Landlord and Tenant Lawyers in Singapore: The Court Record

Overview

Landlord and tenant law concerns the relationship created when one party grants another the right to occupy land or premises for a term. The reported record in this area runs from the grant and construction of leases and tenancies, to the covenants that govern the relationship — for rent and rent review, for repair and maintenance, and for permitted use — to the events that bring occupation to an end, such as forfeiture and re-entry for breach, the exercise or refusal of an option to renew, and disputes over the recovery of possession. The reported judgments frequently turn on the interpretation of the lease, the consequences of a breach of covenant, and the remedies available to a landlord or a tenant when the bargain breaks down.

The firms and counsel who appear most often in the reported landlord and tenant record are drawn from the full-service disputes practices and the property and real-estate litigation teams that carry commercial and residential tenancy claims. Their prominence reflects the way these disputes attach to the wider body of property and contract litigation rather than a specialisation in tenancy law alone. The tables identify the counsel and firms named in the reported judgments, a description of activity rather than an assessment of any matter's merits.

The court record also shows where these disputes are resolved. Tenancy disputes arise across the court hierarchy, from possession and rent claims to appeals on the construction of a lease, and the more consequential arguments cluster in the trial and appellate divisions where the meaning and effect of the lease terms are tested. The tables below rank named firms and counsel purely by how often they appear in the reported landlord and tenant record; the figures describe activity in reported litigation, not the quality of any representation or the outcome of any matter.