solution and to document the property rights needed to implement it.
Some development disputes require a quick response.
A neighbouring owner may threaten an injunction, works may already have started or a developer may believe another party is interfering unlawfully with access to the site.
Where necessary, we can advise urgently on interim court applications and injunctions.
The decision to seek or resist an injunction should be taken with a clear understanding of the legal merits, costs and potential impact on the wider development.
Where property rights cannot be agreed, formal proceedings may be required.
Depending on the dispute, this could involve the courts, the First-tier Tribunal or another appropriate forum.
We can conduct proceedings and work with specialist barristers, surveyors and other experts where required.
Even where litigation is justified, we continue to explore whether an agreement can remove the obstacle to development sooner and with greater commercial certainty.
The importance of a property dispute should be assessed against its effect on the development rather than simply the size of the piece of land or right involved.
A narrow access strip, covenant or easement may appear relatively minor but could materially affect a development worth millions of pounds.
In other cases, redesigning part of a scheme or negotiating a modest payment may be more sensible than extensive litigation.
We can initially assess the legal strength of the position, the realistic remedies and the effect on the proposed development.
That allows legal expenditure to be targeted at achieving the commercial result rather than fighting every legal point.
Development disputes often sit across several areas of property law.
Our specialist property disputes lawyers are backed by one of the country's largest and most experienced commercial property teams, giving us the ability to consider both the contentious issue and the wider development transaction.
We can also work with our construction and commercial litigation specialists and with external surveyors and other property experts where necessary.
This is particularly valuable where the solution is not simply damages or a court order. A development may require a new easement, acquisition of land, covenant release, boundary agreement, access arrangement or variation of existing property rights.
We can identify the legal problem, negotiate or litigate where necessary and then put the property solution in place.
If a property right, neighbouring owner or title issue is delaying or threatening a commercial development, early advice can prevent a relatively narrow dispute from becoming a much larger problem.
Contact our team to discuss the site, the dispute and the development outcome you need to protect.
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Partner & Acting Head of Property Disputes
Alex has a vast amount of experience in various complex property disputes and always strives to work with his clients to achieve the most cost effective and efficient outcome.
Meet some of our other specialist property litigation lawyers.
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