Information, not legal advice. If you have received a tribunal application, note the deadline in the tribunal's directions and get advice from a solicitor quickly.
80%
of decisions with a known outcome ended with an order (1,012 of 1,259)
£6,000
median award where an order was made (unlicensed HMO £6,534; selective £5,645)
256 days
median from application to decision
What is a rent repayment order?
Under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, a tenant (or the council, where rent was paid through universal credit or housing benefit) can ask the First-tier Tribunal to order the landlord to repay rent. The landlord must have committed one of the offences listed in section 40. For landlords, the main ones are:
- controlling or managing an unlicensed HMO (Housing Act 2004, s.72(1)) or an unlicensed house in a selective licensing area (s.95(1));
- unlawful eviction or harassment of occupiers (Protection from Eviction Act 1977);
- using or threatening violence to get in (Criminal Law Act 1977, s.6);
- failing to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition order;
- breaching a banning order;
- from 1 May 2026, new Renters' Rights Act offences such as misusing a possession ground. Database and ombudsman offences will only apply once those duties start (database registration from 15 Dec 2026 by region; ombudsman expected 2028).
Rent repayment orders and the Renters' Rights Act 2025
From 1 May 2026 the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the regime for offences committed on or after that date:
- the maximum period of rent that can be ordered rises from 12 months to 2 years;
- the time limit for a tenant to apply rises from 12 months to 2 years after the offence;
- orders can be made against superior landlords (reversing the effect of Rakusen v Jepsen) and, in some cases, company directors and officers.
The commencement regulations say these amendments have no effect for offences committed before 1 May 2026, or for the part of a continuing offence that fell before that date. So a licence that has been missing since 2025 is judged on the old rules for the months before 1 May 2026 and on the new rules after.
Rent repayment order calculator (statutory maximum only)
This gives the ceiling on an order, not a prediction. Tribunals usually award less than the maximum unless the landlord has been convicted.
Rent repayment orders by year
| Year decided | Decisions | |
|---|
| 2018 | 25 | |
| 2019 | 106 | |
| 2020 | 164 | |
| 2021 | 222 | |
| 2022 | 144 | |
| 2023 | 187 | |
| 2024 | 184 | |
| 2025 | 227 | |
| 2026 (to Sep) | 131 | |
Councils with the most rent repayment order decisions
| Council | Decisions | Median award |
|---|
| Tower Hamlets | 108 | £8,982 |
| Camden | 77 | £11,268 |
| Newham | 73 | £6,281 |
| Hackney | 65 | £10,415 |
| Nottingham | 60 | £4,590 |
| Waltham Forest | 50 | £6,593 |
| Lambeth | 47 | £8,400 |
| Haringey | 46 | £8,537 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 46 | £9,600 |
| Liverpool | 41 | £3,569 |
| Southwark | 41 | £12,116 |
| Greenwich | 35 | £5,060 |
Data: 1,427 de-duplicated RRO decisions on GOV.UK dated 12 Mar 2012 to 24 Aug 2026. Outcomes and amounts are extracted automatically from the decision text; a manual check of a sample found the award correct in most but not all cases. Open the decision for the full reasons.
If you have received a rent repayment order application
- Read the tribunal's directions and diary every deadline. Missing one can mean you cannot rely on your evidence.
- If the property still needs a licence, apply now. It limits the period of the offence. See unlicensed property: what to do.
- Gather the tenancy agreement, rent records, utility bills you paid and any correspondence with the council.
- Get advice from a solicitor on defences such as reasonable excuse. We do not act in tribunal cases; the form below can put you in touch with an SRA-regulated firm, and we may receive a referral fee (see how we make money).
Check your council's record: all council licensing pages · civil penalties · postcode check.
Rent repayment order questions
What is a rent repayment order?
A rent repayment order (RRO) is an order by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) that a landlord repays rent to a tenant, or repays universal credit or housing benefit to the council, because the landlord committed one of the housing offences listed in section 40 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The commonest is letting a property that needed a licence without one.
What is the rent repayment order time limit?
For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, a tenant must apply within 2 years of the offence (it was 12 months before the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes). For offences before 1 May 2026 the old 12-month limit still applies. The offence must have been committed within that period before the tenant applies, so once the offence stops (for example because a licence application is duly made), time starts to run out for a claim.
How much can a rent repayment order be for?
For licensing offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 the order can cover rent for a period of up to 2 years during which the offence was being committed. For earlier periods the cap is 12 months. Following Upper Tribunal guidance, the tribunal usually starts from the rent paid in that period, deducts utilities the landlord paid for the tenant, then reduces it to reflect how serious the offence was, the landlord's conduct and finances, and any conviction. If the landlord has been convicted of the offence, the tribunal must usually order the maximum.
Can a rent repayment order be made for an unlicensed HMO?
Yes. Controlling or managing an HMO that needs a licence but is not licensed (Housing Act 2004 s.72(1)) is one of the listed offences. In the 1,427 RRO decisions we indexed, 929 alleged an unlicensed HMO and 589 an unlicensed property in a selective licensing area.
What is the rent repayment order success rate?
Of the 1,259 decisions where we could identify the outcome, the tribunal made an order in 80%. The median award where an order was made was £6,000. Tenant-side firms quote their own success rates; these figures are from the published decisions themselves.
What defences does a landlord have to a rent repayment order?
The tribunal must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed. For licensing offences, it is a defence if a licence application (or a temporary exemption notice request) had been duly made for the period in question, or if the landlord had a reasonable excuse. Whether an excuse is reasonable depends on the facts; get advice from a solicitor.
Sources
Last checked 28 Sep 2026. Information, not legal advice. Licensing schemes change often; always confirm with the council before you act.