No. “No win no fee” means no fee if you lose. If you win, you pay — out of the award. That is a perfectly reasonable bargain, but it is not the same as free, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling rather than advising.
What you are actually buying
You are buying the removal of downside risk. Without it, running a claim means paying someone by the hour whether or not it succeeds. With it, the provider carries that risk and is paid a share of the recovery if it works.
That is genuinely valuable for a tenant who has just paid two years’ rent to a landlord who should not have been letting the property. It is not, however, cost-free.
The three costs people miss
1. The provider’s share
Typically 25% to 50% of what you recover. On a £12,000 award that is between £3,000 and £6,000. Where the arrangement is a regulated damages-based agreement, civil litigation payments are capped at 50% of the sums recovered including VAT.
2. Tribunal fees
There is a fee to apply and a further fee if there is 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before you apply — the Property Chamber’s fees were restructured during 2026 and figures quoted elsewhere online are out of date. Ask your provider who pays these up front, and who keeps them when the tribunal orders the landlord to reimburse them — which it usually does.
If you are on a low income or certain benefits, Help with Fees may cover them entirely. Ask about this before anyone pays anything.
3. Your own time
No agreement removes this. You will still need to find your bank statements, confirm who lived where and when, give a witness statement and, in most cases, attend the hearing.
The thing that makes RRO claims different
The tribunal does not usually award legal costs. In both of the decisions we have written up in full, the tribunal made the order, ordered the landlord to reimburse the tenants’ £300 tribunal fees, and refused legal costs.
So the provider’s fee cannot be recovered from the landlord. It comes out of your money. Any marketing that suggests “the landlord pays our fees” on an RRO claim should be treated with real caution.
The flip side is genuinely good news. Because the tribunal rarely makes costs orders at all, you are also very unlikely to be ordered to pay your landlord’s costs if you lose. Costs orders are reserved for parties who behave unreasonably. That makes an RRO claim a much lower-risk step than most litigation — with or without representation.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What percentage do you take, and does that include VAT?
- Is it a percentage of the gross award, or after tribunal fees are returned?
- What counts as a “win”? Does a settlement count? What if the order is never paid?
- If I lose, is there genuinely nothing to pay — including disbursements?
- What happens if I withdraw, or if you decide to stop acting?
- Who funds the tribunal fees, and have you checked whether I qualify for Help with Fees?
- Are you a regulated solicitor, and who exactly will handle my case?
- Can I see the agreement in full before I commit?
A provider who answers all eight clearly and in writing is one you can deal with. One who is vague about any of them is telling you something.
The honest alternative
You can run an RRO claim yourself, and for a straightforward licensing case many people should consider it. If you have a clear gap on the council’s register, bank statements covering the whole tenancy, one identifiable landlord and no real dispute about who lived there, the case is largely arithmetic. Help with Fees may make it cost nothing at all, and you keep 100% of the award.
Where representation earns its share is in the contested cases: a landlord arguing a duly made application or a reasonable excuse, a disputed licensing designation, a rent-to-rent chain, or a real fight about quantum.
We will tell you which of those you have. Checking your claim is free, and if we think you would be better off running it yourself we will say so. Check your claim →
This article is general information about the law in England and is not legal advice about your own circumstances. Fee percentages are an indication of the market, not an offer. Tribunal fees change — check the current figures on GOV.UK. The rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Think this applies to you? Checking whether your landlord needed a licence is free and takes about two minutes. Check NOW to see if your landlord needs a licence.