A fresh call for legal aid practitioners to bid for revamped housing contracts shows just how unviable the work has become - potentially leaving families struggling with rising rents, mortgage payments and debt without proper access to justice, the Law Society has warned.

The Legal Aid Agency has been tendering for new housing loss prevention advice service (HLPAS) contracts, which begin in August. HLPAS will replace the existing housing possession court duty scheme, offering early legal advice on social welfare law matters before court as well as on-the-day advice and representation in court.

The tender finally opened last November. However, last week, the agency revealed that it did not receive ‘compliant’ bids in 12 procurement areas, including Bedford, Crewe, Darlington, Hull, Liverpool, Teesside and Wigan.

Law Society president Lubna Shuja said the lack of bids showed that the work has become unviable for providers.

‘For many, this type of contract is becoming increasingly difficult to make this work financially. As a result, some are instead choosing to leave the legal aid market altogether,’ Shuja said.

‘We are really concerned that this could lead to less support being available for families at risk of losing their home at a time when we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. More and more people are struggling with rising rents, spiralling debt and mortgage costs. We already know from our advice desert maps that 24.4m people (41%) do not have access to a housing legal aid provider.'

Noting that the government's review of the civil legal aid market is not due to report until 2024, Shuja called for 'an immediate injection of funding into the system to prevent it from collapse'.

Latest government statistics show steep increases in mortgage and landlord possession claims and actions. For instance, there was a 42% increase in landlord possession claims between October and December 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.

Simon Mullings, co-chair of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, said: ‘The government has now just entered into a review of sustainability in the civil legal aid sector but not announced any measures to address the chronic shortage of suppliers.

‘The review is diagnostic and likely to take two years or more before it has any impact whatsoever. The fact that several critical areas, where housing possession cases will be going through the courts in large numbers, were not able to attract providers to deliver HLPAS is ample evidence that as far as sustainability goes, the patient needs emergency treatment right now.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘We are investing £10m a year to make sure housing legal aid gets to the people that need it most and are working closely with law firms across the country to support this important service.’

The department said it has organised feedback sessions with housing providers and would continue to work with the market to encourage more law firms to deliver services. It added that wherever tenants live, legal aid remains available through the civil legal advice telephone service.

 

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