DIRECTOR of the Rent Services Unit Cecile Croll has advised persons who are having problems with their landlords or tenants to visit the unit before taking their cases to court.

Croll, who was speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, said the unit has the responsibility to handle all matters relating to rent with the exception of recovery of possession.

"If someone needs to recover their home from a tenant they will have to go to the court, however, everything else is handled by us in-office," she said.

According to Croll, persons who experience problems often go straight to the court, which sometimes add unnecessary burden to the court system as well as the individual.

"The court does not only handle rental matters so unless you have a court like in the Corporate Area, where the courts handle civil and criminal matters separately, you would find that you will have to wait over an extended period because the court has so many cases to deal with," she said.

In addition, she said, "a number of persons get intimidated by going to court, especially elderly persons, so this is an avenue for them to come to a tribunal if the problem reaches to that state and have the matter dealt with".

".We have a 99 per cent success rate in-office. The other per cent which is not settled in-house is referred to our board," said Croll. Cases that are referred to the board are presided over by the chairman or the deputy chairman and two board members, she said.

Each party involved in the dispute have the option of taking their lawyers or any other representation or witness to the hearing.

"The order of the board is really the order of the court. We follow the same procedures like that of the court and the hearing is held as efficiently and effectively as possible," the Rent Services Unit director said.

Complaints, she said, may call the unit and request a complaint form. "After the complainant submits the form, the unit will arrange a meeting with the parties in question, at which stage both parties will provide the relevant documentation that relates to the issue or issues being dealt with," Croll said.

The Rent Services Unit was established in 2004 and offers administrative support to the Rent Assessment Board. The board, established in 1944, has been incorporated within the unit, and focuses on administering the judicial aspect of the Rent Restriction Act.

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