Mediation and housing possessions is a prominent topic at the moment with mediation now getting the recognition it deserves for its ability to resolve cases efficiently and effectively.
This is something we’ve seen first-hand through providing our mediation services. The government have also recently introduced the new Housing Possession Mediation Service which reaffirms the power of mediation when it comes to housing possession cases.
In this article we will look at mediation and housing possessions from our experience of working on a current case. Then we will look at the Housing Possession Mediation Service in more detail to show you how mediation can play such a key role in resolving housing possession cases.
How we’re helping
We’re currently mediating between a housing association and a tenant as the tenant is refusing access to the property to carry out gas safety checks, a legal requirement.
We’re helping the housing association to:
- Understand why the tenant doesn’t want them in the property
- Identify if there is anything they can do to help the tenant feel comfortable granting access
- Consider how can they prevent this happening again
We’ve highlighted this case to help show you that mediation can help all parties involved:
- Tenants
- Social landlords
- Private landlords
- Letting agents
And that mediation can be a powerful, cost-effective tool to help with different types of disputes, such as:
- Possession cases
- Gaining access
- Carrying out repairs
- Rent arrears
- Evictions and threatened evictions
- Breach of tenancy terms
- Anti-social behaviour
Whatever issues you come across and however frequently they occur, we can help you find resolutions through mediation. We can help you and your tenants to avoid lengthy, costly, and stressful court proceedings.
Housing Possession Mediation Service
The government introduced the new Housing Possession Mediation Service in February 2021 as part of the existing current court process for housing possession cases.
The goal is to decrease the number of cases that end up requiring a face to face court hearing.
The service provides a trained, neutral mediator, independent from the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, who works with both parties to resolve the issues.
The government recognises that mediation is less stressful, less expensive, and finds quicker resolutions than going to court. Importantly, it can also help to alleviate some of the backlog of cases due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the government scheme, The Society of Mediators aims to conduct mediation remotely within 10 days of a referral.
At ADR we make contact within 24-48 hours and we can take cases from initial consultation to full resolution in that period too. That’s how effective mediation can be. Disputes can run for many months and then we can resolve them overnight.
You can find out more about the government’s Housing Possession Mediation Service here.
Conducting mediation during Covid-19
There’s a common misconception that the pandemic is making it more difficult for us to conduct mediation. In fact, the opposite is the case.
Through people now being more accepting of using technology to communicate, and more knowledgeable about what’s possible, we’ve found we can resolve cases quicker now and often just via the telephone or through video calls.
Less cases now need face to face mediation sessions which speeds up finding a resolution. Plus, we can now help resolve more cases in less time as this extra speed helps free up resources.
Post-pandemic it’s likely this trend will continue, although of course we will be carrying out face to face sessions as always when we need to.
Mediation and housing possessions
We’ve provided lots of information about how valuable mediation can be when it comes to neighbour disputes, which increased during the lockdowns. But now, especially with us hopefully continuing to move out of the pandemic and with a huge backlog of court cases, we think it’s important to talk about mediation more broadly.
Mediation can help housing providers and tenants on a large scale, especially with issues such as housing possession cases. Consider it before jumping straight to legal action. Save yourself time, money and stress whilst building stronger relationships with your tenants to prevent future issues. Mediation is all about finding mutually beneficial conclusions, after all.
There’s no doubt that housing possession issues are a sensitive topic at the moment with many tenants struggling financially and many landlords suffering from missed rent payments and other issues.
This makes using mediation all the more important. We can help on an emotional level and on a practical level, helping all parties move forward amicably and in agreement.
If you want to discuss a current case or if you want to find out how we can help you prepare for new cases that may arise in the future, we’re now offering free 1-hour consultations.
Contact us today, book yours and add effective mediation to your arsenal when it comes to resolving housing possession cases.
