Page 35 - Solving Housing Disputes

within the cadres of rights of officers, alongside a range of other professions,
to allow whatever expertise is needed in a dispute to be applied to it. The
expectation is that, following successful piloting, the national service would
itself be rolled out in stages, both as to categories of dispute and geographical
areas, evolving with the benefit of experience and review by HDEG. Over
time, this would alter the balance of work as between HDS, the County Court
and the FTT (PC) with the potential for judges to transfer from the latter to
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roles within HDS.

2.42 In addition to the expertise described at paragraph 2.36, other skills needed
might include financial, property management and mental health expertise. At
the various stages of the dispute resolution process, skill sets should be
deployed that can problem solve all the issues arising within the housing
relationship. So far as possible, skills should ultimately be employed in the
HDS so as to contribute to a multi-disciplinary culture which is not dominated
by any one skill and is able to effect solutions, such as works orders and
reconsideration of benefits decisions, although some skills may need to be
brought in as needed.

2.43 Funding for the HDS must be commensurate with the need to attract high
quality staff to the service. We address the issue of funding and cost for the
service below.

Accessing the HDS

2.44 The HDS must have a significant digital component, to promote efficiency,
timeliness, convenience and accessibility for those who are digitally capable.
Essential digital features of the HDS would include a digital case management
system for HDS officers, an online digital filing system and dashboard for
parties to upload and monitor relevant documents and the progress of their
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dispute. Digital case files from the HDS must also be capable of being

77 It is for this reason that we have not directed attention to the precise areas of work which would
necessarily be within the ambit of HDS and those which might permanently or indefinitely remain within
the current court/tribunal service. That would be dictated by experience and agreement over what is likely
to be a period of some years. See para 2.12, above.

78 Locally, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (https://www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk/) and Tenancy
Deposit Scheme (https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/deposit-disputes.html) both feature digital
case management, filing and dashboard systems. Either could form the basis for the digital system
adopted for the HDS pilot.
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