Real Estate Law

Every decision made when dealing with commercial real estate requires thorough consideration. Whether you’re investing in, developing, financing or occupying, you need diligent legal advisors you can trust to review all the details and give you a firm steer. 


Our real estate specialists take the time to understand your business and the impact the project can make on your long-term goals. We’ll use our experience to provide you with proactive, practical guidance that ensures your business gets the most out of its real estate assets and transactions.

IrwinMitchell_BusinessServices_RealEstate

Legal expertise that builds with you

Shape deals, manage portfolios, and plan projects with guidance that moves at market pace, and keeps your long-term goals in focus.

Benefit from advice across everything from strategic land and regeneration to acquisitions, funding, and leasing, designed for institutional investors, developers, housebuilders, landlords, and occupiers.

You’ll gain commercially focused input that protects your assets, reduces risk, and unlocks value, delivered by legal partners who understand the pressures, timelines, and complexity of real estate.

Our national team supports you at every stage of the property lifecycle, combining sector insight with clear, actionable advice that helps you move decisively.

You’ll also benefit from tailored recommendations if you’re managing a propco, running a family office, leading phased or mixed-use developments, or navigating international property projects.

Our real estate services

From planning and development to finance, leasing, and disposal, move through each stage of your asset strategy with guidance that gives you clarity, control, and pace. Whether you’re repositioning a portfolio, generating land value, or funding a new phase, we work as part of your team to deliver commercially focused outcomes. 
  • Construction and Engineering

    Deliver UK and international projects with confidence through clear advice on construction contracts, procurement strategies, risk allocation, and project delivery, helping you protect programme certainty, asset value, and commercial outcomes. Experienced in guiding clients through mediation, arbitration and adjudication if disputes arise. 

  • Corporate Occupiers

    With experience across complex mergers, transactions, and rationalisation projects, ensure your real estate arrangements are consistent with wider organisational aims with our experts by your side.

  • Environmental Law

    Get support spanning the full range of environmental and regulatory matters, from due diligence and risk assessments through to defending prosecutions, handling authorisation breaches, or planning new developments.

  • Joint Ventures

    Our real estate joint venture specialists help owners, investors, funders and asset managers structure and manage property and property fund ventures. We provide integrated legal advice across corporate, real estate, finance, tax and regulatory matters, helping you achieve commercially effective and tax-efficient outcomes.

  • Later Living Care

    Whether you're creating retirement communities, extra care housing, or specialist facilities, expert guidance helps you achieve sustainable housing that meets demand.

  • Planning

    If you're bringing forward a development, our specialist planning lawyers can provide clear legal guidance to secure consent, overcome obstacles, and keep your project on track.

  • Real Estate Development

    Whether you’re a developer or occupier, you have a vision for your project – our experienced real estate team is here to protect it.

  • Real Estate Disputes

    Resolve property disputes with a clear, proportionate approach that protects your position, preserves value, and minimises disruption, whether the issue relates to occupation, development, landlord and tenant matters, or ownership rights.

  • Real Estate Finance

    Our lawyers are well versed in working with lenders, real estate debt funds and borrowers on financial matters where the main security is real estate. We’ll help you negotiate funding for acquisitions, refinancing, and investments across the full range of property deals. 

  • Real Estate Investment

    Our real estate experts advise institutions, property companies, funds, and high net worth individuals on a range of real estate matters to help you make the best return on your investment.

Helping you respond to market change

The real estate sector continues to face significant commercial, regulatory and operational change. Our team helps businesses respond confidently to evolving market conditions while protecting value and identifying new opportunities. Current areas where we're supporting clients include:

“The team stands out for its practical, commercially minded approach combined with strong technical depth. They are responsive, easy to work with, and consistently focused on achieving workable outcomes.”

Legal 500

Meet an expert from our Real Estate Team

Guy is a partner and national head of the Real Estate team. He is a real estate development lawyer with over 25 years' experience in commercial and residential development.

Speak to a real estate specialist 

Realise your real estate goals with specialist legal support.

 

Please complete our enquiry form and one of our experts will contact you by the next working day. Alternatively, you can call us now.

 

Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm (Excluding Public Holidays).

03308226108

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Frequently asked questions

News & insights

Key headlines and analysis on the real estate sector.
  • Destination Office: how occupiers are rethinking workspace strategy 
    With work patterns evolving and office attendance increasing, occupiers are taking a more decisive and strategic approach to their office portfolios. Irwin Mitchell’s Office Occupiers Survey 2026 explores how businesses are reconfiguring space, improving ESG performance and creating ‘Destination Offices’ that support people, productivity and long-term value.
  • Navigating the living sector in 2026 and beyond

    With regulatory reform accelerating, funding conditions evolving and delivery risks increasing, the living sector continues to face a complex and fast‑moving landscape. From planning reform and building safety to development finance, ESG, and tenant regulation, decisions made now require joined-up legal thinking.

  • Construction workers in hard hats and high-vis jackets talk outdoors.
    Navigating the industrial & logistics market in 2026 and beyond

    With demand patterns shifting, supply constraints continuing, and operational expectations rising across the sector, today’s real estate market demands joined-up legal thinking.

Recent work in business real estate law

An illustrative image of Roffey Homes' Union Gardens development in Worthing
“Irwin Mitchell’s guidance has been invaluable throughout a complex process, and we’re genuinely grateful for their support as we work to bring much needed homes and new public space to Worthing.”

Ben Cheal, managing director at Roffey Homes

Business Real Estate client

Our Real Estate team has advised Roffey Homes on its multi million pound purchase of land at Union Place in Worthing town centre, paving the way for construction of 216 new homes and commercial space.

Our approach

What you need to know about working with us.
  • 1
    Broad real estate expertise that anticipates your requirements

    We have the capacity and knowledge to advise across a wide range of real estate activity. Our experience means we’re able to identify issues early and optimise for maximum commercial value.

  • 2
    Clear communication that keeps your projects moving 

    We’ll provide direct, no-nonsense guidance that’s tailored to your priorities, helping you make informed decisions.

  • 3
    Integrated support across your real estate portfolio

    Our specialist teams work together to deliver planning, construction, environmental compliance, funding, transactional and dispute services to give you a single, coordinated approach. 

  • 4
    A track record of achieving exceptional outcomes 

    Thousands of organisations have trusted us to support major property decisions, development projects, portfolio strategies, and transactions. Our experience helps clients navigate complexity, manage risk, and create long-term value from their real estate interests.

  • 5
    Aligning property decisions with business objectives

    From workplace and portfolio strategies to development projects and investment decisions, we help organisations align their real estate interests with wider business goals, creating spaces and assets that support growth, productivity, sustainability, and long-term value.

  • 6
    Commercially focused dispute resolution

    We'll protect your interests with proactive advice that helps identify and manage disputes. We combine strategic insight with robust dispute resolution practices to minimise disruption and deliver commercially sound outcomes. 

Recognised for excellence. Chosen for care.

  • Legal 500 Top Tier Firm UK 202
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  • Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025
  • Kings Award Logo
  • ePrivateClient Top Law Firms 2025