Hi Folks

Local Social Landlord (Ex Council Stock Tansfer) has started to take tenents with rent arrears to the small claims court.

Thats fine as it will certainly stop many facing court action for eviction, however it will effect their credit rating, allow wages and bank arrestment etc.

Any other Landlord or Authority also doing this?

What do others think of this route to recovery?

And why exactly should local authority tenants be exempt from debt recovery action? If they fail to pay rent they should be sued and should have a credit blacklisting in order to prevent them getting credit cards and loans which take up income which they would otherwise spend on paying their rent.

I applaud this local authority - they are taking the right step. However, as with all county court proceedings, one would hope they are using it as a last resort rather than as a first resort, but the fact still remains, the reason they have to take the tenant to court is because the tenant failed to pay the rent - this drives the council tax up.

And of course local authorities, DWP and HMRC who fail to pay benefit due promptly could also be sued in the small claims court. And in my view the Welfare rights trade should use this tactic much more widely - just as we did a few years ago.

As well as Wel Ben I also do Housing and Debt so I deal with a lot of RSL rent arrears cases but I have not come accross this before. The only situation where it makes sense to issue a money only claim is if the tenancy has already ended. In rent arrears cases the claimant will usually ask for a money judgement at the same time as a possession order. If the arrears are not paid when the tenancy ends (i.e. if the tenant breaches a suspended possession order) then the money part of the judgement can be enforced as normal. I have not come accross a case where an RSL has ever tried to enforce a debt for rent arrears in any other way than by possession proceedigs and I can't really understand why they would be doing this, the only thing I can think of is if the RSL view a money only claim as cheaper and easier but a rent possession claim is pretty straightforwardd anyway - the RSLs I come into contact with usually prepare there own claims and represtent themselves in court without instructing solicitors - so I am really at a bit of a loss. If you find out any more I would be very interested to know.

In response to the 1st reply in this this thread - there is no mechanism that I am aware of that arrears to an RSL could increase concil tax, I think you are getting confussed between local authorities and Housing Associations.

With respect, this rather ignores the reality of why most tenants get into debt with their rent: delays in processing their HB, errors in assessing their HB, an illogical and complicated means tested benefits system which often leaves people floundering, excessively high rents charged by some social landlords, lack of income maximisation work by rent arrears collection staff who don't see it as part of their job, remote rent payment practices, the pressures of juggling money to try and make ends meet on very low incomes, debtors resorting to illegal and/or excessive cost creditors to pay rent arrears, etc.

All borne out both by experiences of advice workers and several pieces of research.

Although I agree and admit that in a lot of cases, it is not the tenant's fault that they accrue arrears because of failure to understand the benefit system, delay in processing benefit for example, there are an equal number of tenants who get into the arrears situation through their own fault, particularly with the new local housing allowance allowing direct to tenant payments who are then free to spend that money on anything but their rent until the problem catches up with them by way of possession proceedings or compulsory payments direct to landlord as the tenant cannot be trusted!

I have a tenant who has just been found out to have several thousand pounds of capital which he did not declare whilst claiming income support. He got me to help him fill in the housing benefit application when it was reviewed - I confirmed he was still on income support and ticked the appropriate box which meant that no other questions as to income and capital had to be answered on this particular design of form. He now blames me because he got caught out by the DWP fraud squad which automatically stopped his HB payments to me. After 8 weeks of messing about his HB has been revised, but because the council Barnsley MBC are having a new computer installed, I wont get paid until mid January 2006 at least, possibly later than that! So thats 12 weeks minimum without any rent from one of my properties with the blasted tenant blam,ing everyone but himself for the arrears situation he has not got into through not being honest with his claim - who suffers - not him - ME - being without rent for months and having to spend hours trying to sort the matter out.

I would appreciate comments on the legality of what Barnsley MBC are doing - they clearly have all the information to process the claim but are stopped from inputting data until the new computer goes live and is working correctly which is when they will start the backlog clearance. Surely they should compensate me for the delay?

If your client is in rent arrears due to delays in HB then all is not lost. S/he could join the local authority to the claim for the purposes of claiming indemnity/ contribution.

The only problem to the above suggestion is that it may cause the LA to use possession proceedings (safer option for them) where arrears are caused by HB delays.