Daniel Crehan
- Called: 2014
- clerks@fivepaper.com
Profile
Daniel is a specialist Landlord and Tenant barrister.
Daniel is an experienced advocate, having successfully acted as sole counsel at High Court appellate level. He also successfully acted as junior counsel in the leading case of Rahimi v City of Westminster [2024] EWCA 73, in which the Court of Appeal provided guidance on the issue of surrender by operation of law and the circumstances in which the Court can infer a new tenancy by conduct.
Daniel is also known for his expertise in defending disrepair claims, including the use of the tenant-like manner defence, and regularly provides training on the subject at the Five Paper Housing Conference.
Expertise
Landlord and Tenant/ Social Housing
Daniel’s practice encompasses the full range of disputes within Landlord and Tenant litigation. He acts for both landlords and tenants in respect of both residential and commercial property, including social housing and leasehold matters.
Early in his career, Daniel undertook secondments within the legal departments of large public sector landlords. As a result, he developed a deep knowledge of the issues that arise within social housing law and is able to give pragmatic, cost-effective advice.
Daniel is particularly experienced in claims concerning the issues of succession, surrender by operation of law and the circumstances in which the Court can draw the inference of a new tenancy by conduct, having successfully acted for the City of Westminster in the High Court in City of Westminster v Kazam [2023] EWHC 826 (KB) and as junior counsel to Nicholas Grundy KC in the Court of Appeal in Rahimi v City of Westminster [2024] EWCA 73.
Daniel has considerable experience in matters concerning subletting and tenancy fraud, having obtained large unlawful profit orders on behalf of social landlords in cases where tenants have unlawfully sublet whilst in receipt of Housing Benefit.
Daniel has also enjoyed notable successes in defending landlords against disrepair claims, having proved that disrepair and/or unfitness had resulted from the tenant’s own breach of contract. He is known for his ability to draft robust defences and applications to strike out unmeritorious and defectively pleaded claims.
Other experience includes:
- Successfully appealing the decision of a Judge that it was not reasonable to make a possession order in a case where a tenant had deliberately lied to obtain a tenancy.
- Representing freeholders in claims by leaseholders for over £100,000 concerning alleged breaches of the repairing covenant.
- Defending a Local Authority against an application to commit its CEO to prison for contempt of court.
- Successfully defending disrepair claims on the grounds that mould had been caused by the tenant’s failure to act in a tenant-like manner, that property damage had been caused by the act of the tenant and that responsibility for the existence of disrepair lay with the tenants as a result of their failure to provide access.
Further Info
Publications
- Lexis Nexis PSL: Surrender of a tenancy by operation of law: Westminster v Kazam
- Landlord and Tenant Review: Surrender of a Joint Tenancy by Operation of Law: Westminster v Kazam
Qualifications
- BPTC – Very Competent (91% in narrative advocacy – 3rd in Year)
- GDL – Distinction
- BA (History) at the University of York – First Class
Scholarships and Prizes
- Levitt Scholarship Lincoln’s Inn
- Hardwicke Award Lincoln’s Inn
Privacy Notice
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