How to Apply for a Rent Repayment Order

An RRO application is made to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). It is a paper-heavy but genuinely accessible process — there is no jury, no wig, and usually no courtroom. Here is the whole thing, in order.

Before you apply: three things to settle

1. The offence and its dates

Which offence, and over what period? For an unlicensed HMO or selective licensing claim, that means establishing which scheme applied to the address and when, and confirming from the council’s public register that no licence was in force.

2. The respondent

The person or company who had control of or managed the property — normally your immediate landlord, and since 1 May 2026 potentially a superior landlord as well. Get their full legal name and a current address for service. For a company, take the registered name and number from Companies House rather than what was written on the tenancy agreement.

3. The amount you are claiming

The total rent you paid in the relevant period, excluding anything covered by housing benefit or universal credit. Set out the arithmetic plainly: monthly rent, number of months, total.

The form

Applications are made on form RRO1, available from the residential property tribunal forms collection on GOV.UK. It asks for:

• your details and the details of every applicant, if you are applying together;
• the respondent’s name and address;
• the property address;
• the offence you say was committed, and the dates;
• the amount claimed and how you calculated it;
• whether the landlord has been convicted or received a financial penalty;
• whether you want a hearing or are content with a paper determination.

Ask for a hearing. Paper determinations save time but give you no chance to answer whatever the landlord puts in their statement.

What to send with it

• Your tenancy agreement (all versions).
• Proof of every rent payment — bank statements are ideal; a rent book or receipts if you paid cash.
• Evidence the property was an HMO — who lived there, in which rooms, over what dates.
• Evidence of the licensing position — a dated printout of the register entry, or a letter from the council.
• Any correspondence with the landlord or agent that bears on the issues.

The fees

There is a fee to issue the application, and a further fee if the matter goes to a hearing. Check the current fee in the form guidance on GOV.UK before you apply — the Property Chamber’s fees were restructured during 2026 and figures quoted elsewhere online are out of date.

Help with Fees is available if you are on a low income or receiving certain benefits, and can remove the fee altogether. Apply for it at the same time as the application.

A successful applicant can ask the tribunal to order the landlord to reimburse the fees, and tribunals routinely do — in both of the decisions we have written up, the landlord was ordered to repay the £300 the tenants had paid.

Directions

Once the application is issued the tribunal sends directions: a timetable saying who must do what, and by when. Typically you will be told to file a statement of case and your evidence by one date, the landlord replies by another, and a bundle is prepared for the hearing.

Comply with the dates. Missing a direction is the most avoidable way to weaken a good claim. If you cannot meet one, write to the tribunal before the deadline and explain.

Your statement of case

Keep it factual and chronological. A structure that works:

1. Who you are, the property, and your exact tenancy dates.
2. Who lived there and in what configuration — establishing it was an HMO.
3. Why a licence was required — the scheme, the designation, the dates.
4. That no licence was in force, and how you know.
5. What you paid, with the arithmetic set out.
6. The amount you seek, and why — walking through the four Acheampong steps.
7. Anything relevant to conduct: disrepair, how the landlord behaved, previous enforcement.

Avoid rhetoric. Tribunals respond to dates, documents and arithmetic, not to how unfair it felt.

The hearing

Usually before a judge sitting with a surveyor or environmental health member, and often held remotely by video. It is inquisitorial in flavour — the panel will ask questions of both sides rather than leaving it to cross-examination.

• Every applicant should attend if possible.
• Take your bundle, your dates and your figures.
• Answer what is asked, and say so if you do not know.
• You may be represented, or represent yourself.

The panel will not announce its decision on the day. A written decision follows, usually within a few weeks.

Afterwards

If an order is made, the tribunal sets a date for payment — commonly 28 days — and may allow instalments if the landlord’s finances justify it. An unpaid order is a debt enforceable through the County Court.

Either side can seek permission to appeal, in writing to the First-tier Tribunal, normally within 28 days of the written reasons. Appeals need an error of law, not simply disagreement with the outcome.

This article is general information about the law in England and is not legal advice about your own circumstances. Tribunal fees, forms and procedure change — check the current position on GOV.UK before applying. The rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.