Andrew Gee: Professional Member of the First-tier Tribunal, Property Chamber
“Not only is the work varied, challenging and very interesting, I find it extremely rewarding. It feels a great privilege to be able to play a part in enabling justice, but there is also great satisfaction in being able to help with resolving disputes.”
I was appointed to the Property Tribunal in 2023 and fit in Tribunal work around my day job, working full-time as an architect in Sheffield.
I am one of 5 specialist Building Safety Experts taken on at the same time. All of us came from different professional disciplines. I am the only architect, of the others there are a fire engineer, building control officer, building surveyor and building services engineer. We are all required to sit on Building Safety Act (BSA) cases following on from the Building Safety Act coming into force in 2023, which of course followed on from the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017. This was a completely new role within the tribunal, so it felt a bit like I was going into unchartered territory!
In addition to BSA cases, I also sit on other residential property jurisdictions. These include landlord and tenant matters – such as service charges, rent repayment orders and breaches of covenant – and Building Act 1984 cases concerned with initial notices for building regulations applications.
I am generally offered cases several months in advance and am provided with a hearing bundle a couple of weeks ahead of the hearing date. This is a long document compiled by one or both of the parties. The hearing bundle includes the evidence gathered in the run-up to the case, statements of case, witness statements, and expert reports. It will also give an overview of where the parties are in dispute, and that is what will form the basis of much of the final hearing.
When the day of the hearing arrives, the judge or chairperson will chair the proceedings, and direct the parties to call their witnesses, and conduct cross examinations. At all stages, the tribunal members are free to ask questions of any witness or representative. At the end of the hearing, the panel will retire and begin deliberations, which is the process of arriving at a decision. Sometimes it is a clear cut and unanimous decision, other times it requires more debate. The whole panel takes part in the decision process.
The Residential Property Chamber provides training of a very high standard, through events coordinated by the Judicial College. These allow members to develop their knowledge of the various residential property jurisdictions, through presentations, seminars and case study-based group discussions.
I am still relatively new to the tribunal, but I have hugely enjoyed my time so far. This is largely down to the people within the Residential Property Chamber, who are very welcoming and genuinely make me feel that my contribution is valued. As a tribunal member, you will be working alongside some remarkably clever and articulate people, from all sorts of backgrounds. It is a very collaborative and collegiate environment. I have found most colleagues to be very willing to talk about their experiences or share advice.
Not only is the work varied, challenging and very interesting, I find it extremely rewarding. It feels a great privilege to be able to play a part in enabling justice, but there is also great satisfaction in being able to help with resolving disputes. Where the safety of people living in dangerous blocks of flats is concerned, I am particularly proud that, through my work at the tribunal, I have been able to help them in taking steps towards being restored to a position of safety and financial security.