Ms Dianne Cowie > Duncan Lewis Solicitors > Croydon, England > Lawyer Profile

Duncan Lewis Solicitors
18 GEORGE ST
CROYDON
CR0 1PA
England

Work Department

Housing

Position

Director of Housing, Dianne Cowie specialises in landlord and tenant matters, helping tenants and leaseholders ensure repairs are carried out to their properties and when possible, obtaining compensation for clients affected by disrepair. She has expertise in disrepair, injunction and committal proceedings, homelessness appeals, and judicial reviews. She also advises on rent arrears, and breaches of tenancy.

Dianne has particular expertise in possession matters notably those involving allegations of anti-social behaviour, often in respect of vulnerable clients. She has extensive experience handling cases that have been decided in the Administrative Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

She is recognised as an “excellent litigator” and her expertise have resulted in her involvement in reported cases.

Notable cases include representing a vulnerable tenant in both a possession matter as well as a subsequent homelessness matter. Successfully settling the complex possession matter clearing arrears of £10,000 and thereafter ensuring that a duty to house was accepted by the local authority by appealing their decision not to accept this on the basis of not eligible due to status.

Her team runs weekly pro bono clinics for Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth, and she has also provided training in relation to homelessness and possession matters to the Citizens Advice volunteers/advisors.

Career

Dianne worked at several firms before joining Duncan Lewis in 2015 as a partner-level director in the Croydon branch. She has previous experience practicing family law and civil litigation. 

Education

Dianne studied her Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (LLB) at Nottingham Trent University and gained her LPC from the College of Law, London.

Lawyer Rankings

South East > Real estate > Social housing

Duncan Lewis Solicitors handles the full range of social housing matters, including disrepair claims, neighbourhood disputes, unlawful evictions, and homelessness. The team in Harrow is co-led by Manjinder Kaur Atwal, Dianne Cowie, and Bernadette Chikwe. Atwal regularly handles landlord and tenant disputes, nuisance claims, and injunctions. Cowie is recommended for matters relating to vulnerable individuals, including cases that relate to anti-social behaviour, while Chikwe is well-versed in handling possession proceedings. Daljit Singh and Karina Petkova are key members of the team; Singh routinely handles both small claims and multi-track cases within the courts, and Petkova is also noted for her in-depth knowledge of housing litigation and social welfare law.

London > Real estate > Social housing: tenant

Duncan Lewis Solicitors regularly represents landlords and tenants across the entire remit of social housing law matters, from possession and homelessness cases, disrepair issues, and succession for tenants, to unlawful evictions and neighbourhood disputes against local authorities. Key names within the team include Manjinder Kaur Atwal, who advises clients on landlord and tenant disputes, judicial review claims, and property nuisance issues, and Dianne Cowie, who has appeared before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Bernadette Chikwe is another notable name with expertise in applications to suspend warrants of eviction. Daljit Singh is skilled in homelessness reviews and appeals in the County Court.