[2025] UKUT 178 (LC)

Mistakes happen. They happen even to conscientious legal professionals, because lawyers are human. Often mistakes can be fixed, and the law relating to the rectification of documents has been developed for that purpose. This appeal arises from a conveyancer’s error whereby too much land was transferred from the appellant to the respondent, and I have concluded that there s a clear case for rectification of the transfer on the basis that the terms of the transfer did not represent the parties’ intentions.

The appeal is from the First-tier Tribunal’s refusal of rectification in response to an application made by the appellant, Ms Siama Khurshid; as I shall explain the FTT made some errors of law, but it also took some problematic procedural decisions which made the task of the judge in the FTT particularly difficult. The appellant was represented in the appeal by Mr David Grant KC, and the respondent Ms Philomena Sam-Yorke by her niece Ms Gabriella Sam-Yorke; I am grateful to them both.