17 11 2026
Property Law Nuts and Bolts webinar series 2026-27 Part 2
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He is frequently involved in cases which have changed or clarified the law – often as sole counsel against silks. The Supreme Court’s decision in Rakusen v Jepsen (Tom acted unled for the successful landlord), for example, was overturned by Parliament when enacting the Renters Rights Act 2025.
Tom has appeared in a range of appeals of wider public importance. He has appeared twice in the Supreme Court (once as sole counsel) and is instructed a sole counsel in two further Supreme Court appeals to be heard in late 2026 and early 2027. He has acted in fifteen matters in the Court of Appeal (11 as sole counsel) and is instructed as sole counsel in three upcoming appeals to that Court. He regularly appears in appeals in the High Court and Upper Tribunal, and in trials in the High Court, county court and First-tier Tribunal (especially in commercial lease renewal, building safety and telecommunications trials). He was the most junior of the six barristers shortlisted to be 'Junior of the Year' across the whole of the Bar of England and Wales in the 2023 Legal 500 UK Bar Awards.
As a costs litigator, he acted for many years for the paying party in the 100-day detailed assessment of a bill of costs in the sum of over £60 million (partly led by Ben Williams KC) before the Senior Costs Judge. The dispute resulted in decisions setting out the approach to assessing the reasonableness of forensic accountancy disbursements, of counsel’s brief fees and of profit costs recorded in ‘block’ entries. A point of law relating to interest was referred to the High Court, and then appealed to the Court of Appeal, where Tom acted as sole counsel. Tom is also regularly instructed by HM Government, on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, in appeals relating to the law of litigation funding. He has been appointed to the Attorney General’s C panel as a result.
A list of Tom’s cases is below.
Supreme Court
Harker v Hubert / Muca v El-Amrani (to be heard early 2027) – sole counsel for the respondent tenants in joined appeals: validity of s.21 notice where no pre-occupation gas safety record provided.
Lowe v Governors of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse (listed in November 2026) – sole counsel for the appellant tenant: compliance with statutory requirements, deposit protection.
Darwall v Dartmoor National Park Authority [2025] UKSC 20; [2025] A.C. 1292; [2025] 2 W.L.R. 1075; [2026] All E.R. 317 – public right to camp on the Dartmoor Commons (led by Timothy Morshead KC).
Rakusen v Jepsen [2023] UKSC 9; [2023] 1 W.L.R. 1028; [2023] 3 All E.R. 95; [2023] H.L.R. 21; [2024] 2 P. & C.R. 3; [2023] L. & T.R. 20; [2023] 2 P. & C.R. DG15; Times, March 20, 2023 – sole counsel for the successful landlord: jurisdiction to make rent repayment orders against superior landlords.
Court of Appeal
Forbes v Interbay Funding Ltd (no. 2) (to be heard in 2027) – sole counsel for the appellant in leap-frogged appeal from county court (against Martin Westgate KC): application of Mental Health Breathing Space Regulations to a ‘mixed debt’, whether permission needed to enforce.
Edgewater (Stevenage) Ltd v Grey GR Ltd (listed in early 2027) – sole counsel for appellants (against Alexander Hickey KC): remediation contribution orders under Building Safety Act, joint and several liability, approach to ‘just and equitable’ test.
Macintyre v Corwdray Trust Limited (listed in December 2026) – sole counsel for appellant (against Justin Bates KC): validity of s.21 notice, failure to comply with deposit protection requirements.
Westminster City Council v Gems House Residences Limited [2026] EWCA Civ 937 – acted for successful respondent (led by David Elvin KC): whether successor in title to mortgagee of de-registered housing association bound by section 106 agreement.
Muca v El Amrani [2026] EWCA Civ 515; [2026] H.L.R. 29 – sole counsel for successful tenants in conjoined appeals: validity of s.21 notice where no pre-occupation gas safety record provided.
Cloisters Business Centre Management Co Ltd v Anvari [2026] EWCA Civ 17; [2026] 2 W.L.R. 1059; [2026] H.L.R. 19; [2026] 1 P. & C.R. 20; [2026] L. & T.R. 11 – sole counsel for the successful respondent: whether a mixed-use premises is a “dwelling” subject to residential service charge protections.
Spender v FIT Nominee Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1578; [2026] 1 W.L.R. 2536; [2026] H.L.R. 14; [2026] 2 P. & C.R. 3; [2026] L. & T.R. 19 – acted for the respondent landlord (led by Simon Allison KC): ‘reasonableness’ of service charges incurred under long-term contracts.
Fairmont Property Developers UK Ltd v Venus Bridging Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1513; [2026] Ch. 293; [2026] 2 W.L.R. 237; [2026] 3 All E.R. 516; [2026] B.P.I.R. 261 – sole counsel for the successful respondent: Court’s jurisdiction to interfere with sale of mortgaged property by mortgagee in possession.
Spender v FIT Nominee Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1319; [2025] Costs L.R. 1711; [2026] L. & T.R. 10 – sole counsel for the successful respondent: leading case on principles applicable to applications for cost capping orders.
Bradley v Abacus Land 4 Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1308; [2026] 3 All E.R. 47; [2026] H.L.R. 5; [2026] L. & T.R. 4 – sole counsel for the successful appellant landlord (against Michael Walsh KC): extent of contractual duty to make a decision “acting reasonably”.
Lowe v Governors of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse [2025] EWCA Civ 857; [2-25] 1 W.L.R. 5483; [2026] 1 P. & C. R. 11; [2026] L. & T.R. 7 – sole counsel for the appellant tenant: failure to comply with statutory deposit protection requirements, deposit protection certificates (on appeal to the Supreme Court)
Forbes v Interbay Funding Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 690; [2025] 1 W.L.R. 4202; [2026] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 367; [2025] B.P.I.R. 665 – sole counsel for successful respondent (against Martin Westgate KC): interpretation of Mental Health Breathing Space Regulations and their application to secured debts.
Khan v D’Aubigny [2025] EWCA Civ 11; [2025] Ch. 168; [2025] 2 W.L.R. 991; [2025] H.L.R. 21; [2025] L. & T.R. 12; [2025] H.L.R. 21; [2026] 1 P. & C.R. 2; [2025] L. & T.R. 12 – sole counsel for the intervenor, the National Residential Landlords Association: service of notices, contractual notice provisions, common law principles relating to service.
Clapham v Narga [2024] EWCA Civ 1388; [2025] Ch. 77; [2025] 2 W.L.R. 413; [2024] 3 All E.R. 583; [2025] 2 P. & C.R. 7 – sole counsel for the successful appellants: adverse possession, interaction between the Limitation Act 1980, Land Registration Act 1925 and Land Registration Act 2002, general boundaries rule.
Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc [2024] EWCA Civ 245; [2024] 3 W.L.R. 135; [2025] 1 All E.R. 67; [2024] Costs L.R. 511 – sole counsel for the respondent: limitation period for recovery of interest on an order for costs to be assessed.
Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil CBC [2023] EWCA Civ 1416; [2024] 1 W.L.R. 3827; [2024] 3 All E.R. 771; [2024] B.L.R. 12; 215 Con. L.R. 53; [2024] Costs L.R. 249; [2024] Env. L.R. 25; [2024] 1 F.C.R. 699; [2024] H.L.R. 8 – acted for an intervenor, the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association (led by Justin Bates KC): power of Court to order parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution, infringement of rights to a fair trial under the Human Rights Act.
Cooke v Northwood (Solihull) Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 40; [2022] 1 W.L.R. 1661; [2022] 4 All E.R. 399; [2022] H.L.R. 22; [2022] L. & T.R. 13 – acted for the successful landlord (led by Justin Bates KC): validity of section 21 and section 8 notices, signatures by corporate landlords.
Jepsen v Rakusen [2021] EWCA Civ 1150; [2022] 1 W.L.R. 324; [2021] H.L.R. 48; [2021] L.L.R. 822 – sole counsel for successful appellant: no rent repayment order can be made against superior landlord.
High Court and Upper Tribunal
AP Wireless II (UK) Ltd v On Tower UK Ltd [2026] UKUT 286 (LC) – acted for the appellant site provider (led by Wayne Clark KC): whether a telecommunications operator must be exercising rights for the “statutory purposes” to be entitled to a statutory renewal of those rights.
On Tower UK Ltd v AP Wireless II (UK) Ltd [2026] UKUT 245 (LC) – acted for the successful respondent site provider (led by Wayne Clark KC):
ABN Group Holdings Ltd v Yarrow (PC) Ltd [2026] EWCH 1484 (Ch) – sole counsel for the tenant (against Justin Bates KC): whether a block of flats in a poor state of repair is a “dwelling”.
Edgewater (Stevenage) Ltd v Grey GR Ltd [2026] UKUT 18 (LC); 224 Con. L.R. 77 – sole counsel for appellants (against Alexander Hickey KC and Jennie Gillies KC): remediation contribution orders under Building Safety Act, joint and several liability, approach to ‘just and equitable’ test.
Seculink v Forbes [2025] EWHC 524 (Ch) – sole counsel for successful lender (against Martin Westgate KC): whether arrears of secured debt are a ‘moratorium debt’ within the meaning of the Mental Health Breathing Space Regulations
Westminster City Council v Gems House Residences Chiltern Street Ltd [2025] EWHC 1789 (Ch) – acted for successful defendant (led by David Elvin KC): whether successor in title to mortgagee of de-registered housing association bound by section 106 agreement.
Seculink v Forbes [2024] EWHC 3339 (Ch); [2025] 1 W.L.R. 1786; [2025] B.P.I.R. 364 – sole counsel for successful appellant (against Martin Westgate KC): Court’s jurisdiction to override decision of a debt advice provider under Mental Health Breathing Space Regulations, whether application for declaration an abuse of process.
Restaurant EC3 Ltd v Tavor Holdings Ltd [2024] EWHC 3104 (Ch); [2025] 2 P. & C.R. 13; [2025] L. & T.R. 14 – sole counsel for appellant (against Adam Rosenthal KC): approach to quantifying mesne profits/damages for trespass where landlord unlawfully evicts commercial tenant.
Clapham v Narga [2023] EWHC 3337 (Ch); [2024] Ch. 165; [2024] 3 W.L.R. 1; [2024] 2 P. &. C.R. 20 – sole counsel for unsuccessful appellants (decision later overturned by Court of Appeal): adverse possession and boundary disputes.
Kumar v Kolev [2024] UKUT 255 (LC); [2024] 4 W.L.R. 93 – sole counsel for successful appellant: rent repayment orders where superior landlord grants a lease for longer than their own interest.
Bradley v Abacus Land 4 Ltd [2024] UKUT 120 (LC); [2024] L. & T.R. 23 – sole counsel for unsuccessful respondent (decision later overturned by the Court of Appeal): contractual obligation to act “reasonably”.
Bradley v Abacus Land 4 Ltd [2024] UKUT 120 (LC); [2024] L. & T.R. 23 – sole counsel for tenant (in the Supreme Court late 2026): failure to comply with statutory deposit protection requirements.
Jacobs v Chalcot Crescent (Management) Co Ltd [2024] EWHC 259 (Ch) – sole counsel for successful appellant tenant: pleadings, landlord unreasonably refusing consent
Firstport Property Services v Various Leaseholders [2023] UKUT 219 (LC); [2024] 2 P. &. C.R. DG8 – sole counsel for successful appellant landlord: approach to orders limiting recovery of costs under section 20C, LTA 1985.
Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc [2023] EWHC 2234 (Comm); [2023] 4 W.L.R. 73 – counsel for the applicant (led by Duncan Matthews KC): approach to remote appearances in contempt of court proceedings.
Radcliffe Investment Properties Ltd v Meeson [2023] UKUT 209 (LC); [2024] 2 P. & C.R. DG3 – sole counsel for the appellant: approach to ‘reasonableness’ where service charges made necessary by landlord’s breach of statutory duty.
Saunders v Shenfield Ltd [2023] UKUT (LC) – sole counsel for appellant (against Jonathan Upton KC): procedural fairness, pleadings in service charge disputes.
Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc [2023] EWHC 1527 (Comm); [2023] 1 W.L.R. 3737; [2023] 4 All E.R. 84; [2023] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 526; [2023] Costs L.R. 881 – sole counsel for successful applicant: limitation period for interest on order for costs to be assessed.
Santina Ltd v Rare Art (London) Ltd [2023] EWHC 807 (Ch) – sole counsel for successful respondent to an appeal against an order for security for costs, and successful applicant for freezing order: approach to late applications for security for costs, availability of freezing order relating to an order for costs not yet made.
Northumberland Mews Ltd v Thanet DC [2022] UKUT 179 (LC); [2022] H.L.R. 43 – sole counsel for appellant (against Ranjit Bhose KC): meaning of “Part 3 House” under the Housing Act 2004.
Rakusen v Jepsen [2020] UKUT 298 (LC); [2021] H.L.R. 18; [2021] 1 P. & C.R. DG18 – sole counsel for unsuccessful appellant (decision later overturned by Court of Appeal): whether rent repayment order can be made against superior landlord.
Tom is ranked by Chambers and Partners and by the Legal 500 as a leading junior in property litigation. He has appeared in property disputes at every level, from the Supreme Court to the First-tier Tribunal and county court. His litigation (and advisory) practice encompasses all areas of property law (including highways, telecommunications and the Building Safety Act). He is known for his appellate work, and has appeared in numerous appeals of wider public importance which have changed or clarified the law, but is equally in demand as a trial barrister in the High Court, county court and First-tier Tribunal.
He is instructed as sole counsel (against Brie Stevens-Hoare KC) in a High Court trial concerning the existence of an equitable charge over a high-value residential property in north London; as junior to Myriam Stacey KC in a dispute about payments running to millions of pounds made under a number of contracts for the purchase of off-plan flats; as sole counsel in a long remediation contribution order trial; as sole counsel in a number of 1954 Act lease renewal trials; as sole counsel in a boundary dispute trial; as sole counsel in a landlord consent trial; and is being led by Wayne Clark KC and Toby Watkin KC in a number of telecommunications trials.
Recent trial work includes: acting for the claimant in a High Court trial relating to constructive trusts and proprietary estoppels in connection with a property portfolio in the north of England; acting for a developer (led by David Elvin KC) in a High Court trial concerning the enforcement of a section 106 agreement against a successor in title; acting in a two-week Building Safety Act remediation contribution order trial (against Alexander Hickey KC and Jennie Gillies KC); acting in a number of telecommunications trials, led by Toby Watkin KC and Wayne Clark KC; acting for the successful lender against former Apprentice winner, Stella English, who denied executing a mortgage; acting for the landlord and developer in a trial over parking rights relating to a large development in west London; acting for the tenants in a trial over whether a landlord’s replies to enquiries amounted to a breach of covenant for quiet enjoyment.
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Tom has a busy costs practice. He is currently instructed on behalf of the paying party in the long-running detailed assessment of a £60 million bill of costs before the Senior Costs Judge in the SCCO following a three-month trial in the Commercial Court in 2013. Partly led by Ben Williams KC and partly unled, Tom has been responsible for drafting large parts of the Points of Dispute, and for making submissions over the course of five weeks of assessment. The matter returns to court for another month later this year. The issues in the assessment include the burden of proof on the indemnity basis, the law of evidence in detailed assessment hearings, the approach to assessing multimillion pound disbursements and, in particular, the fees of experts, the reasonableness of counsels’ brief fees in the Commercial Court, the reasonableness of extensive printing and photocopying costs, and the recoverability of fees paid to non-solicitors for providing litigation support.
Tom is also presently instructed by a company in an upcoming hearing in the SCCO to determine its dispute with HMRC about its entitlement to interest on an award of costs, and on behalf of a private prosecutor in an appeal to the SCCO against a determination of his prosecution costs.
His recent work includes appearing (unled) for the successful appellant in a widely-reported appeal before His Honour Judge Lethem (Ivanov v Lubbe), which concerned two points of general importance: the proper approach to determining a dispute over disbursements in a case which commences in the portal and to which fixed costs apply, and the reasonableness of incurring court fees when a receiving party may be eligible for fee remission.
Earlier this year, Tom twice appeared before Mr Justice Fraser in the Technology and Construction Court, successfully resisting an application for costs to be assessed on the indemnity basis following the settlement of a construction dispute. Tom also appeared in the High Court on behalf of a developer in a costs hearing following the settlement of a party wall dispute, and on behalf of the Legal Aid Agency, successfully defending a series of applications for relief under the Crown Proceedings Act and for a writ of control against the Lord Chancellor.
In the county court, Tom has recently appeared on behalf of an impecunious company, successfully opposing an application for security for costs and obtaining a costs order against the applicant, and on behalf of an individual successfully to resist an application for her defence to be struck out unless she paid the costs of an interim application. He also has particular experience in fixed costs and RTA portal cases, and frequently advises and appears on behalf of insurers in related applications.
Tom has appeared in the SCCO in assessments of solicitor client costs under the Solicitors Act 1974, as well as providing advice and drafting in relation to the status of solicitors’ bills.
Separately, Tom has advised on:
Tom has also worked with David Holland KC on solicitors’ liens.
Tom Morris is superb. One for the really knotty issues. Clients always want to work with him."
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