The Rent Review Specialist
PACT
Dispute Resolution
Depending on the nature of the dispute, there are various methods of resolution.
At rent review, the usual methods, a process known as referral, are arbitration and independent expert determination.
On tenancy expiry/.renewal, the usual procedure is the court, or less commonly PACT (Professional Arbitration on Court Terms). In some instances, usually involving building construction disputes, the court will encourage ADR (alternative dispute resolution), mediation, and conciliation.
Arbitration is the determination of a dispute by one or more independent and impartial third parties, rather than by the court.
Arbitrators are appointed by the parties in accordance with the terms of the arbitration agreement or in default by the court. At rent review, the arbitration agreement is usually the lease. The arbitrator may be appointed by agreement of the parties or in default by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, ("RICS") or in some leases by the Law Society or the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The RICS provides a dispute resolution service whereby on application by one or both parties the RICS appoints a suitably qualified person, usually a chartered surveyor, as arbitrator. A fee would be charged for the service. The arbitrator's charges are a matter for the arbitrator.
Arbitrators derive their authority from the Arbitration Act 1996. In outline, the arbitrator's determination, known as an award, must lie at or between the extremes of evidence presented by the parties. Whether the strict rules of evidence apply would be a matter for the parties to decide with the agreement of the arbitrator. Depending upon in what capacity the parties themselves or their advisers are acting, the procedure involves report and/or submission, counter-submission and/or points of reply, and possibly further examination. At rent review, the procedure is generally in writing, but oral hearings may be used as well for more complex matters. The arbitrator will inspect the premises and any comparables, ask questions of the parties or possibly make his own enquiries, subject to disclosing finding to the parties and inviting comment, deliberate then subject to prior payment f his costs publish the award.
At rent review, there may be two awards: the first award on rent, the final award on costs.
The matter of costs will depend on the award and any Calderbank offers. The general rule that costs follow the event does not have to apply; it would depend upon the circumstances. The arbitrator can award costs (any agreement in the lease re the parties' liability for costs is void under the Arbitration Act 1996) including the cost of the parties' themselves. The only grounds for appeal is on a point of law, misconduct or serious irregularity.
An Independent Expert derives his authority from the lease so parties' responsibility for costs will vary depending upon the wording of the lease. Where the lease is silent then unless the parties agree to share the costs, the party that made the application is usually responsible for the whole of the Independent Expert's costs.
At rent review, the usual methods, a process known as referral, are arbitration and independent expert determination.
On tenancy expiry/.renewal, the usual procedure is the court, or less commonly PACT (Professional Arbitration on Court Terms). In some instances, usually involving building construction disputes, the court will encourage ADR (alternative dispute resolution), mediation, and conciliation.
Arbitration is the determination of a dispute by one or more independent and impartial third parties, rather than by the court.
Arbitrators are appointed by the parties in accordance with the terms of the arbitration agreement or in default by the court. At rent review, the arbitration agreement is usually the lease. The arbitrator may be appointed by agreement of the parties or in default by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, ("RICS") or in some leases by the Law Society or the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The RICS provides a dispute resolution service whereby on application by one or both parties the RICS appoints a suitably qualified person, usually a chartered surveyor, as arbitrator. A fee would be charged for the service. The arbitrator's charges are a matter for the arbitrator.
Arbitrators derive their authority from the Arbitration Act 1996. In outline, the arbitrator's determination, known as an award, must lie at or between the extremes of evidence presented by the parties. Whether the strict rules of evidence apply would be a matter for the parties to decide with the agreement of the arbitrator. Depending upon in what capacity the parties themselves or their advisers are acting, the procedure involves report and/or submission, counter-submission and/or points of reply, and possibly further examination. At rent review, the procedure is generally in writing, but oral hearings may be used as well for more complex matters. The arbitrator will inspect the premises and any comparables, ask questions of the parties or possibly make his own enquiries, subject to disclosing finding to the parties and inviting comment, deliberate then subject to prior payment f his costs publish the award.
At rent review, there may be two awards: the first award on rent, the final award on costs.
The matter of costs will depend on the award and any Calderbank offers. The general rule that costs follow the event does not have to apply; it would depend upon the circumstances. The arbitrator can award costs (any agreement in the lease re the parties' liability for costs is void under the Arbitration Act 1996) including the cost of the parties' themselves. The only grounds for appeal is on a point of law, misconduct or serious irregularity.
An Independent Expert derives his authority from the lease so parties' responsibility for costs will vary depending upon the wording of the lease. Where the lease is silent then unless the parties agree to share the costs, the party that made the application is usually responsible for the whole of the Independent Expert's costs.