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

“Well, the last list I did I probably adjourned out of, say, twenty, about four – just for
housing benefit, because it hadn’t yet been sorted out. And of those four, at least
two were at the request of the landlord.” (DJ G)
These adjournments inevitably lead to more cases being listed at a future date.
The role of the social landlord. Local authorities who are both landlords and responsible
for housing benefit administration came in for some criticism, for example from DJ J who
said “when it comes to housing benefit delays, they can be caused by…their own
administrative shortcomings”, and from DJ X who felt that “local authorities should not be
bringing their cases if there are housing benefit issues.” However, she also acknowledged
the difficulties faced by local authorities in saying that:
“Housing benefit, in my experience, works quite well if you have only between five
and ten per cent of your tenant population on it. If you’ve got ninety per cent, which I
suspect is the case in the inner London boroughs, how can you cope? You don’t
have the finances for it.”
On the other hand, some district judges expressed considerable sympathy with housing
associations which:
“have their books to balance. They know of these delays, but they still feel that
it’s…it’s prudent to issue these proceedings.” (DJ I)
This perceived difference between social landlords may affect the outcome of cases if
judges consider it unfair for housing associations to bear the financial burden of arrears
caused by housing benefit.
Comparisons over space and time. Similar views about the difficulties caused by housing
benefit administration were expressed by district judges in each area of the country where
interviews took place. Two district judges were able to compare the administration of local
authorities where court jurisdictions straddled boundaries; however, in both cases this was a
comparison of “appalling” with “mediocre”, or “dreadful” as against “slightly better”. Three of
the district judges interviewed (two in London, one in the Midlands) felt that problems caused
by housing benefit were improving:
“When I was first appointed, housing benefit was almost a national joke; it’s now
merely a service under pressure.”
On the other hand, two (in West Country and in Northern 2 courts) considered that the
problems were becoming worse:
“Certainly within the last year it’s become steadily worse and is far worse than it’s
ever been before”.
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