Overview
Katie Gray is a barrister with specialist expertise in real property and landlord and tenant litigation
Katie is recognised as a leading junior in property litigation. Her practice encompasses all areas of real property and landlord and tenant disputes, with a particular focus on restrictive covenants, boundaries and easements, agricultural land, party walls, and leasehold covenants.
In her busy practice Katie frequently appears in the High Court and County Court, as well as in the Upper Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
Katie writes for the Landlord & Tenant Review and the Estates Gazette.
Katie is a Denning Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn and sits as a Deputy District Judge and a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal.
Landlord & Tenant
Katie is frequently instructed in landlord and tenant and mortgage possession claims. She is experienced in commercial and residential forfeiture, contested 1954 Act lease renewals and leasehold covenant disputes relating to alterations, consent and the like. She is often asked to advise in matters related to the right of first refusal.
Katie represents both landlords and tenants in service charge and enfranchisement disputes in the First-tier Tribunal and in determinations under section 168 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. She is frequently instructed to deal with niche forms of security of tenure such as Agricultural Holdings, Farm Business Tenancies, Protected Shortholds and Rent Act Tenancies.
Katie is highly experienced in commercial and residential disrepair and terminal dilapidations.
Featured cases
- Dorrington Residential Limited v 56 Clifton Gardens Limited [2022] UKUT 266 (LC)
- Pile v Pile [2022] EWHC 2036 (Ch)
- Ashford v Mill Court Walton Ltd [2021] UKUT 11 (LC)
Commercial property
Katie frequently deals with disputed 1954 Act lease renewal claims in which she acts for both landlords and tenants of commercial and High Street premises.
She frequently acts in cases relating to land earmarked for development, with a particular focus on trespass, oversailing, squatters and adverse possession.
She is often asked to assist landlords dealing with tenant insolvency, and has experience of obtaining vesting orders under the Companies Act 2006.
Featured cases
- Limehouse West Freehold Company Limited v Barclays Bank UK plc (May 2023, Chancery Division)
- UK Star Limited v Mountgrove Investments (London) (Corp) (February 2023, Central London County Court)
Real property
Katie has a successful real property practice in which she frequently advises on restrictive covenants (and the modification and discharge thereof), rights of way, rights to light, boundary disputes, proprietary estoppel and agricultural land.
She is often instructed to act in cases relating to trusts of land, including constructive and resulting trusts and orders for sale under TOLATA 1996.
Katie is one of a handful of property litigators with specialist expertise in party wall disputes. She has acted in many party wall appeals, both led and in her own right
Featured cases
- Power v Shah [2023] EWCA Civ 239
- Pile v Pile [2022] EWHC 2036 (Ch)
- Fenton v Lewis (2018, Central London County Court, HHJ Parfitt)
- Pearce v Connelly [2017] UKUT 39 (LC)
Notable cases
- Power v Shah [2023] EWCA Civ 239
- Dorrington Residential Limited v 56 Clifton Gardens Limited [2022] UKUT 266 (LC)
- Pile v Pile [2022] EWHC 2036 (Ch)
- Re Pearce’s Application [2017] UKUT 0039 (LC)
- Bate v Aviva Insurance UK Ltd [2014] QBD (Commercial Court) – Unreported
Appointments
- Judge of the First-tier Tribunal.
- Deputy District Judge (Civil)
Publications
- Validity of notice to increase rent (Case Comment) L. & T. Review 2023, 27(4), 155-156
- Is the party over for party wall surveyors?E.G. 2023, 2313, 68
- Notice to quit served by one of two joint tenants (Case Comment) L. & T. Review 2022, 26(6), 248-250
- Trusts: distinguishing between rules for “bare” trusts and others involving a fiduciary duty T.E.L. & T.J. 2022, 238(Nov), 12-15
- Court authority piles up E.G. 2022, 2235, 41
- Legal cost recoverability under leases – a return to orthodoxy?, Estate Gazette, 9th August 2022
- Disputing Grounds for Possession and Property Guardians: Global 100 Ltd v Laleva [2021] EWCA Civ 1835; [2022] 1 W.L.R. 1046, & T. Rev.2022, Issue 3
- Enforcement of Service Charges in the County Court: Termhouse (Clarendon Court) Management Ltd v Al-Balhaa [2021] EWCA Civ 1881, L. & T. Rev.2022, Issue 2
- When mistakes go unnoticed (Case Comment) L. & T. Review 2020, 24(5), 201-202
- Contractual estoppel and non-reliance clauses in leases (Case Comment) L. & T. Review 2018, 22(5), 175-177
- Partitions & Vacant Possession: Riverside Park Ltd v NHS Property Services Ltd L. & T. Review 2016, 20(6), 227-229
- An illuminating judgment P.L.J. 2016, 346, 5-7
Qualifications
- BPTC (Very Competent), Kaplan Law School
- LLB Hons (First Class)
Memberships
- Chancery Bar Association
- Property Bar Association
- Agricultural Law Association
Awards
- Lord Denning, Hardwicke & Levitt Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn
Testimonials
- “Katie provides sensible advice and is a formidable advocate.” “Katie is a very good barrister who is very good with clients. She is very knowledgeable and has a good ability to grasp complicated facts very quickly.” Chambers UK 2025
- “Katie is very methodical and precise.” Legal 500 2025
- “Katie Gray works efficiently for the benefit of the client, is really pragmatic and is able to manage client expectations.” Chambers UK 2024
- “She is always very responsive and reliable. The written advice she delivered to us is almost akin to a piece of fine art, always a joy to read through.” Legal 500 2024
- “Katie sees the big picture and has good commercial awareness. She is also very good at crystallizing down large complicated law into bite-size chunks to then create a clear path forward.” Legal 500 2023
