Land and Environment Court Lawyers
Hones Lawyers are experts in Land and Environment law, with over 45 years of experience and a proven 90% success rate in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.
SUCCESS RATE
95%
CASES WON OR MATTERS SETTLED
1000+
CLIENTS
4000+
Expert Land and Environment Court Lawyers
Hones Lawyers are the experts in Land and Environment matters with 45+ years’ experience of representation in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales and other relevant courts and tribunals in relation to all aspects of planning, environment and Local Government law.
Our team of land and environment court lawyers act on behalf of councils or private clients – with a 90% success rate. Our clients include developers of all sizes, ranging from small family companies (often first-time developers) to publicly listed companies, high net worth individuals, strata managers, city and regional councils, tenants, architects, town planners, engineers, building consultants, government authorities, and many others needing Land and Environment Court representation.
If combined experience is any guide on how good we are – our lawyers have a combined experience of over a century.
How we can help
Rejected Development Applications
Tree disputes
Appeals against residential developments
Compulsory acquisitions
Objections to property modifications
Our Experience in Land and Environment Court Cases
Our land lawyers have appeared in a number of high profile and land mark Land and Environment Court appeals; including challenging the Woolworths Lane Cove shopping centre development to obtaining remediation orders for the largest unlawful contaminated land fill case in NSW history. We act for and against city based and regional councils in a wide range of development and land use matters.
Unlike any other firm, our land and environment court lawyers include qualified town planners and lawyers as well as 2 Law Society accredited specialists in Local Government & Planning Law.
Over the years, our land lawyers have been involved in 1000’s of Land & Environment Court cases, many of them reported.
We have successfuly taken Land & Environment Court cases to the Court of Appeal as well as the Court of Criminal Appeal (something few other town planning law firms can boast).
Comprehensive experience
Class 1 – Residential Development Appeals
Class 1 – Development Appeals
Appeals concerning council orders
Class 2 – Appeals under the Trees Act 2006
Class 3 – Compulsory Acquisition/ Resumption and Valuation Appeals
Class 4 – Civil Enforcement
Class 5 – Criminal Prosecutions
Class 8 – Mining Matters
90% Success Rate
We have challenged refusals of development applications, orders issued by Local Councils, unlawfully granted development consents (on behalf of concerned neighbours and resident action groups) with an unrivalled success rate.
Our success in the Land & Environment Court is based on our tenacious attitude towards understanding the case and our client. We have successfully prosecuted every Local Court matter we have been involved in and, as far as we are aware, have obtained the largest fine of its kind in NSW planning history – a fine of $500,000 – for a Local Court.
If you require the help of experienced professionals for a Land and Environment Court case, contact our team today. With over 25 years of experience and a 90% success rate, you can be confident that Hones Lawyers will deliver the desired result for you.
Land and Environment Court Lawyers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Land and Environment Court?
The NSW Land and Environment Court hears appeals and cases relating to environment and planning laws. The Court’s specialist jurisdiction covers merits and judicial reviews, civil enforcement, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals and civil claims involving planning, environmental, land, mining and other legislation.
What orders can the Land and Environment Court make?
The Land and Environment Court deals with civil enforcement and is concerned with restoring compliance with the law, rather than punishing those who break the law.
Orders the Court can make include Declarations (in the case of an Act being breached), Injunctions (restraining orders), Demolition orders and Remediation orders.
How much does it cost to lodge a case at the Land and Environment Court?
A filing fee needs to be paid to the Court before a case is started or an appeal is lodged. This cost depends on the type of case and whether you are an individual or corporation. Hones Lawyers will confirm the amount of the fee before proceedings are started.
Where can I find out information about easements?
If your issue relates to an easement on your property, have a look at our Easements NSW page. Easements often fall under S.88K of the Conveyancing Act and s.40 of the Land & Environment Court Act.
Customer Testimonials
We’ve helped thousands of clients throughout NSW with their legal matters.
Over the past four years, my wife and I have experienced the burden of an easement that was placed over our property by the previous owner of an adjacent property. The current neighbour holding the dominant tenement rights considered that he had exclusive use of the section of our property covered by the easement. He seemed to have little or no social conscious, and caused us much unnecessary distress by his intrusion, and practice of "storing" his unwanted possessions in our place. Something had to be done about it particularly as I was fearful of leaving my wife at the mercy of his bullying and intimidating behaviour should I pre-decease her, given our age difference. I asked a barrister friend if she could recommend a solicitor(s) who specialise in easements. I was given a list of solicitors at the top of which was Hones Lawyers. I decided to seek the help of Jason Hones and his team, and it has turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made in my 87 years lifetime. Jason, together with his associate Peter Clarke handled our matter for the best part of two years during which they were at all times respectful to us, and attended in a most competent and professional way to every one of our concerns and steps along the way. Hones Lawyers represented us in communications with our neighbours' solicitors, and did everything in their power to achieve a mutually agreeable outcome. Their efforts were continually hampered by obfuscation from the other side until it finally became obvious that our only course of action was to take the matter to court. Under the expert guidance of Jason and Peter, our matter was heard in the Supreme Court of NSW and we are extremely grateful to have been successful in achieving judgement in our favour, and the purported easement has been declared invalid. As mentioned earlier, we are impressed with the respect we received at all times from Hones Lawyers, as well as their conscious effort to communicate with us without confusing us with "legal speak". Their selection of senior and junior counsel was spot on and achieved an excellent legal team to represent our interests. Jason personally came with us to make the introduction to counsel and sat with us through the preparation negotiations. Throughout the whole process Peter Clarke proved to be a very intelligent and extremely competent young man, a valuable representative for his organisation, and was always polite and available for our every requirement. In conclusion, we have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Hones Lawyers to anyone who wants competent legal representation carried out properly and efficiently. Max (and Janet) Petrie Max Petrie13 August 2024 Peter has recently represented me in a matter & I have found him to be incredibly knowledgeable, extremely articulate and very responsive. He also has an impressive network of professionals around him and he has a “get it done” attitude. I would have no hesitation in recommending him and Hones & I would definitely retain his services again. Matt McEwan30 May 2024 I have been working with Jane Mercer over the past few weeks finalising everything for settlement on my new place. Jane has been one of the most helpful and plesant people I have dealt with throughout my property purchasing journey. She is friendly, responsive, helpful, took a lot of time to explain things to me I was not clear on and got my settlement done in 15 days! I would highly recommend using Hones Lawyers and especially Jane who was an absolute pleasure to work with. Would happily engage with Jane any time I need help. Thank you Jane! miranda rutherford20 May 2024 I highly recommend this law firm. I recently engaged them to handle the conveyancing of my house and was very impressed with their knowledge and attention to detail. Wilana23 November 2021 Hones Lawyers, This company team can be trust, understand well your thought, professional battle a case on your behalf, and respond your question quickly. Special "Gavin" is my favorite, he is well organized, polite and so gentlemen guide us step by step for your worry since start to finish. Thanks for your help our case Gavin for finalized easement matter with plaintiff in mid this year 2020, and you and your team done great job. Minh Le30 June 2020