Poppy Kemp

Call: 2024

Poppy is a specialist property and planning barrister with particular interests in real property, landlord and tenant, and rating law.

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Poppy Kemp 2025
Barristers

Poppy Kemp

Practice summary

Planning

Property

Rating and Valuation

Practice Summary

Poppy specialises in all areas of residential and commercial property and planning law, with particular interests in landlord and tenant law, rating and valuation, and property issues in planning disputes.

She was the winner of “Rising Star Award” at the Apartment Advisor Awards, 2026 and is a member of the Attorney General’s “Junior Junior” Scheme and Advocate’s panel of barristers. Before becoming a barrister, she was a research assistant at the Law Commission, contributing to the drafting of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Poppy's recent instructions include:

Property Law

  • Regal BA Limited v Jun Zhang [2026] EWHC 1446 (Ch): Acting as junior counsel to Richard Clarke for the successful Claimant in a five-day trial in the HC concerning the mitigation of loss from the failure of the Defendant to complete the sale and purchase of a house valued over £16 million. The case was reported in Bloomberg.
  • Robert Vernon v Orbit Housing Association Ltd [2026] UKUT 19 (LC): Acting as junior counsel to Justin Bates in a service charge dispute in the Upper Tribunal concerning the complex interplay between service charges and issue estoppel. Poppy appeared on Advocate’s Pro Bono Recognition list 2026 for her work on this case.
  • Acting as sole counsel in an enfranchisement case concerning the validity of a s.42 notice under LRHUDA 1993
  • Advising on the succession rules in relation to an agricultural tenancy granted in 1956.
  • Advising on the validity of a notice pursuant to s.25 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
  • Advising on complex service charge matters including a situation with contradictory leases in the same block of flats.
  • Advising on the implications of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
  • Regularly acting for landlords and tenants in complex residential and commercial possession hearings.

Planning, Environment and Compulsory Purchase Law

  • Acting as junior counsel to Sasha White KC for the successful developer in a two-week public inquiry for the development of 52 homes on a greenfield site in East Malling, Kent.
  • Acting as junior counsel to Sasha White KC for the developer in a two-week public inquiry concerning the development of a station car park in Hampshire.
  • Acting as junior counsel to Sasha White KC in an upcoming public inquiry concerning the development of 115 homes in Hampshire.
  • Acting as junior counsel to Zack Simons KC for the developer in a ten day public inquiry concerning the development of 150 homes in Sussex.
  • Acting as junior counsel to Richard Turney KC in a complex judicial review concerning the compulsory acquisition of a site for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
  • Advising on the interplay between Crown land and planning permission.
  • Advising on cross-over issues between property and planning law such as easements over land granted permission and whether a parcel of land amounts to a ransom strip.

Rating Law

  • Acting as junior counsel to David Forsdick KC in an upcoming complex high profile rating matter.
  • Undertaking research for a high-profile rating Court of Appeal case.
  • Regularly appearing in rating and council tax matters in the Magistrates’ Court.

Poppy has written articles for both the Estates Gazette and the Landlord and Tenant Review on property law and for the IVVR on rating law. She is a writer for the Journal of Planning and Environment Law.

During her two years at the Law Commission, Poppy worked extensively on the drafting of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 from its inception to enactment. Her focuses were on the valuation of enfranchisement premiums and the interaction between shared ownership leases and enfranchisement legislation. She also attended the judicial review challenge to the 2024 Act during pupillage in the High Court. These experiences have imbued Poppy with an understanding of enfranchisement law beyond her call and uniquely place her to advise on enfranchisement matters arising from the 2024 Act.

Poppy also contributed to the pre-consultation stage of the Commission’s business tenancies project, developing her insight into and knowledge of issues under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, including lease renewals and contracting out.

Poppy graduated with a first-class degree in Law from the University of Cambridge and obtained an LL.M. with distinction from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ranking in the top 10 of her year. She was awarded the highest mark in Professor Richard Sander’s “Fair Housing Law” class and subsequently worked as a researcher for his upcoming fair housing treatise.

Planning

Poppy specialises in all areas of residential and commercial planning law.

Property

Poppy specialises in all areas of residential and commercial property law, with particular interests in landlord and tenant law and property issues in planning disputes.

Rating and Valuation

Poppy specialises in all areas of rating and valuation law.

Specialisms

Commercial/Retail

Development Plans and other planning policy

Environment

Green Belt and Grey Belt

Heritage

Highways, Footpaths and Rights of Way

Planning Appeals, Inquiries and Hearings

Planning Judicial and Statutory Reviews

Residential

Specialisms

Agricultural Law

Boundary and Ownership Disputes

Building Safety

Commercial Landlord and Tenant

Conveyancing Disputes

Easements and Profits a Prendre

Highways and other Transport Infrastructure

Housing

Land Registration and Adverse Possession

Leasehold Enfranchisement and Right to Manage

Private nuisance

Professional Negligence Claim Related to Property

Residential Leasehold Management and Disputes

Residential Tenancies

Restrictive Covenants

Squatters and other Trespass

Trusts of Land and other Equitable Claims

Village Greens, Commons and Manorial Rights

Specialisms

Charitable Relief and other Exemptions

Collection and Enforcement Cases

Council Tax

Empty Properties

Non-Domestic Rates Litigation

Valuation Disputes

AAA WINNER 2026 Pro Bono Recognition List Badge 2026

Recent Personal Highlights

Personal Highlights

Qualifications and achievements

Qualifications

  • University of Cambridge, Gonville & Caius College – BA in Law (First Class)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – LLM (Distinction)
  • Inns of Court College of Advocacy – PGDip Bar Course (Merit)

Awards

  • Rising Star Award at the 2026 Apartment Adviser Awards (formerly the ERMAs)
  • William McNair Prize, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge

Scholarships

  • Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
  • Dean’s Tuition Scholarship, UCLA
  • Honorary Senior Scholarship, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
  • Theresa & Peter Helson Choral Scholarship, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge

Memberships

  • Planning and Environment Bar Association
  • Property Bar Association
  • Attorney General’s “Junior Junior” Panel

Practice Managers

Contact our friendly and helpful Practice Managers for more information about our barristers and services or to make an enquiry.

Ruby Sims

Practice Manager

Zoe Bluck

Practice Manager

Mia Goodwin

Assistant Practice Manager
Ruby Sims 2026

Ruby Sims

Practice Manager

020 7421 1337

Zoe Bluck new

Zoe Bluck

Practice Manager

020 7421 1301

Mia Goodwin 2026

Mia Goodwin

Assistant Practice Manager

020 7421 1344

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