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Hi all,
A CCJ was made for possession by the Council + money was ordered to be repaid.
The court had no jurisdiction to make the order IMO as Housing Benefit Regulations always decide liability, not the County Court, and a previous Claim by the HB Claimant was to try and make the Council make a Decision as to entitlement - the HB/CT was suspended. In court the last time the judge failed to get the Council to show evidence that the previous Claim had been dealt with - it hadn't - they lied.
HB at the time of each Claim was still suspended by the Council, and therefore not owed by the HB Claimant - the point being that a Decision to stop HB would allow an appeal. As it is the last hearing whipped away that right.
So, the question is: as/if the judge had no authority to effectively make a decision on entitlement to HB, what's the procedure for challenging the decision? Setting aside looks possible under Part 13 of the CPR - would that work? I note it's more for when Claims don't get received etc but it seems the rules allow setting aside if it appears to the court there is another good reason.
Or should the decision be appealed instead?
That HB is still technically suspended means continuing entitlement to HB until proven otherwise - the correct means for doing that being laid down in Acts of parliament in the form of the HB Regulations etc requiring that decisions be made under those regs and challenged that way. Failing to make a decision either way then saying the money is owed without any means of recourse to the HB Regs isn't allowable, I firmly believe.
A CCJ was made for possession by the Council + money was ordered to be repaid.
The court had no jurisdiction to make the order IMO as Housing Benefit Regulations always decide liability, not the County Court, and a previous Claim by the HB Claimant was to try and make the Council make a Decision as to entitlement - the HB/CT was suspended. In court the last time the judge failed to get the Council to show evidence that the previous Claim had been dealt with - it hadn't - they lied.
HB at the time of each Claim was still suspended by the Council, and therefore not owed by the HB Claimant - the point being that a Decision to stop HB would allow an appeal. As it is the last hearing whipped away that right.
So, the question is: as/if the judge had no authority to effectively make a decision on entitlement to HB, what's the procedure for challenging the decision? Setting aside looks possible under Part 13 of the CPR - would that work? I note it's more for when Claims don't get received etc but it seems the rules allow setting aside if it appears to the court there is another good reason.
Or should the decision be appealed instead?
That HB is still technically suspended means continuing entitlement to HB until proven otherwise - the correct means for doing that being laid down in Acts of parliament in the form of the HB Regulations etc requiring that decisions be made under those regs and challenged that way. Failing to make a decision either way then saying the money is owed without any means of recourse to the HB Regs isn't allowable, I firmly believe.
