Associate Professor in Property Law, Durham University
Chris is a leading voice in matters pertaining to property and homelessness law in the UK and internationally.
Chris joined Durham Law School as Associate Professor in Property Law in September 2019 after 6 years in the School of Law at the University of Nottingham. Chris has served as Deputy Dean, Director of Research and Director of Post-graduate Research at Durham Law School. Prior to entering academia, Chris practised as a common law barrister specialising in matters of employment, property, housing and family law. Chris graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2007 with degrees in both Modern Languages and Law and was awarded my MA (Cantab.) in 2012. Chris is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy; author of the acclaimed textbook, Land Law (4th Edn forthcoming 2024 with Oxford University Press); won ‘Lecturer of the Year’ in 2017 and, in 2015, was awarded the prestigious Lord Dearing Award for outstanding, world-class contribution to enhancing the student experience. Chris is honorary member of the Property Bar Association; academic member of the Property Litigation Association and invited member of the esteemed Academic Panel at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers, London. Chris is Door Tenant at KCH Garden Square barristers chambers and, in 2018, Chris became an invited, nominated Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2023, Chris was awarded the higher doctorate of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) in recognition of ‘sustained, distinguished work of considerable scholarly impact.’
Chris' research focuses on tackling contemporary challenges related to property, land, housing and homelessness and how we might use law and associated disciplines to solve them. Chris is interested in engaging with practitioners working in these area and builiding a bridge between academia and the world of leal practice.
The rise and rise of property guardianship and what it says about our broken housing system
Mar 13, 2023 11:46 am UTC| Economy Real Estate
With homeownership slipping out of reach for millions and soaring rents, the dearth of genuinely affordable homes is seeing property guardianship on the rise. Property guardians live in empty or disused premises that...
Drilling down on treatment-resistant fungi with molecular machines