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

The shortest adjournment was suggested by DJ Y, who said she would tell the tenant:
“She must go down to CAB now, and [I would] make her promise that she would go
here and now. …I might even say ‘I want you to come back tomorrow morning, you
know, and tell me what everybody’s said, and what’s happening’ just so...that there’s
a degree of urgency for them.”
This very personal, interventionist, approach represents one end of a range of approaches
amongst the ten district judges who said they would directly advise the tenant about her
future course of action. In three other instances this included ‘instructions’ to attend at the
housing benefit office. Five judges would suggest that the tenant should seek advice from,
or said they would ‘refer’ her to a solicitor, money adviser, or the CAB:
“They’re used to the paperwork, they know how to fill the forms in and they know how
to chase the system.” (DJ Z)
Two district judges would tell the tenant they expected to see a receipt or some confirmation
from the housing benefit office at the next hearing.
At the other end of this range lay a more impersonal approach adopted by two district
judges, with an emphasis on the consequences for the tenant if she failed to sort out her
housing benefit by the time of the next hearing. DJ M would explain to the tenant that he
would then find it “difficult not to make a possession order, difficult to suspend”. The
warning which DJ P expressed would “emphasise that any failure to co-operate in these
circumstances is likely to have very serious adverse implications”. This same judge would
also:
“explain to the housing officer that unless his or her colleague has sorted it out by
next time, he or she is likely to be on the receiving end of an order to attend”.
Some district judges were clearly concerned that the tenant might be using housing benefits
as an excuse for her failure to pay the rent, and were prepared to take more formal action.
DJ A said that he would make a direction that the tenant attend the next hearing “to give her
a chance to explain” and would place a note on the court file that “the local authority are
saying that they haven’t received anything”. Another district judge would note “the reason
for the adjournment”, and a third would make a note of the tenant’s referral to Money Advice
– so that if by the next hearing an adviser had not become involved and the position
regarding the arrears remained the same, there would be an outright order.
Conclusions on housing benefit
There is no doubt that housing benefit problems are contributing to the increased number of
adjournments, and have a marked impact on judicial decision-making. DJ G, when asked
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