Date Published 22 September 2025
Rent repayment orders (RROs) are an important tenant-led enforcement tool to sit alongside the local authority enforcement that this Bill is giving impetus to. They deter landlords from non-compliance and empower tenants to take action against criminal landlords. RROs are also available to local authorities where the rent has been paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
We are introducing a package of measures to strengthen RROs. The measures will increase the deterrent effect of RROs, make them easier and more appealing for tenants and local authorities to pursue and expand them to cover more of the sector.
Frequently asked questions
What is a rent repayment order?
A rent repayment order is a mechanism through which, currently, a landlord who has committed an offence can be ordered to repay an amount of rent to the tenant or local authority.
Where a tenant believes their landlord has committed a listed offence, they can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order. If the Tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the landlord has committed one of the listed offences, it can order the landlord to repay an amount of rent.
Local authorities can also pursue rent repayment orders where the rent has been paid by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
Which offences can a rent repayment order be sought for?
The bill will extend rent repayment orders to the offences of knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground, breach of a restriction on letting or marketing a dwelling-house, continued tenancy reform breach after imposition of a financial penalty, continued breach of landlord redress scheme regulations after imposition of a financial penalty for this breach, provision of false information to the PRS Database when purporting to comply with PRS Database regulations and continued failure to register with the PRS Database after imposition of a financial penalty for this breach.
The offences a rent repayment order can already be sought for include violence for securing entry, eviction and harassment of occupiers, failure to comply with an improvement notice, control or management of an unlicensed house or HMO and breach of a banning order.
What's changing on rent repayment orders?
We are extending rent repayment orders to superior landlords and company directors to ensure criminal rent-to-rent arrangements can be properly held to account.
Rent repayment orders will apply to new offences in the bill, to ensure robust tenant-led enforcement and better compliance with the new system.
Landlords who have previously been subject to enforcement action for an offence will be required to pay the maximum rent repayment order amount if they commit that offence again, to crack down on repeat offenders.
The maximum amount of rent a landlord can be ordered to pay will double from 12 to 24 months, increasing the deterrent effect of rent repayment orders and making them more appealing for tenants and local authorities to pursue.
We are extending the period in which a tenant or local authority can apply for a rent repayment order after the offence from 12 to 24 months, making them easier for tenants and local authorities to pursue and helping prevent them from being timed out.
Where a landlord has been convicted of or received a financial penalty for licensing offences or any of the relevant offences across the bill, they will be required to pay the maximum rent repayment order amount. This will ensure the deterrent effect is equally strong across all listed offences and that the deterrent effect is increased for the offences to which this provision did not previously apply.
Credit- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill
