Victoria Osler > Chambers of Rachel Sleeman > London, England > Barrister Profile

Victoria Osler

02078153200 victoriaosler@fivepaper.com

Position

Victoria specialises in all aspects of real property and landlord and tenant law, both in the residential and commercial contexts. Victoria’s real property practice encompasses lease interpretation, adverse possession, restrictive covenants, right to light disputes, easements, boundaries, party walls, nuisance, and trespass.

In residential matters Victoria has expertise in cases concerning trust of land, including, but not limited, to TOLATA  claims, and mortgage work. In the commercial context Victoria has dealt successfully with numerous business tenancy and lease renewal cases, business lease interpretation and dilapidation issues.

In the area of leasehold and leasehold management work, Victoria regularly advises and acts in matters concerning the interpretation of long leases, lease extension, service charge disputes, forfeiture, and break clauses.

Victoria’s broad practice also encompasses work for the public sector. She has lengthy and detailed experience of dealing with a range of matters arising under the housing acts, including the right to buy, stock transfers, fire safety regulations, possession claims, Equality Act issues, Human Rights arguments, death and succession claims, assignment, unlawful evictions, anti-social behaviour proceedings, closure orders and other remedies for the abatement of anti-social conduct. Victoria has also dealt with a number of claims involving tenancy deposit issues.

Victoria has a keen interest in public law. She regularly acts for local authorities with regard to homelessness appeals, including matters relating to the prevention of homelessness. Victoria also deals with challenges to local authority allocation policies, including judicial reviews of the authorities policies and procedures. Victoria has a particular interest in issues concerning capacity and the engagement of the homelessness provisions under Pt.7, Housing Act 1996.

Administrative & Public Law
Victoria regularly appears in the Administrative Court.

• Kuznetsov v Camden LB [2019] EWHC 1154 (Admin): successfully opposed a judicial review of the local housing authority’s qualification criteria for entry to its allocation scheme
• Waltham Forest LBC v Saleh B5/2018/2701 – pending before the Court of Appeal for hearing in October 2019. Appeal concerning out of area placements of applicants to whom a full housing duty has been accepted under Pt.7, Housing Act 1996
• Nelson-Homiah v Southwark LB & Ors CO/4537/2018 (Admin) – application for permission to claim judicial review of the local housing authority’s decision regarding the homelessness prevention duty and its discharge
• R (on the application of K) v The London Borough of Haringey (Admin) CO/1784/2018 – successfully opposed an application for interim relief in the form of accommodation ending the local authority’s review of what (if any) duty it owed to secure accommodation for the Claimant under Pt.7, Housing Act 1996
• R (on the application of Evans) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea [2016] EWCA Civ 653 – application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the local housing authority that an applicant with substance abuse problems and depression was not in priority need of accommodation\
• Ryan v City of Westminster [2015] EWCA Civ 1448 – application to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the decision of the local housing authority that the applicant, who suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, was not in priority need of accommodation

Housing
Cases  include:

Waltham Forest LBC v Saleh [2019] EWCA Civ 1944. Victoria Osler, led by Nick Grundy QC, acted on behalf of the LB Waltham Forest on its appeal to overturn the decision of HHJ Saggerson, that on a review of the suitability of accommodation provided in discharge of a homelessness duty a local housing authority must consider what other accommodation it has available to allocate to the applicant that is within or closer to its borough than the accommodation challenged by the applicant as unsuitable. The Court of Appeal upheld the 1^st Instance decision., Evans v London Borough of Brent [2012] EWHC 4443 (QB) – an appeal to the High Court concerning whether the Appellant had succeeded to her late father’s tenancy notwithstanding her having an assured shorthold tenancy at the date of his death, Sharples v Places For People Homes Ltd: Godfrey v A2 Dominion Homes Ltd (2011) LTL 15/7/2011: (2011) HLR 45, a Court of Appeal decision concerning the impact of debt relief orders on a social landlord’s ability to recover possession on the basis of rent arrears;Abdullah v Westminster CC [2011] EWCA Civ 1171, LTL 19/10/2011 regarding the interplay between matrimonial home rights and the homelessness legislation;Hanton-Rhouila v Westminster CC, [2010] EWCA Civ 1334, CA, LTL 24/11/2010 : (2010) NPC 117, (2011) HLR 12 regarding the controversial topic of gate-keeping within the homelessness arena;Herelle v South London Family Housing Association Ltd, CC/2009/PTA/0737 regarding an authority’s obligation to repair where the damp in issue was both condensation and penetrative; Couzens v Colchester Borough Council, B5/2009/0962, regarding an applicant’s priority need for housing.

Property Litigation

Victoria’s property work includes matters such as: mortgage possession proceedings; disputes as to the beneficial ownership of properties (arising out of disputes between the joint owners themselves or in the context of claims by mortgagees); trusts of land; propriety estoppel; claims arising out of contracts for sale of land; boundary disputes; claims for adverse possession. Victoria has represented clients in the LVT on service charge and leasehold enfranchisement issues.

Career

Called 2001. Publications of note include Encyclopedia of Housing Law (assistant editor 2004-11); co-author of Blackstones Guide to Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003; contributor to Jowell’s Dictionary of English Law

Memberships

HLPA.

Education

Kings School, Ely; Pembroke College, Cambridge University (1997 MA Theology).