Gemma Courtenay
Head of Affordable Housing
Areas of focus
Bio
Gemma Courtenay is Head of Gowling WLG's social housing practice. She has been ranked as a 'Rising Star' and 'Leading Associate' for Social Housing by Legal 500.
For more than a decade Gemma has been acting for registered providers of social housing (both not-for-profit and for-profit) and investors on the acquisition, development and ongoing management of social/affordable homes, advising on deal structuring, grant and funding arrangements, nomination rights, site and dwelling acquisitions, development agreements, management leases, transfers, infrastructure agreements and intra-group dealings.
Gemma acts for some of the biggest names in the sector, including Sanctuary Group, Legal & General Affordable Homes, Hyde Group, Flint Housing, and Metropolitan Thames Valley.
Bio
Gemma Courtenay is Head of Gowling WLG's social housing practice. She has been ranked as a 'Rising Star' and 'Leading Associate' for Social Housing by Legal 500.
For more than a decade Gemma has been acting for registered providers of social housing (both not-for-profit and for-profit) and investors on the acquisition, development and ongoing management of social/affordable homes, advising on deal structuring, grant and funding arrangements, nomination rights, site and dwelling acquisitions, development agreements, management leases, transfers, infrastructure agreements and intra-group dealings.
Gemma acts for some of the biggest names in the sector, including Sanctuary Group, Legal & General Affordable Homes, Hyde Group, Flint Housing, and Metropolitan Thames Valley.
Experience
Experience
- Working with Sanctuary Group since 2013 on all aspects of the delivery of its Homes England and GLA Affordable Homes Programmes and various projects, including acquisition and funding, tax and structuring and planning and infrastructure. Examples include:
- Leading the real estate team advising on Sanctuary's acquisition, and the subsequent integration, of Swan Housing Association. This included pre-acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition strategic advice on the ongoing delivery of various development schemes, specifically on contractual and corporate joint venture structures, funding streams, infrastructure, and unlocking conditionality to advance site assembly. She is currently advising on the renegotiation of one of the key Swan development sites, agreeing revised terms to enable the development of the scheme to progress.
- Advising on its acquisition and development of a senior living affordable retirement village, which has involved agreeing the initial conditional sub-sale acquisition contract, negotiating overage arrangements, advising on ongoing development and infrastructure matters and providing advice on land holding within the group to manage development risk.
- Advising on the real estate aspects of the restructure of the group's student living portfolio, which involved the transfer of business and property assets by charitable entities within the group and included negotiating requisite consents with various third parties and advising on the charitable implications and considerations presented by the proposed restructure.
- Advising on the development and bulk disposal of a block of private rented sector residential units, including agreeing third party consents and advising on overage obligations.
- Providing ongoing advice on its strategic partnership with Cornwall Council following its acquisition of Cornwall Care in 2022, working closely with the development team to bring forward development sites.
- Advising Hyde Group in relation to real estate elements of its acquisition of Pinnacle Group, including advice on management lease structures.
- Advising Legal & General Affordable Homes in relation to a wide range of development matters (land-led, section 106 and open market acquisitions at golden brick and turn-key stages). Examples include:
- leading on a complex conditional shared ownership initiative with a major house-builder, pursuant to which Legal & General Affordable Homes will acquire a pipeline of shared ownership homes. This included devising processes for selection and approval of homes to be included in the initiative and a detailed sales and conveyancing process.
- agreeing a suite of bespoke documents with a national housebuilder for the acquisition of affordable section 106 homes. The suite of documents includes a golden brick agreement, a turnkey agreement and a development agreement, together with other ancillary documents. The model documents have since been utilised on a number of further transactions through which Legal & General Affordable Homes has contracted to acquire over 1,200 affordable homes across over 30 sites with maximum cost and time efficiency.
- Advising Flint Housing Limited (backed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI)), a for-profit registered provider, on three landmark social rent acquisitions: 85 units at North Kensington Gate and 63 units at the Portal, Acton and 172 units at Chase Farm, Enfield, including advice on all property matters (including onwards lettings), Building Safety Act compliance, planning, grant, tax, construction, and complex buyback arrangements.
Career & education
Career & education
Career highlights
2026
Gowling WLG (UK), Head of Affordable Housing
2025
Gowling WLG (UK), Co-Head of Affordable Housing
2018
Gowling WLG (UK), Principal Associate
2016
Gowling WLG (UK), Senior Associate
2016
Gowling WLG (UK), Associate
2014
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co, Associate
2013
Wragge & Co LLP, Solicitor
Languages
English
