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

Findings
This research showed that there were different patterns of decisions both between courts
and between individual judges in courts. Various possible explanations for the variations
between courts were explored:
differences between courts in levels of arrears;
the familiarity which claimants have with their local district judge, leading to a tailoring
of orders sought which they know the judge is likely to grant;
the prevalence of housing benefit problems;
attendance by the defendant at court;
the availability of housing advice for defendants, both in the community and at court.
It is not possible to show the different weight these factors have, but all are likely to play a
part in the differences observed. These factors may lead to the development of a particular
court culture, possibly also affected by procedural factors, such as pressures on listing and
the use of pro formas developed by each court.
There was also considerable variation between individual judges’ decisions. The qualitative
data from interviews with district judges sought to examine whether any of the following
factors could explain these differences:
length of experience;
type of legal practice before appointment;
attitudes to training and updating.
No clear patterns emerged, however.
The interview data suggests that relationships of trust between district judges and claimants
(who are generally repeat players) is significant. Whilst the relationship between trust and
outcome is merely suggestive, the interview data suggests that relationships of trust do
impact on the process. This was particularly the case in the busier courts in our sample,
where the district judges were scheduled to hear a case every few minutes or so. The
overarching theme behind this was personnel management by district judges of claimants’
representatives, and there was evidence of a reverse effect as well (that is, management of
judges by claimants’ representatives). This was made possible by a number of factors which
combine together:
ii