22.8.2023
“Reasonableness” of Service Charges
It is well known that the relevant costs that a landlord incurs in the provision of services, repairs improvements, maintenance...
Read moreRory Matheson
Rory is a solicitor in the firm’s Property Litigation, and Housing & Social Care departments.
Rory is a passionate housing and social welfare solicitor who is dedicated to getting the best outcome for his clients. He works with a lot of vulnerable clients with urgent cases, and prides himself on explaining key issues without resorting to “legalese”.
He specialises in housing and public law cases, dealing with matters ranging from homelessness to housing disrepair. He has represented clients in Welfare Benefits matters at the First Tier Tribunal, as well as appeals to the Upper Tribunal. He also acts in community care matters, including children’s rights cases and obtaining reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.
Rory has a particular interest in public law cases, and acted in the first successful appeal against a refusal to award Discretionary Housing Payment in R (on the application of Halvai) v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham [2017] EWHC 802. He is a member of the executive of the Junior Housing Lawyers Practitioners Association (HLPA). He joined Osbornes as a paralegal in 2015 and qualified as a solicitor in 2020.
“We deal with many incredibly vulnerable clients who are often torture survivors. Over the years we have dealt with many solicitors and we feel that Rory is by far the best for a number of reasons. He is efficient, he seems to work in a parallel universe which has more hours than we do. He communicates every new event that happens to our clients and to us and asks for our support when needed. He really works in partnership with us. He gets our clients immediately and chases up every due date, is continually proactive and very importantly has won pretty much all our cases.”
Rory’s notable cases
- O, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Lambeth [2016] EWHC 937 – A Judicial Review where the High Court set out detailed guidance on when a public body can draw an adverse inference from prior dishonesty.
- R (on the application of Halvai) v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham[2017] EWHC 802 – The first successful appeal in the High Court against a local authority’s decision to refuse to grant Discretionary Housing Payments to an extremely vulnerable tenant.
- Raufi v LB Islington.The County Court at Central London, 22.5.2018 – A successful County Court appeal against a decision that a homeless applicant did not have a priority need for housing on the basis that he was significantly more vulnerable as a result of various medical conditions. Unusually, the County Court varied the local authority’s decision to one that the applicant was in priority need for housing.
- R (on the application of AS, by his litigation friend Mr Francesco Jeff of the Refugee Council) -v- Kent County Council[2017] UKUT 446 – Rory was part of the team working on this matter, where the Upper Tribunal determined the unreliability of dental expert evidence when assessing the ages of unaccompanied asylum seeking putative children.
Property Litiation InsightsVIEW ALL
- 5.2.2023
Japanese Knotweed: Knot in my backyard again!
Many will have read the recent case in which a furniture designer pursued his seller successfully after he moved into...
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9.6.2022TOLATA Claims
What are trusts of land? Property ownership is not always a straightforward legal issue, particularly where the parties are cohabitees...
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Right to Light Explained
Right to Light Law in the UK Property owners have a legal right to light as set out in the...
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8.6.2022Landlords and the Dangers of Rent-to-Rent
Rent-to-Rent refers to the practice of landlords letting a whole property to a tenant (usually a limited company), which is...
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Can I still claim adverse possession?
The principle of “adverse possession” commonly known as “squatters rights” is a principle which allows a person who does not...
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5.10.2021Buying a property where a Party Wall Award...
Buying a house with a party wall agreement Buying a property can already be a stressful process but finding out...
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The Risks Of Buying Properties Off Plan!
The Daily Mail reported that 300 families a week have to move into shoddy newly built homes. Not all will have...
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7.5.2021Costly clauses missed by lawyers in leasehold contracts
A mum has been left facing a bill of millions of pounds a year for the ground rent of her...
Read more- 8.5.2020
Easements – Five Questions Answered
What is an easement? An easement is a right benefitting a piece of land (known as the dominant land) that...
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6.2.2020‘Glass in Hand’ Lecture – Should we be nervous...
Hampstead residents will be able to find out about their legal rights when trees damage or overhang their property, next...
Read more- 11.10.2019
Government eviction reforms “risk increasing delays”
Government plans to end so-called ‘no fault’ evictions – and at the same time expand what amounts to a good reason...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Osbornes win 5 day trial in property dispute at...
In 1985 clients of Osbornes, Mr and Mrs Ali-Khan, purchased a house. For various reasons they were not able to obtain...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Canary Wharf v EMA
EMA Decision: Brexit Does Not Frustrate Commercial Property Lease The largely anticipated decision in the case of Canary Wharf v...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Rogue landlord ordered to pay tenant over £20,000 in...
A team of our housing solicitors were successful in a longstanding claim against a rogue landlord concerning a conduct of...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Squatting-will the new law provide homeowners with increased...
On Saturday 1 September 2012 a new law came into force which makes squatting in a residential building an offence punishable by...
Read more - 12.8.2019
Basement developments- How to fight back
Basement developments are growing ever more popular, particularly in wealthy London boroughs, leaving homeowners fearful that neighbours’ excavation projects will...
Read more - 18.7.2019
New Builds, Poor Standards!
This week’s Dispatches programme examined allegations of shoddy standards, poor customer care and excessive profits from one of Britain’...
Read more - 10.4.2019
Tenant Fees Act 2019 – Landlords & Letting Agents be Warned
On 12 February 2019, the Tenant Fees Bill received Royal Assent and comes into effect on the 1 June 2019 The Act prevents landlord...
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23.9.2018Licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation to be...
In an attempt to raise standards for all relevant Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), changes are afoot and come into...
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