Chris Bryden#617

Chris Bryden

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.

Chris is the author of numerous articles in publications such as the New Law Journal, Counsel and Family Law, amongst many other titles, and is the co-author of Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (2015, Jordan Publishing).
Contributed to

1169

If a restrictive covenant is expressed to be made pursuant to section 33 of the Local Government
If a restrictive covenant is expressed to be made pursuant to section 33 of the Local Government
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether the procedural requirements for release of a restrictive covenant, must be expressed to be made pursuant to section 33 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

If a retail tenant is in administration, are the administrators liable to pay rent as an expense of the
If a retail tenant is in administration, are the administrators liable to pay rent as an expense of the
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether, in a situation where a retail tenant is in administration and the store is shut due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the administrations are liable to pay rent as an expense of the administrator when they intend to re-open the store after coronavirus.

If a right to manage company holds a large reserve fund, can a tenant claim back/withdraw their share of
If a right to manage company holds a large reserve fund, can a tenant claim back/withdraw their share of
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether a tenant can claim back/withdraw his share of the reserved fund on the sale of their leasehold flat, if a right to manage company holds a large reserve fund.

If a sole applicant for a divorce order fails to apply for a conditional order and/or seeks to withdraw
If a sole applicant for a divorce order fails to apply for a conditional order and/or seeks to withdraw
Q&A

This Q&A considers the failure of a divorce applicant to apply for a conditional order and/or seeks to withdraw the proceedings. The Q&A also considers the procedural options the respondent has to ensure that the divorce can progress, and the ongoing financial remedy proceedings issued on the strength of the original divorce application are not jeopardised.

If a structure was dangerous and the owner was unidentifiable (either due to the land being unregistered
If a structure was dangerous and the owner was unidentifiable (either due to the land being unregistered
Q&A

This Q&A considers what options are available to a local authority if a structure was dangerous and the owner was unidentifiable pursuant to section 77 of the Building Act 1984 for an Order.

If a surrogate’s husband is automatically the second legal parent, can the biological father still have
If a surrogate’s husband is automatically the second legal parent, can the biological father still have
Q&A

This Q&A considers surrogacy and the issues that might arise in relation to parental responsibility when the surrogate is married.

If a tenant has failed to pay rent for three months and has been chased for rent several times during
If a tenant has failed to pay rent for three months and has been chased for rent several times during
Q&A

This Q&A considers forfeiture of a lease by a landlord whilst a tenancy deposit exists but the tenant has failed to pay rent for three months.

If a tenant in arrears of rent (and which also has liability under a costs recovery clause) has made
If a tenant in arrears of rent (and which also has liability under a costs recovery clause) has made
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether a landlord can allocate monies received from a tenant who is in arrears of rent and who also has a liability under a costs recovery clause, to the costs or if it must be used for the rent where the tenant has not specified what the monies should be used for.

If a tenant initially had a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy granted in 2011 and continued to occupy
If a tenant initially had a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy granted in 2011 and continued to occupy
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether an assured shorthold tenancy which has become a statutory periodic tenancy is a qualifying tenancy for the purpose of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

If a tenant wants to take a lease of an additional piece of land, but the additional land is in the
If a tenant wants to take a lease of an additional piece of land, but the additional land is in the
Q&A

This Q&A examines whether an original lease can be varied to include an additional piece of land.

If a transfer of part of a freehold title (residential property), which is a new build property on a new
If a transfer of part of a freehold title (residential property), which is a new build property on a new
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether a transfer of a part of a freehold is treated as an estate maintenance charge and what the consequences of non-payment are.

If a voluntary controlled school puts up a temporary demountable structure on a playing field owned by a
If a voluntary controlled school puts up a temporary demountable structure on a playing field owned by a
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether a voluntary controlled school putting up a temporary demountable structure on a playing field owned by a local authority, triggers the duty to transfer the land to the school under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

If administrators of a freeholder serve offer notices under section 5 of the Landlord and Tenant Act
If administrators of a freeholder serve offer notices under section 5 of the Landlord and Tenant Act
Q&A

This Q&A considers the ability of administrators to serve notices under section 5 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

If an agreed form of transfer is purportedly attached to an option agreement (‘the transfer to X will be
If an agreed form of transfer is purportedly attached to an option agreement (‘the transfer to X will be
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether an agreed form of transfer that has supposedly been attached to an option agreement, however is not attached and does not exist, affects the validity of the option agreement.

If an agreement for a loan between two individuals does not contain any provision as to repayment, is the
If an agreement for a loan between two individuals does not contain any provision as to repayment, is the
Q&A

This Q&A considers the limitation period in relation to loan agreements where the date for repayment of the debt has not been specified.

If an application for a right to buy is received by a local authority, found to be incorrect, and
If an application for a right to buy is received by a local authority, found to be incorrect, and
Q&A

This Q&A considers the impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 reduction of the discount effective from 21 November 2024

If an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) shows the tenant’s name in short form, how should the name appear
If an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) shows the tenant’s name in short form, how should the name appear
Q&A

This Q&A considers how names should appear in notices under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

If an easement secured on the title following an express grant is infringed upon by another third party's
If an easement secured on the title following an express grant is infringed upon by another third party's
Q&A

This Q&A considers the situation where the exercise of an easement acquired by prescription by a third party conflicts with the terms of a prior express grant of an easement.

If an employee asks for a lump-sum to be paid to their pension instead of a payment in lieu of notice,
If an employee asks for a lump-sum to be paid to their pension instead of a payment in lieu of notice,
Q&A

This Q&A considers how a PENP calculation is affected when pension is paid as a lump sum.

If an employee raises a grievance in respect of sexual harassment, but does not want their employer to
If an employee raises a grievance in respect of sexual harassment, but does not want their employer to
Q&A

This Q&A considers whether, if an employee raises a grievance in respect of sexual harassment but does not want their employer to investigate, in response to the employee’s harassment claim it is a defence for the employer to say it failed to investigate because the employee did not want it to.

Practice Areas

Panels

  • Contributing Author
  • Q&A Panel

Qualified Year

  • 2003

Experience

  • 2 Gray’s Inn Square (2005 - 2009)

Membership

  • Family Law Bar Association
  • Property Bar Association
  • Society of Construction Lawyers
  • Public Access Bar Association (Vice-Chairman and Treasurer)
  • Visiting Fellow, University of Bedfordshire (2011 - )
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Qualifications

  • MA (Oxon) (2002)
  • LLM (2004)

Education

  • Magdalen College, University of Oxford (1999-2002)
  • BPP Law School (2002-2003)
  • University College London (2003-2004)

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