Ms Rebecca Keatinge:

It is not a prescribed tribunal and a number of complex matters go through the RTB. We believe there is a role for legal advice and representation for tenants in that forum.

With regard to the fear of a costs order, it is similar with the RTB. As an adjunct to that in respect of the RTB, we deal with some matters where we appeal to the High Court on a point of law. We are appealing a determination of the board and that is also a highly complex area. We see lay litigants in that process who are struggling to articulate their case. If one is seeking legal representation at the point where one is going to the High Court, that is another complicated scenario. It points to the need for legal representation at the earlier stage. As regards the fear of costs orders, we have had clients decide not to go to litigation because of the risk of a costs order. They would have been public interest cases which would have affected many other clients, similar to the example Ms Wall gave. The costs order consideration comes a little way down the line. One is initially assessing whether people have a claim, what the remedy is and then one comes to the costs consideration. It is not an isolated issue. There has to be a holistic approach to all the aspects.