The Law Commission

The Law Commission

(Consultation Paper No 170)

LAND, VALUATION AND HOUSING TRIBUNALS

A Consultation Paper

London: TSO

The Law Commission was set up by section 1 of the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purpose of promoting the reform of the law.

The Law Commissioners are:

The Honourable Mr Justice Toulson, Chairman
Professor Hugh Beale, QC
Mr Stuart Bridge
Professor Martin Partington, CBE
Judge Alan Wilkie, QC

The Secretary of the Law Commission is Mr Michael Sayers and its offices are at Conquest House, 37-38 John Street, Theobalds Road, London WC1N 2BQ.

This consultation paper, completed on 12 December 2002, is circulated for comment and criticism only. It does not represent the final views of the Law Commission.

The Law Commission would be grateful for comments on this consultation paper before 14 March 2003. Comments may be sent –

By post to:

Charlotte Crilly
Law Commission
Conquest House
37-38 John Street
Theobalds Road
London
WC1N 2BQ

Tel: 020-7453-1228
Fax: 020-7453-1297

By e-mail to:

housingandadmin@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk

It would be helpful if, where possible, comments sent by post could also be sent on disk, or by e-mail to the above address, in any commonly used format.

All responses to this Consultation Paper will be treated as public documents, and may be made available to third parties, unless the respondent specifically requests that a response be treated as confidential, in whole or in part.

The text of this consultation paper is available on the Internet at:

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk

CONTENTS

PART I: INTRODUCTION	Part I
Background to the Consultation Paper	1.1
Terms of reference	1.3
Scope of the Consultation Paper	1.7
Content of the Consultation Paper	1.9
Advisory Group	1.15
PART II: BACKGROUND TO THE LAND, VALUATION ANHOUSING TRIBUNALS	Part II
Overview of the Existing Structure	2.1
The Individual Tribunals	2.3
Adjudicator to HM Land Registry	2.4
The Agricultural Land Tribunal	2.5
The Commons Commissioners	2.6
The Lands Tribunal	2.7
The Residential Property Tribunal Service	2.8
The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal	2.11
The Rent Assessment Committee	2.12
The Rent Tribunal	2.13
The Valuation Tribunal	2.14
PART III: THE LEGGATT REVIEW AND THE NEED FOR REFORM	Part III
Introduction	3.1
The Leggatt Review Principles	3.4
Coherence	3.6
Independence	3.8
Jurisdictional Issues	3.11
Our Approach	3.13
PART IV: OPTIONS FOR STRUCTURAL REFORM	Part IV
Introduction	4.1
Retaining the Current System?	4.7
Party and Party v Citizen and State Disputes	4.9
Party and Party Tribunals	4.11
Citizen and State Tribunals	4.11
Hybrid Tribunal	4.11
Alternative Dispute Resolution	4.13
Options for Reform	4.18
Option 1: Rationalise the Current Structure	4.19
A Common Appeal Route for all LVH Tribunals	4.20
Rationalisation of the Lands Tribunal	4.28
Unification of the RPTS Tribunals	4.34
Option 2: An Amalgamated Tribunal	4.39
Summary of the Amalgamated Tribunal Option	4.51
Option 3: A Unified Tribunal	4.53
Summary of the Unified Tribunal Option	4.58
Our Provisional Conclusions	4.60
Consultation Questions	4.61
General Points	4.62
Option 1: Rationalise the Current Structure	4.67
A Common Appeal Route for all LVH Tribunals	4.68
Rationalisation of the Structure of the Lands Tribunal	4.71
Unification of the RPTS Tribunals	4.74
Option 2: An Amalgamated Tribunal	4.77
Option 3: A Unified Tribunal	4.80
PART V: JURISDICTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS	Part V
Introduction	5.1
The Individual Tribunals	5.6
Adjudicator to HM Land Registry	5.6
The Agricultural Land Tribunal	5.7
The Commons Commissioners	5.8
The Lands Tribunal	5.9
The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal	5.11
The Rent Assessment Committee	5.12
The Rent Tribunal	5.13
The Valuation Tribunal	5.14
Sharing of Jurisdiction Between Tribunals	5.16
The Need for Reform	5.17
Consultation Questions	5.20
PART VI: THE WAY FORWARD	Part VI
APPENDIX A: ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS	Appendix A
APPENDIX B: ADJUDICATOR TO HM LAND REGISTRY	Appendix B
APPENDIX C: THE AGRICULTURAL LAND TRIBUNAL	Appendix C
APPENDIX D: COMMONS COMMISSIONERS	Appendix D
APPENDIX E: THE LANDS TRIBUNAL	Appendix E
APPENDIX F: THE LEASEHOLD VALUATION TRIBUNAL	Appendix F
APPENDIX G: THE RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE	Appendix G
APPENDIX H: THE RENT TRIBUNAL	Appendix H
APPENDIX I: THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL	Appendix I