Landmark Chambers

Robert Bowker is a specialist property barrister with particular expertise in the Building Safety Act 2022 and fire safety disputes. He has acted in more than 100 building safety cases, including many of the leading tribunal decisions on remediation orders, remediation contribution orders, improvement notices and funding liability.

Robert's practice is centred on the Building Safety Act 2022 and the resolution of disputes arising from fire safety defects in residential buildings. He has been instructed in more than 100 cases concerning building safety issues and has developed a particular reputation for remedies under the Act, including remediation orders and remediation contribution orders. His work also encompasses appeals against improvement notices, service charge disputes concerning remediation costs and related regulatory proceedings.

A significant feature of Robert's practice is his involvement in many of the landmark cases that have shaped the developing jurisprudence under the Building Safety Act. He has appeared in numerous first-instance cases that established important principles in relation to leaseholder liability, landlord recovery rights, remediation orders, remediation contribution orders and the interaction between local authority enforcement powers and building safety obligations. His experience places him at the forefront of this rapidly evolving area of law.

Robert acts for a broad range of clients including developers, investment funds, landlords, management companies, resident management companies, right-to-manage companies, local authorities, social housing providers and leaseholders. This breadth of experience provides him with a detailed understanding of the commercial, regulatory and practical considerations that arise for all parties involved in building safety disputes.

His work regularly requires collaboration with multidisciplinary professional teams, including fire engineers, architects, structural engineers, building surveyors and quantity surveyors. This technical experience enables him to engage effectively with complex expert evidence and construction issues commonly encountered in remediation and fire safety cases.

Robert has practised as a property specialist for more than two decades. His experience includes five years practising as a solicitor in Australia, where he worked primarily on construction disputes. Throughout his career he has advised and represented clients across a wide range of residential, commercial and real property disputes. Over the last decade, his practice has increasingly focused on major works schemes and disputes concerning responsibility for the cost of remediating building safety defects.

He continues to be instructed in many of the highest-profile Building Safety Act cases, including proceedings involving government-led applications for remediation contribution orders, large-scale claims concerning associated persons under section 121 of the Act, and disputes involving substantial remediation programmes valued in the tens of millions of pounds.