Penny Bournes
Senior Associate
Senior Associate in the Housing litigation & management team
With over 20 years’ experience, Penny has developed a strong understanding of the legal, regulatory and operational challenges faced by landlords, providing advice that reflects both technical requirements and practical realities.
Penny provides specialist, primarily non-contentious housing management advice and training, with a particular focus on technically complex and high-risk areas. She has extensive expertise in service charges – including section 20 consultation, first-tier tribunal applications and recovery of charges under heat networks – and leads on advice relating to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, helping landlords implement the regime in a practical and compliant way.
She advises on tenure and occupancy agreements, carries out comprehensive policy and procedure reviews, and covers rent review, succession, consultation obligations and regulatory compliance. She also designs and delivers bespoke training programmes to equip housing professionals with the skills and confidence to manage complex issues.
Penny is renowned for clear, pragmatic and commercially focused advice, enabling landlords to make informed decisions and manage risk effectively in challenging and technical areas.
Penny is driven by helping clients translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, practical action. She understands that housing management issues are rarely purely legal – they require solutions that work in real operational settings, balance competing priorities and stand up to scrutiny.
She combines technical expertise with a pragmatic approach, delivering advice that is legally robust, workable and tailored to each organisation’s needs. Penny takes particular pride in building strong, lasting client relationships, taking time to understand their services and objectives so she can act as a trusted adviser on their most complex issues – ultimately helping clients achieve outcomes that are compliant, efficient and focused on delivering high-quality services to residents.
My advice and articles
Read all news
Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – strengthened enforcement powers for local authorities
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations), made on 16 June 2026, came into force on 22 June...
What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 means for housing enforcement
Today, we had the pleasure of speaking at the LLG Housing Law Conference on the new enforcement framework established under the Renters’...
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: new prescribed forms for assured tenancy actions from 1 May 2026 for private landlords and PRP market rent lettings
On 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (the 2025 Act) will abolish assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) and fixed-term assured...
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: Government publishes information sheet for existing assured tenants of private landlords and PRP landlords in respect of market rent lettings
Following my previous blog on 3 February 2026, the Government has now published the official Information Sheet that private landlords in...
The long-awaited 4th edition of the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code has arrived!
After almost a decade, on 17 March 2026, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) released the long‑awaited 4th edition of the...
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: new written terms rules from 1 May 2026 for private landlords and PRP market rent lettings
The Government has published draft regulations setting out new obligations for private landlords in England to provide assured tenants...
Sign up to receive insights