The exercise of judicial discretion in rent arrears cases - Sheffield ...

As another put it:
“My starting point is, if I see the arrears are less than two hundred pounds, then I will
probably say, ‘Well why is it reasonable that I should make an order at all? Why not
adjourn it on terms?’” (DJ U)
The impact of the level of arrears on orders is considered further in Chapter 7.
Another reason for adjourning was where the tenant had made an agreement with the
landlord and was keeping to it:
“You’ve reached an agreement, the tenant is paying – why should I penalise them by
putting on a suspended order?” (DJ O)
This was clearly linked to an awareness of the greater legal risks associated with a
suspended possession order than an adjournment (see the discussion of tolerated
trespassers, above p. 8). As one judge pondered:
“There are so many disadvantages to a suspended order legally, that we ought to
make more of these [adjournments on terms], but do they actually do the trick? Is it
an effective method of paying the rent, in other words? I don’t know the answer to
that question at all.” (DJ G)
This change in practice has also been reflected in the requests made by landlords and to
some extent this must be seen as a reinforcing process. As judges appear more inclined to
grant adjournments landlords are more likely to ask for them. This is explored further in
Chapter 5.
The impact of attendance on outcomes
Representation was shown to assist tenants in obtaining more favourable outcomes in 1996.
This pattern was also replicated in 2004, with those being represented by a solicitor or duty
desk the least likely to subject to an outright possession order and the most likely to obtain
an adjournment. This could not be explained by those being represented having lower level
of arrears; indeed they had the highest average number of weeks in arrears at the date of
the hearing.
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