What is a rent repayment order?
A rent repayment order is a legal order made by the court which requires a landlord to repay up to 12 months’ worth of rent they have received.
A rent repayment order can be made where a landlord has committed certain offences.
Eligible offences for a rent repayment order
To be liable for a rent repayment order, the landlord must have committed one of the following eligible offences.
It is not necessary that the landlord has actually been convicted of one of these offences, although the applicant will need to demonstrate when applying that an eligible offence has been committed, providing evidence and proof ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ (i.e. to the criminal standard of proof).
The eligible offences:
- Using or threatening violence to secure entry to a dwelling
- Unlawful eviction or harassment of occupiers
- Failure to comply with an improvement notice
- Failure to comply with a prohibition order
- Control or management of an unlicensed HMO
- Control or management of an unlicensed property
- Breach of a banning order
Who is the rent repaid to?
Where the rent has been paid directly by the tenant, this is repaid to the tenant.
If the tenant was in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit housing costs during the period the rent repayment order relates to, the amount of housing benefit or universal credit housing costs awarded during this time will be repaid to the Council, and any contribution to the rent paid by the tenant will still be repaid to the tenant.
For example, if a rent repayment order was granted for 12 months’ worth of rent, and:
- The rent was £750 per month
- The tenant received £350 per month in housing benefit or universal credit housing costs
- The tenant topped-up their housing benefit/universal credit by £400 per month to make up the rent
- There are no rent arrears
Then, the tenant would receive a repayment of £4,800 (12 x £400), and the Council would receive a repayment of £4,200 (12 x £350).
How much rent can be repaid?
The maximum repayment that can be required under a rent repayment order is a sum of up to 12 months’ worth of rent.
Subject to this maximum cap of 12 months, a rent repayment order can only be made for rent received by a landlord since the date that they committed the eligible offence and during which time the offence continued (except for offences relating to the use or threat of violence to secure entry to a dwelling or the unlawful eviction or harassment of occupiers, where a rent repayment order is made in relation to the period of up to 12 months before one of these offences was committed).
The amount of a rent repayment order can not be more than the rent that was actually paid over the relevant period of 12 months.
For example, if a tenant was only a tenant for 6 months before being illegally evicted, and had 1 month of rent arrears, a rent repayment order could not be awarded for more than 5 months’ worth of rent.
Similarly, if a landlord failed to comply with an improvement notice, and then did comply with the improvement notice after 7 months, a rent repayment order could only be made for up to 7 months’ worth of rent (assuming no rent arrears).
In all cases, when making a rent repayment order, the court may reduce the amount which the order requires the landlord to repay by taking into account additional mitigating factors.
Who can a rent repayment order be made against?
A Rent Repayment Order can only be made against a tenant’s immediate landlord. If a tenant is unsure who this is because they only deal with a letting agent, they should refer to their tenancy agreement as it should still contain details of the landlord’s name and a contact address, or alternatively, request this information from the agent.
Where an immediate landlord is an intermediate landlord, for example, where the immediate landlord themselves leases the dwelling from a superior landlord, a rent repayment order may still only be made against the immediate landlord and may not be made against a superior landlord.
A rent repayment order cannot be made against the director of a company landlord or a managing agent employed by the landlord.
How to apply for a rent repayment order
Tenants can apply for a rent repayment order by completing Form RR01 and sending this to the First-tier Tribunal.
There is a nominal application fee payable to the Tribunal, and further fees are payable if a hearing is required (not all decisions will require a hearing).
Successful applicants can recover their application fees, and request reimbursement of fees on their application from, in written submissions to the tribunal or at any hearing.
Applicants may be eligible for a waiver or reduction of fees through the Government’s Help with Fees scheme (external link).