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Manjinder Kaur Atwal , Duncan Lewis , Housing Solicitor , City of London

Manjinder Kaur Atwal

Director & Solicitor

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Awards and Recommendations for Manjinder Kaur Atwal
uk-next-generation-partner-2024.jpg uk-leading-individual-2024.jpg Legal 500 Chambers

Manjinder, described by clients as "fabulous" is applauded for her "strength across a wide range of social housing matters, including interim relief and homelessness applications. She is well versed in claims for disrepair and discrimination, and defending against possession proceedings."

Chambers UK 2024 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenants / UK-wide

The Legal 500 2024 edition notes Manjinder as a Recommended Lawyer for Housing Law across London and throughout the South East.

Legal 500 2024 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant; Social Housing / London; South East

Manjinder Kaur Atwal, named as a Next Generation Partner, is applauded for her "extensive expertise in complex judicial review matters and possession disputes to her role."

Legal 500 2024 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / London

"Manjinder is a force for her clients - she is a strong leader and fierce fighter."

Legal 500 2024 Edition.
Social Housing / South East

"Manjinder Kaur Atwal is someone who sees the long game, runs a case well and really achieves something."

Chambers UK 2023 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenants / UK-wide

Manjinder is recognised by The Legal 500 2023 edition as a Leading Individual and "a real star" for her housing law work across the South-East. The Legal 500 views Manjinder as a true market leader with a long established reputation in her fields of law and has received exceptional widespread recognition from his peers, clients and the legal industry nationwide "for combing a calming and reassuring presence with meticulous attention to detail."

Legal 500 2023 Edition.
Social Housing / South East

The Legal 500 2023 Edition notes Manjinder as a Recommended Lawyer "with tremendous knowledge" for Housing Law across London and throughout the South East.

Legal 500 2023 Edition.
Social Housing / London & South East

Recognised as a Next Generation Partner in The Legal 500 2023 edition for her housing work for landlords and tenants across London, Manjinder is described as "an exceptional housing solicitor".

Legal 500 2023 Edition.
Social Housing / London

"Manjinder Kaur Atwal offers strength across a wide range of social housing matters, including interim relief and homelessness applications. She is also well versed in claims for disrepair and discrimination, as well as defending against possession proceedings. 'She is very good at putting complicated cases across, very exacting in the detail and very well organised.' 'After speaking with her, the situation seemed less complicated and I felt I had someone on my side - she cut through all the smoke and mirrors.'"

Chambers UK 2022 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenants / UK-wide

Manjinder is ranked as a Leading Individual in the 2022 edition of The Legal 500.

Legal 500 2022 Edition.
Social Housing / South East

Manjinder is ranked as a Next Generation Partner in the 2022 edition of The Legal 500. They comment, "practice head Manjinder Kaur Atwal handles a broad spectrum of social housing litigation, and is especially focused on homelessness matters."

Legal 500 2022 Edition.
Social Housing / London

Manjinder is a Recommended Lawyer in the 2022 edition of The Legal 500.

Legal 500 2022 Edition.
Social Housing / London

Manjinder Kaur Atwal leads the practice, with considerable experience handling a variety of claims cases from small claims to multi-track; she also undertakes her own advocacy in court and at tribunals.

Legal 500 2021 Edition.
Social Housing / South East

Practice Head Manjinder Kaur Atwal frequently advises on matters involving novel points of law and has recently had a case listed at the Court of Appeal concerning the interrelationship between the Public Sector Equality Duty and the court’s discretion to make a possession order under Ground 17, Housing Act 1988.

Legal 500 2021 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / London

Manjinder is a Recommended Lawyer in the 2021 edition of The Legal 500.

Legal 500 2021 Edition.
Social Housing / South East

"Manjinder Kaur Atwal is assisting an assured tenant with defending a possession claim and bringing a counterclaim against a landlord property development company, as well as the sole director of and shareholder in the landlord.”

Legal 500 2020 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / London

“Atwal is…defending a client against a possession claim concerning a shared ownership property under Article eight and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights in a potentially precedent-setting case, concerning the role of social landlords in possession proceedings for shared ownership property brought by a mortgagee."

Legal 500 2020 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / London

Manjinder Kaur Atwal leads the housing and property litigation group at Duncan Lewis Solicitors.

Legal 500 2020 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / South East: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

"Key figures include Manjinder Kaur Atwal, whose expertise encompasses landlord and tenant disputes, housing disrepair, homelessness, and bringing reviews and appeals relating to local authority housing decisions."

Legal 500 2019 Edition.
Housing / Milton Keynes and Luton

Manjinder Kaur Atwal is a Recommended Lawyer in the 2019 edition of The Legal 500 for her Social Housing: Tenant work in London.

Legal 500 2019 Edition.
Housing / London

"Solicitor Manjinder Kaur Atwal, who 'clearly knows her stuff', is 'incredibly bright, conscientious and pragmatic with excellent analytical skills'."

Legal 500 2017 Edition.
Social Housing: Tenant / London
I am a Director of Housing/Property Litigation at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. I have over 15 years’ experience in housing and property litigation law. I litigate and deal with a wide variety of housing and property law dispute cases including possession claims and eviction matters, landlord and tenant disputes, homelessness, housing disrepair, bringing judicial review matters, review/appeals relating to local authority housing decisions, bringing and defending injunctions, boundary disputes, property nuisance/negligence claims, consumer and contractual matter, debt recovery and enforcement. I have considerable experience dealing with small claims cases to multi-track cases and undertake my own advocacy at Court and Tribunals on behalf of my clients.

I am dedicated and determined to achieve the best possible outcome for my clients. I have earned a reputation for taking on difficult cases that no one thinks can succeed and I have gone on to obtain excellent results for my clients. I have also built good relations with external agencies and I am always on hand to answer housing queries and give guidance.

I have appeared on TalkRadio Live, RoundTable, The Guardian and other media outlets on more than one occasion discussing the needs of the victims of the 2017 Grenfell disaster, how the cuts to legal aid for housing disrepair have impacted vulnerable tenants, noise nuisance and the causes of the European's housing crisis . I have also been interviewed to discuss the Government’s low levels of spending on social housing and the impact on landlords and tenants during the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, I have written articles for a number of media platforms about current social housing issues. I was also a speaker at Liverpool's Law Society Housing Conference 2024 discussing Housing Conditions claims.

I have been listed as the Top 10 Solicitor Transforming Social Housing Landscape for UK-wide Tenants by the Business Today in 2023.

I am ranked as a 'Leading Individual', 'Next Generation Partner' and 'Recommended Lawyer' by The Legal 500 for my social housing work across London and in the South-East. I am also ranked in Chambers and Partners.



Education

  • ADR Group Accredited Mediator - Civil and Commercial (2012)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) - College of Law (London) (2006)
  • Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) - Brunel University (2005)
  • BSc Information Technology with Multimedia - University of Middlesex (2004)

Career

  • Director at Duncan Lewis Solicitors (August 2017 - Present)
  • Duncan Lewis Solicitors (2012 - Present)
  • Admitted as a Solicitor (April 2011)

Testimonials

  • "Manjinder Kaur Atwal is fabulous. I love her to pieces. I have absolute faith in her abilities and she is a pleasure to work with." - Chambers and Partners UK (2024)

  • "Manjinder is a strong leader and fierce fighter" - Legal 500 UK (2024)

  • "Manjinder Kuar Atwal earns trust and respect from her clients very quickly. Clients are clearly very satisfied with the service she provides. I have observed this first hand many times when speaking to my lay clients at court. Manjinder is calm and professional and works hard to achieve the best result for her clients. Many clients are recommended by word of mouth. She explains matters in a way that is clear and comprehensible to her clients, and provides advice and reassurance enabling clients to feel well cared for, regardless of the outcome of the case. Manjinder is clearly a fighter, and will actively look for unusual solutions for her clients, even in apparently hopeless cases." - Josephine Henderson, Five Paper

  • "Manjinder Kaur Atwal is someone sees the long game, runs a case well and really achieves something." - Chambers and Partners UK (2023)

  • "We couldn't have hoped for a better person to represent us. She is very helpful throughout the process." - Chambers and Partners UK (2023)

Awards

  • Next Generation Partner - The Legal 500, (2024 - 2020)
  • Leading Individual - The Legal 500, (2024 - 2021)
  • Recommended Lawyer - The Legal 500, (2024 & 2022 - 2017)
  • Ranked - Chambers and Partners (2024 - 2022), Social Housing: Tenants UK
  • Top 10 Solicitor for Transforming Social Housing Landscape for UK-wide Tenants (2023 - Listed in Business Today)
  • Shortlisted - Solicitor of the Year - Private Practice - Law Society Excellence Awards (2019)
  • Shortlisted - Civil Lawyer (2019) - Asian Legal Awards (2019)
  • Shortlisted - Civil/Commercial Lawyer (2018) - Asian Legal Awards (2018)

Notable Cases

Supreme Court
  • Durdana (Appellant) v Luton Community Housing Ltd (Respondent) UKSC 2021/0015 - Lead Solicitor - We invited the Supreme Court to consider for the first time the constitutional impact of section 31(2A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Section 31(2A) came into force on 13 April 2015 and significantly altered the test by which courts can refuse to grant a remedy in judicial review cases. We invited the Supreme Court to lay down guidance on how lower courts should apply the new, “highly likely” test contained in section 31(2A). It was submitted that this would have wide-ranging implications, as the application of the “highly likely” test is relevant to all cases involving issues of public law. Such guidance is also much needed, as there have been a number of High Court cases which discuss the difficulties encountered by courts in determining the correct application of the test. Unfortunately, permission was refused.

Court of Appeal
  • D’Aubigny v Khan, CA – 2023 – 002567 - Lead Solicitor - Can Gas Safety Records (GSR), Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), and How to Rent Guides (HTR) be deemed served on a tenant by post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978? The Court of Appeal has granted our client permission for a second appeal on this issue, with Nugee LJ observing that this Ground raises an important point of principle.

  • Querino v Cambridge City Council [2024] EWCA Civ 314 - Lead Solicitor - This was an appeal from a decision of HHJ Moloney KC relating to whether Cambridge City Council was justified in offering Mr Querino accommodation that had only one bedroom despite his wish for his children to stay overnight in his property. The Court of Appeal held that the accommodation offered by Cambridge City Council to Mr Querino was suitable and did not violate housing duties. The Court also determined that the reviewer did not err in their decision-making process. The Judge's decision in favour of Mr Querino was overturned, and the Council's appeal was allowed.

  • Khan v Mehmood (2022) EWCA Civ 791 - Lead Solicitor - The Court of Appeal held, on a long-running housing dispute case, that general damages for breaching a repairing covenant are subject to the Simmons v. Castle 10% uplift.

  • Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd v TM (2021) EWCA Civ 1890 - Lead Solicitor - The Court of Appeal handed down a ruling on the impact of the public sector equality duty (PSED) on a claim for possession of rented residential premises. The appeal succeeded, possession order set aside and claim dismissed.

  • Luton Community Housing Limited v Durdana - Court of Appeal, Patten, Moylan and Newey LJJ. [2020] EWCA Civ 445, 26 March 2020 - We represented the Defendant (Durdana) in the case of Luton Community Housing Trust v Durdana (2019) (an appeal from HHJ Bloom). The Claimant sought possession based on Ground 17 of the Housing Act 1988 in respect of the Defendant’s premises. The Claimant asserted that the Defendant made fraudulent statements to Luton Council that led to the Claimant granting a tenancy to the Defendant. We argued, on behalf of the Defendant, that the Claimant was in breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty and that even if the ground was made out, it was not reasonable to order possession.

  • The Court of Appeal (LJJ Patten, Moylan, Newey) heard the appeal and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) intervened. The appeal concerned whether or not HHJ Bloom had been right to dismiss the possession claim for breach of the PSED. The court heard arguments about whether there had been a breach, whether it was appropriate to dismiss the claim, and whether HHJ Bloom had been right to find that it was not reasonable to order possession because of the breach of the PSED.

  • The Court of Appeal agreed with the Judge that there had been a breach of the PSED. They held that the Judge had wrongly applied the test of whether, had PSED been complied with, the same decision would have been inevitable. The correct test was not one of inevitability but whether it was ‘highly likely’ that the outcome would not have been substantially different had no breach of the duty occurred, (Aldwyck Housing Group Limited v. Forward [2019] EWCA Civ 1334, per Longmore LJ). The possession claim has been remitted to the County Court for consideration of the issue of reasonableness.

High Court
  • Ibrahim v Haringey LBC [2021[ EWHC 731 (QB) - Lead Solicitor - Mr Justice Lane allowed an appeal against a decision of a Circuit Judge to dismiss a claim that an asylum seeker who had been accommodated by a local authority under the “Everyone In” scheme did not have an arguable case that he had been granted a secure tenancy.

  • Enfield LB v Turner [2018] EWHC 1341 (QB) - Turner was not entitled to succeed to her mother’s secure tenancy. However, she was blind and disabled and had lived in her mother’s house for at least 10 years prior to her mother’s death. Ann Turner defended the possession claim brought by the LB Enfield on the basis of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Recorder dismissed this defence on the basis that LB Enfield was undertaking tore-house Turner when it enforced the possession order.

Civil Court
  • Hughes Jarvis Limited v Searle [2018] EW Misc B6 (CC) (27 April 2018) (18 July 2018) - Representing Applicant Defendant. In this case, the judge struck out the Claimant’s claim and the third party Mr Jarvis’s defence to counterclaim pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 3.4(2) on the grounds that Mr Jarvis was found guilty of three counts of contempt. HHJ Clarke submitted that were it to have been the first two counts of contempt, the trial could have continued since the emails sent by Mr Jarvis to his solicitor and Counsel were left unread and returned. It was the third discrepancy in the form of a phone call to a third party which risked the credibility of the trial, calling to question the honesty of Mr Jarvis as a witness. HHJ Clarke did not feel she could reasonably deduce which aspects of Mr Jarvis’ evidence could be used in support of the Claimant’s claim or the counterclaim compared to those which were in fact tainted by his communications. As a result, both were struck out, resulting in success on the part of the Applicant Defendant.

Interests

  • Playing football and tennis
  • Reading
  • Socialising and networking

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