The case has been continued at court, so no decision has been made yet.
R. v Haringey London Borough Council, ex parte Ayub (1993) 25 HLR 566 (QBD) ;
Edinburgh District Council v Lyons, 1993 SCOLAG 106. It is perhaps worth noting that, Edinburgh is an authority with a stated policy of not seeking eviction where the arrears shown on the rent account are wholly due to housing benefit overpayments, as they were in Lyons. It is understood that the reason why that policy is not operated is that its computers lack software which can distinguish between different debts on a rent account. The practice of entering an overpayment of housing benefit on a rent account in such circumstances, so that it appeared to be rent arrears, has repeatedly been held to be maladministration by the Commissioner for Local Administration in England (the Ombudsman); e.g.Wychavon
District Council, Complaint 90/B/2514 (see App. 2) and Hackney London Borough Council,
Complaint 91/A/0730. I found this to be a very useful arguemen.
Thanks for all the information provided.
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