Page 41 - Solving Housing Disputes

are free to do so; their rights to appeal the Stage 4 determination are unaffected
by whether or not they do so.

2.55 Where the participants are dissatisfied with a Stage 2 proposed resolution or
wish to explore the prospect of an alternative agreement, the HDS should
facilitate resolution through whatever approach appears most appropriate.
93
This could be categorised as mediation, structured negotiation or arbitration,
including, where a party is a big housing provider, a wider approach to address
systemic problems. The key is to deploy the approach most suited to the type
of dispute and the behaviour of the parties. 94 It is important that this be
provided from within the HDS from the outset rather than outsourcing the
function to alternate providers. HDS officers would need training in a range
of ADR approaches, from interventionist to passive, to be able to deploy them,
adapted as may be, depending on how the dispute is progressing. Where
vulnerability is in issue, a vulnerable party should receive communication
95
support through an intermediary and be referred by the HDS to a panelled
lawyer, or to their own independent advisor, for advice on the content of any
negotiated agreement at Stage 3.

Stage 4 - adjudication

2.56 The conclusions of the HDS would be issued at Stage 4 through a fully
reasoned, formal determination on all rights and interests at issue within the
housing relationship. This may embody an outcome agreed by the parties at
Stage 3, or, where agreement is not forthcoming, a final HDS determination

93 Where disputes are binary.

94 There may be cases where one party refuses to engage with the Stage 3 process, particularly in the
early stages when the benefits of HDS are less well-known. That does not mean that it will be redundant,
as the other party may wish to take issue with something in the Stage 2 assessment; furthermore, the
unwillingness of the other party to engage may affect the final determination, e.g. in an illegal eviction
or harassment case, or in one of anti-social behaviour, the failure to engage may colour the circumstances
or the outcome, e.g. where motive is in issue.

95 Intermediaries are communication experts, typically speech and language therapists, who are
commonly used in criminal trials as a special measure to help vulnerable defendants and witnesses give
evidence, see JUSTICE (2017), Mental Health and Fair Trial, para 2.52 available at
https://justice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/JUSTICE-Mental-Health-and-Fair-Trial-Report-
2.pdf

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