Kester Lees KC and Julia Petrenko acted for the successful claimant in a High Court trial of a £4m claim for statutory compensation
On 14 October 2025, in an ex tempore judgment, Deputy Judge Robin Vos, gave judgment in SoS for Housing, Communities and Local Government v Pipesafe Ltd awarding £4m, plus interest and costs, for statutory compensation arising under s.37 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The judge dismissed Pipesafe’s defence based upon an alleged estoppel.
The case also considered the important and novel legal question as to whether a party can be estopped from relying upon the statutory security of tenure and compensation provisions in the 1954 Act; but the Judge held that he did not need to decide the point given DWP’s success on the facts.
An earlier £2.5m dilapidations counterclaim had already been defeated; discontinued as a result of the valuation evidence deployed.
Kester Lees KC and Julia Petrenko acted for the successful Claimant, instructed by David Payton and Gemma Hunter-Barnes of Dentons UK and Middle East LLP.
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