Biography
Karen acts for property owners, commercial landlords and tenants, developers and high net worth individuals in resolving a range of commercial property disputes.
Karen has a particular focus on proactive commercial property management, advising in connection with lease renewals, breaks and forfeiture actions, claims for rent and service charge arrears and disputes arising from alienation and dilapidations issues. Karen also assists clients with property development matters, including adverse possession, easements and restrictive covenants.
Karen has over 10 years’ property litigation experience. She trained at a national firm in Manchester City Centre and spent 10 years at a niche commercial property practice as an Associate Partner. Karen developed her experience at a regional firm before joining Myerson in 2021. She is a member of the Property Litigation Association.
Expertise and Past Cases
Karen has particular expertise in advising landlords and tenants in relation to rent arrears, dilapidations, break rights, forfeiture, alienation and lease renewals. Karen also assists clients with claims arising out of adverse possession, easements and covenants.
Highlights of Karen’s recent work include:
- Advising a commercial logistics company in relation to various repair issues and its landlord’s breach of an agreement to carry out works.
- Advising a property developer in relation to its claim for misrepresentation against a seller following an auction purchase. The contract was successfully rescinded and the client recovered its deposit and costs.
- Advising a community group in relation to potential options available to it to prevent the purchase by a residential developer of open land used by the community.
- Successfully forfeiting a commercial lease on grounds of disrepair.
- Acting for an investment landlord with regards to regularising the occupation of tenants on an industrial estate.
Blogs by Karen Taylor
Blog
Break Clauses – Avoid the Pitfalls!
Break clauses are contractual provisions in a lease that allow either the landlord or tenant to bring the contractual term of the lease to an end early. On the face of it, a break notice appears to be a straightforward document, and it often looks...
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Blog
Forfeiture – How Does It Affect Commercial Sub-Tenants?
With many commercial tenants feeling the impact of increased costs, pressure on rental payments is on the rise. During the pandemic, the landlord's right to forfeit (terminate) the lease was restricted, giving much-needed protection to tenants...
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Blog
Does Signing Heads of Terms Create a Binding Agreement?
The recent case of Pretoria Energy Company (Chittering) Ltd v Blankney Estates Ltd looks at whether heads of terms are sufficient to create a binding agreement between parties in the absence of a signed lease agreement. Background This case...
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Blog
The Dilapidations Pre-action Protocol
At the end of a commercial lease term , a landlord will want to consider any potential claim that they may have against the tenant for the tenant’s breach of the provisions relating to repair, decoration and reinstatement. Landlords should be aware...
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Blog
Dilapidations – How Are Damages Assessed?
Most commercial leases include obligations in relation to repair, decoration and yielding up at the end of the lease. Where a tenant is in breach of those obligations, the landlord will seek to bring a claim against the tenant for the losses which...
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Blog
Relief from Forfeiture of a Commercial Lease
The recent case of Chug & Anor v Dhaliwal & Anor provides a High Court example of when and how a Judge must weigh up factors for relief from forfeiture and why it is a bad idea to unlawfully sublet commercial premises. The Facts Mr Chug was a...
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