Rent Repayment Order (RRO)
A tribunal order requiring a landlord to repay rent to tenants (or a council) for certain offences, such as operating an unlicensed HMO. Since May 2026 up to 24 months' rent can be reclaimed.
A rent repayment order lets tenants, or the local authority where rent was paid through benefits, claw back rent from a landlord who committed a qualifying offence. Applications go to the First-tier Tribunal.
Qualifying offences
The most common triggers are operating a licensable HMO without a licence, breaching a selective licensing requirement, unlawful eviction or harassment, and ignoring improvement or prohibition notices.
What changed in 2026
The Renters' Rights Act doubled the maximum recovery from 12 to 24 months' rent for offences committed from 1 May 2026 onwards. On a room let at £600 a month in a five-bed HMO, an unlicensed period could expose a landlord to a five-figure repayment across the household, on top of any civil penalty from the council.
The practical point
RROs are tenant-initiated, which makes them a bigger real-world risk than council enforcement in areas where inspections are rare. Licensing status is public and easy for tenants to check. Before letting, confirm whether mandatory HMO, additional, or selective licensing applies to the property, and build fees into your numbers.