Page 101 - Solving Housing Disputes

support amongst the profession for a specialist housing tribunal, on the basis that
it would offer “greater procedural flexibility, more expertise, lower costs, and a
greater commitment to the ‘enabling role’ said to be a distinctive feature of
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tribunals” but acknowledged hostility to the transfer of jurisdiction over claims
for possession and disrepair in respect of rented dwellings, mobile homes and
286
caravans, to the FTT (PC).

4.8 More recently, in November 2018, the MHCLG issued a Call for Evidence for a
287
Housing Court. The Civil Justice Council formed the view that the money
needed to create a sole forum would be better spent elsewhere, 288 the HLPA
generally opposed the proposal, on the basis that the Call for Evidence appeared
289
motivated by a desire for speedier evictions. The Chartered Institute of Legal
Executives (CILEX) thought a new integrated Housing Court would benefit
litigants, subject to adequate judicial specialisation, court staff and court locations
290
so as to promote access to justice.

285 Ibid, para 5.28.

286 The Law Commission, Housing: Proportionate Dispute Resolution – The Role of Tribunals
(Consultation Paper No 180), para 3.1, available at https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lawcom-prod-
storage-
11jsxou24uy7q/uploads/2015/03/cp180_Housing_Proportionate_Dispute_Resolution_Role_of_Tribuna
ls.pdf The FTT (PC) was established in 2013, as an amalgamation of the Residential Property Tribunal
Service (within which there was a number of disparate jurisdictions), the Agricultural Lands Tribunal,
and the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry, Edward Cousins, ‘The Land Registration Jurisdiction: An
Analysis of the First Twelve Years’, in Amy Goymour, Stephen Watterson and Martin Dixon (eds.), New
Perspectives on Land Registration: Contemporary Problems and Solutions (Hart Publishing, Oxford,
2018), p. 26 - 27. A 2003 Law Commission report explains the confusing arrangements prior to the
introduction of the Property Chamber, see Law Commission, ‘Land Valuation and Housing Tribunals:
The Future’ (2003), p 93 (Appendix A).

287 Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmen
t_data/file/755326/Considering_the_case_for_a_housing_court.pdf

288 Available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/civil-justice-council-says-no-need-for-specialist-ho
using-court/5069016.article?utm_source=dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%20GAZ14
1016

289 Available at http://www.hlpa.org.uk/cms/2019/01/hlpa-housing-court-consultation-response/

290 Available at https://www.cilex.org.uk/~/media/pdf_documents/main_cilex/policy_and_governance/
consultation_responses/cilex_submission_-_housing_courts_call_for_evidence.pdf?la=en
95