Profile
Work Department
Position
Solicitor, Housing and Public Law
Christian often acts for large residents’ groups in claims against developers, freeholders, and landlords. He has particular expertise in fire safety claims against developers and freeholders requiring the replacement of unsafe cladding, insulation, and cavity barriers, and requiring significant payments of damages.
Christian has a strong public law practice representing individuals, campaign groups, and charities, with particular expertise in homelessness, community care cases for social services users, and welfare benefits. He represented clients in the Supreme Court in both 2017 and 2018.
Christian has over two decades’ experience in acting for clients at all court levels. He often acts for vulnerable clients, including those without capacity to litigate. He is frequently instructed by the Official Solicitor.
He continues to advise and represent clients across all residential landlord and tenant matters, including disrepair, unlawful eviction, possession, harassment, and all tenancy related disputes.
Christian is co-chair of the Law Society Housing Law Committee.
Career
Christian completed the GDL in 1998, the LPC in 1999, and qualified as a solicitor in 2002
He has been an LSC/LAA supervisor of housing cases since 2006
Christian was Head of the Housing team at another London law firm from 2011 – 2018
He joined Bindmans LLP in September 2018
Christian’s significant areas of work include:
Landlord and tenant:
Crown Estate Commissioners v (1) Governors of the Peabody Trust (2) Margaret Poplak [2011] EWHC 1467 – Established the status of Rent Act tenants following large scale transfer of their homes
Advised several ‘short-life’ residents’ associations and successfully defended possessions claims by Lambeth Council
Successful challenge to lawfulness of housing co-op’s re-possession policy
Public law – homelessness:
Poshteh v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea [2017] UKSC 36 – Appeal relating to Article 6 ECHR and the extent of local authority duties under Part VII of Housing Act 1996. The court’s decision widened the threshold for intervention in local authority decisions
Public Law – Welfare Benefits:
DA and DS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] UKSC 21 – Acted for the intervenor, Just Fair, regarding the ambit of Art 8 ECHR and the application Art 14 and the ‘best interests of the child’ doctrine
Memberships
Education
Christian graduated with a degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester in 1997. He then completed the GDL in 1998, and the LPC in 1999.
Content supplied by Bindmans LLP
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Bindmans is definitely a market leader in housing law. They would be my first choice nationally for the hard stuff.’
‘Emma Pein is outstanding. Talented, dedicated, and excellent with clients. She is second-to-none.’
‘Christian Hansen is a brilliant housing lawyer who specialises in complex civil claims. Paul Ridge is a veteran in the space and has represented the Grenfell Tower victims exceptionally well.'
‘Bindmans has a small but excellent team of solicitors. They have been embedded in the Grenfell Inquiry for some time, but also have expertise in possession and homelessness claims, often involving clients with mental health or mental capacity or care issues, in addition to their immediate housing issue.’
‘Paul Ridge is a brilliant solicitor who heads up the team. He is immensely experienced in all areas of housing practice with expertise with clients in mental health crises.'
- 'Will Whitaker is an excellent solicitor who has expertise with housing possession cases involving Court of Protection cross-over work where tenants lack capacity to litigate and make decisions on where to live. He is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor.'
‘Bindmans deliver a first-rate service that puts high-quality professionalism at its core.’
‘Paul Ridge is an outstanding solicitor. He has a warm and human approach, putting listening his clients at the centre of his work. He combines this with an exceptional flair for case strategy.’
Key clients
- Grenfell Tower
- Richmond House
- Pavilions Action Group
- Mohamed Mohamed
- Land around Buxted
- The Exchange