The three real options
- Self-representation: Free at the tribunal door, but only viable if you have the time, document discipline and confidence under cross-examination. Most successful self-represented applicants treat it as a serious part-time project for 4–8 months.
- Solicitor / counsel: Essential in complex valuation cases, high-value collective enfranchisement, novel legal issues, or where the other side has instructed counsel and you cannot match the firepower as a litigant in person. Cost: typically £15k–£60k+ on a contested service charge or enfranchisement matter.
- Lay representation: A non-solicitor specialist who prepares the case, builds the bundle, drafts the Scott Schedule and witness statements, and (where the tribunal permits) speaks on the day. Permitted by Rule 14 of the FTT Property Chamber rules and the long-standing tribunal tradition of accessible procedure.
The regulatory framework — Legal Services Act 2007
The Legal Services Act 2007 reserves six activities to authorised persons: exercise of a right of audience in higher courts, conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities (conveyancing), probate, notarial acts, and administration of oaths. Tribunal advocacy at the First-tier Tribunal is not a reserved legal activity. Neither is the preparation of a tribunal case, drafting witness statements or building a bundle.
That is the legal basis on which a non-solicitor specialist (a lay representative) can properly prepare and present a Property Chamber case. We are not solicitors. We do not hold a practising certificate. We do not carry out reserved legal services.
Our role and what we will (and will not) do
PropertyTribunal.uk provides case preparation, numbers analysis and lay representation in line with the Property Chamber's procedural framework. We work alongside legal advisers when the case calls for it and on our own where structured preparation is the proportionate answer.
We will:
- Build a tribunal-ready case including bundles, witness statements, Scott Schedules and chronology.
- Carry out service charge, Section 20 and enfranchisement numbers analysis.
- Coordinate with surveyors, valuers and (where instructed) solicitors.
- Attend the hearing as an unpaid lay representative where instructed and where the tribunal permits.
- Be transparent about scope, fees and limits of our service.
We will not:
- Draft formal legal opinions or hold ourselves out as solicitors.
- Conduct reserved instrument activities (e.g. transfer of the freehold itself).
- Appear in the County Court, High Court or Upper Tribunal where rights of audience are reserved.
- Take on a case where a solicitor is plainly the right professional.
When you genuinely need a solicitor
- Enfranchisement valuations where Sportelli or Mundy/Trustees-style argument is in play.
- High-value collective claims requiring participation agreements and conveyancing structure.
- Appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
- Cases where the other side has firepower counsel and parity matters.
- Anything touching insolvency, possession or money judgments outside the FTT's jurisdiction.
In those cases we will say so up front and (with your consent) refer or co-work with solicitors we trust.
Cost transparency
We do not work no-win-no-fee. We do not take referral commissions from solicitors, surveyors or managing agents. Every engagement is scoped after a free intake call, with a written fixed fee or fee band agreed before work starts.
Disclaimer
The information on this site is general guidance, not legal advice. Tribunal outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case, the lease wording and the evidence presented. Always take advice from a solicitor before serving statutory notices or making material financial decisions.