David Smith

David Smith is a partner in the Landlord & Tenant team, having joined the firm in June 2026.

David specialises in property litigation, property regulation and data protection, with particular expertise in residential tenancies and agency work. His practice focuses on advising on new legislation and regulatory obligations, as well as deploying creative legal strategies to resolve complex client issues.

He has extensive experience across both civil and criminal property law, having appeared at all levels of the civil courts, from the County Court through to the Supreme Court. He also regularly acts in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals, including challenging local authority decisions, and has defended landlords and agents in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.

David is widely recognised for his expertise in landlord and tenant law, particularly the Housing Act 2004, and in mediation, on which he has written and lectured extensively in both UK and international contexts. He advises a broad client base, ranging from individual landlords to major letting and estate agencies, tenancy deposit schemes, local authorities and government bodies.

His wider experience includes serving as former Policy Director of the Residential Landlords Association and providing public affairs advice within the property sector. In this capacity, he has appeared before parliamentary committees and regularly engaged with ministers, MPs, peers and civil servants, as well as contributing to national media across television, radio and print.