IWD 2023: Housing & Domestic Abuse

Speaker Panel

Liz Davies KC, Joint-head of Chambers
Liz is a "star individual" social housing silk in Chambers and Partners and Tier 1 for social housing in Legal 500.  She specialises in all aspects of housing law, with a particular expertise in homelessness and allocation of social housing. 

She has undertaken social housing practice as a solicitor and as a barrister since 1989. She is a specialist in all aspects of social housing law and recognised as a leading authority in homelessness law and the allocation of social housing. She was instructed as the housing specialist as part of a team of counsel representing survivors and bereaved families in the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Phase 1.

She acts as a consultant to the homelessness charity Crisis, and has assisted in drafting amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill relating to homelessness.

Marina Sergides, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Marina specialises in all aspects of social housing law. She has extensive experience in nuisance possession proceedings, s204 homelessness appeals, unlawful eviction and harassment claims, disrepair claims, judicial reviews, human rights, public law defences, disability discrimination and crossover ASBO proceedings in the magistrates and county courts. In particular, Marina works in cases involving tenants with mental health problems, where capacity has been in issue, and where the Official Solicitor has been instructed. Marina has represented tenants before the Social Security Tribunal and before the Social Security Commissioner.

Marina is Co-Chair of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, along with Simon Mullings. She regularly speaks at housing law conferences, including on housing and domestic abuse at the Legal Action Group conference and has written for Legal Action Magazine.