A mediation service to arbitrate in disputes between tenants and landlords is being tested out in a new pilot in a bid to ease the backlog of housing cases heading for court.
The new service will offer mediation as part of the possession process to try and help landlords and tenants reach a mutual agreement and keep people in their homes.
Helping to resolve disputes through mediation will enable courts to prioritise urgent cases, supporting landlords and tenants to resolve issues quickly without the need for a formal hearing.
The mediation pilot will work within the existing court arrangements in England and Wales.
But the mediation pilot was greeted with caution by the Law Society of England and Wales yesterday, which warned that it must not replace the usual routes to access justice.
Law Society president David Greene commented: “Mediation has an important place in dispute resolution, however, housing is such an essential life requirement that mediation cannot replace the usual routes of access to justice through the courts or take money from schemes that facilitate that access.
“We know that evictions are on the increase. In January, the government announced another extension to the ban on evictions, although those with substantial rent arrears are exempt, meaning fewer tenants will be protected from eviction.
“Both the eviction ban and mediation have their place when people are facing homelessness in the middle of a pandemic. However, vulnerable and unrepresented tenants may feel pressured to undertake mediation and may be misrepresented, as mediators are not housing dispute specialists.”
The Law Society is particularly concerned that the pilot could impact on the sustainability of legal aid, particularly the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), which provides an emergency solicitor on the day to anyone facing eviction proceedings.
Greene added: “The £3m allocated to the pilot would be more usefully channelled into the HPCDS and early legal advice, which ensures tenants have the access to justice and specialist legal advice that can stop them being evicted.
“Despite calls from across the housing sector to the Legal Aid Agency and the Ministry of Justice to ensure the continued availability of funded legal advice, investments have not been made.
“Mediation should not be seen as the whole solution to the current court delays and backlogs. Any remedy to these issues must focus on ensuring all tenants have access to courts, court services and specialist legal advice.
“The mediation pilot must therefore be approached with caution and be more explicit about what it intends to do to help the public achieve justice. It must go beyond simply clearing the backlog and move forward with the struggles of the housing sector at its core.”
Comments (5)
It might be pointed out that the Government have artifically delayed the courts to suit their own purposes. They have under funded them to reach the situation we are now in. It is even telling those with a court order that bailiffs should not enforce. How can anyone trust a system so widely manipulated. With such manipulation affecting every part of housing I would not trust any form of mediation or arbitration as they will no doubt be manipulated by whatever terms of reference they have imposed upon them. We are now being told who we may and may not offer property to, we are being told whether to permit pets. Shame the people coming up with all these ideas don’t invest their own money into providing housing. The current actions are merely serving to drive decent landlords away as we are no longer being allowed to make our own business decisions, carry out our own risk assessments or control of our investment. Like spoilt children they will push the limits until the market collapses as they did with the Rent Act 1977.
Guarantors, a MUST for 2021 and beyond
Agreed but the real problem is none of us know the next bonkers idea they will come up with. Even with a guarantor you still have a shed load of agro if things go wrong but I accept you have a bit more reassurance. One has to question if it is worth the effort. What happens if the guarantor sells or moves? More expenses in tracking them down.
Nothing is fool-proof Will, as a Housing legal friend of mine used to say, if you want a Guarantee, buy a Toaster.
But a suitable Guarantor doesn’t tend to move as often as tenants and are far easily Traced.
… At a cost to Landlords with No impact – effect on a Tenant ! – say no more.