Richard Flenley, Partner
Richard is an experienced and commercially-focussed disputes lawyer with a particular focus on real estate and infrastructure disputes.
Contact Richard
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+44 (0)1483 252520
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Email Richard
Email: richard.flenley@crsblaw.com
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About
He has experience in all types of real estate disputes and real estate focussed professional negligence disputes and acts for a range of clients including institutional landlords, commercial tenants and occupiers, residential developers, insolvency practitioners, utilities companies, and both primary and secondary lenders. His client base ranges from major international companies to small businesses and individuals.
His key areas of work include: professional negligence, energy wayleaves and other energy sector related work, judicial review, contentious and non-contentious lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, possession claims, dilapidations, break options, service charge disputes, rent review and alienation issues. He also has significant experience of property insolvency issues, compulsory purchase orders (jointly leading the firm’s contentious compulsory purchase team), all aspects of development disputes and disputes between adjoining landowners including rights of way and boundary disputes.
He is also a member of the property litigation association and the compulsory purchase association.
Richard is admitted to practise in England and Wales.
Experience
- Acted for wagamama in its successful defence of a claim brought against it seeking to force it to enter into a lease following the landlord’s failure to comply with its contractual obligations (Performance Retail (General Partner) Ltd v wagamama Ltd [2021] EWHC 564 (Ch)
- Acted for a number of clients (landlords and tenants) affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic advising on issues such as rent arrears and other liabilities, Government protections, the effect of the Code of Practice commercial property relationships during the Pandemic, and providing associated property-insolvency advice
- Successfully appealed the certificate of appropriate alternative development given by the local authority to our clients so as to support their ongoing blight notice compensation claim against Highways England (Lockwood v Highways England Co Ltd [2019] UKUT 104
- Acted for a number of property owners, investors and occupiers (including The Ernest Cook Trust) adversely affected by the proposed HS2 railway line including petitioning (and appearing before) the Select Committee of the House of Commons during the parliamentary process on Phase 1 of the Bill
- Represented a major civil service pension fund in defending an action brought by an adjacent landowner seeking to directly enforce the terms of a s.106 agreement against my clients. Succeeded both in the High Court and Court of Appeal (Milebush Properties Ltd v Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and Others [2010] EWHC 1022 (Ch) and [2011] EWCA Civ 270
Our thinking
Bart Peerless
The Lawyer reports on the Firm's promotion announcement
The Lawyer reports on the Firm's promotion announcement
Richard Flenley
HS2: Let's get up to Speed
Lauren Fraser
Property Patter: Break Options – The Top 5 Traps
Top 5 tips for exercising break options.
Emma Humphreys
Property Patter: dealing with COVID-19 arrears and the future of commercial tenancy relationships
What are the government’s plans for dealing with pandemic arrears and commercial tenancy relationships?
Emma Humphreys
Amended CRAR Regulations
There have been a number of further amendments to the Regulations as the effects of the pandemic have continued.
Emma Humphreys
Property Patter: cohabitees and property rights - what do couples need to think about?
It is easy to drift into complicated territory when it comes to property arrangements between a couple
Richard Flenley
A Cautionary Tale of a Brush Too Broad
Emma Humphreys
Further changes to landlords’ remedies for recovering commercial rent arrears
Taking a closer look at the new CRAR regulations and the impact of the proposed changes to insolvency procedures.
Emma Humphreys
Property Patter: commercial & residential tenancy arrears – where are we now?
Where do landlords stand following the latest changes in the law?
Richard Flenley
Possession proceedings on hold again?
Emma Humphreys
Further changes to landlords’ remedies for recovering commercial rent arrears: An update
Proposed changes to help landlords for recovering commercial rent arrears.
Richard Flenley
Property Patter: What have the restrictions on commercial landlords’ remedies during Covid-19 meant in practice?
The team look at restrictions on landlords' remedies introduced by the Government to protect commercial tenants during Covid-19.
Richard Flenley
South East Focus: uncertain times ahead for Gatwick?
Richard Flenley
Climate Change: The Challenge for Major Infrastructure Projects
Richard Flenley
Question of the moment answered: HS2 gets the green light
Richard Flenley
Why HS2? The arguments for and against start to mount.
Richard Flenley
To HS2 or not HS2, that is still the question...
Richard Flenley
HS2's Fork in the Road Approaches - How Will the Government Vote?
Richard Flenley
Queen’s Speech 2019: Infrastructure
The Queen’s Speech includes broadband, air traffic, the railway, science, space and a national infrastructure strategy.
Richard Flenley
The HS2 Vision – will the reality justify the cost?
Even when HS2 is finally built, the most that the journey time will reduce by is approximately one hour