Statutory guidance

Rent repayment orders: guidance for local authorities

Published 13 November 2025

Applies to England

The Renters’ Rights Act will change laws about renting and this guidance has been published to help local authorities prepare. The new rules will apply on and after 1 May 2026.

About this guidance 

This guidance is for local authorities seeking rent repayment orders (RROs) against landlords in the private rented sector who have committed certain housing related offences. 

This is statutory guidance. Local authorities must have regard to it in the exercise of their functions in respect of rent repayment orders.  

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) may use this guidance when dealing with rent repayment order cases. 

This guidance is not legal advice. If a local authority wants legal advice, they should seek it from an independent organisation. 

Rent repayment orders 

A rent repayment order (RRO) allows tenants and local authorities to receive up to 2 years’ worth of rent from a landlord who has committed certain housing related offences. 

The purpose of RROs is to deter landlords from committing offences and empower tenants and local authorities to take action when a landlord breaks certain laws.  

RROs are a critical part of improving and maintaining compliance in the Private Rented Sector. This guide aims to give local authorities the information needed to use them effectively. 

The offences 

You can pursue an RRO if you think you can prove a landlord has committed one of the offences in this list and you meet the other eligibility requirements. 

Offence Description	Legislation Reference
1. Offences in relation to unlicensed HMOs	Section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004)
2. Offences in relation to unlicensed houses	Section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004
3. Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice	Section 30(1) of the Housing Act 2004
4. Failure to comply with a Prohibition Order	Section 32(1) of the Housing Act 2004
5. Illegal eviction and harassment of occupiers	Sections 1(2), (3) or (3A) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977
6. Violence for securing entry	Section 6(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977
7. Breach of a Banning Order	Section 21 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016
8. Knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground	Section 16J (1) of the Housing Act 1988
9. Letting or marketing of a property within twelve months of using the ‘moving in’ or ‘selling’ ground of eviction	Section 16J(2) of the Housing Act 1988
10. Continuous breach of certain tenancy reform requirements	Section 16J(3) of the Housing Act 1988

Your eligibility for an RRO 

You can pursue an RRO if all the following conditions apply: 

• you think you can prove a landlord operating in your local authority’s area committed an offence listed above 

• the offence was committed no more than 2 years before you serve the notice of intended proceedings

• any rent was paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit in respect of the relevant period 

If you are applying for offence 8 or 9 on the list, you can apply if the offence was committed after the tenant moved out. 

Some other points about eligibility to consider are: 

• the landlord does not need to have been convicted of or given a financial penalty for the offence for you to be eligible to apply 

• it does not matter how the rent through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit was paid, whether it was directly or indirectly or in advance or in instalments, or any other way 

• it does not matter who the rent through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit was paid to, whether it was the landlord, managing agent, letting agent, or any other person. 

• the affected tenant(s) does not need to be renting or living in the property at the time you apply 

Timeline 

The process for getting an RRO varies in how long it takes. What happens at each stage is explained in more detail elsewhere in this guidance, but the typical timeline is: 

1. Sending your notice of intended proceedings to the landlord.  

2. Sending your application (RRO1 form and other documents) to the FTT.  

3. FTT acknowledgement. The FTT will acknowledge receipt of your application and tell you if you need to send any additional information. At this stage, the FTT will ask you to pay a fee  

4. FTT directions and bundles. The FTT will send you a list of actions you need to take. They will likely include creating an applicant bundle and the landlord creating a respondent bundle. You will likely be given the opportunity to respond to the landlord’s bundle through an applicant reply bundle.  

5. Tribunal hearing. The FTT will set a date for the hearing which you will attend and present the case.  

6. Decision. The FTT will decide whether your application is successful and if so, how much money the landlord needs to pay you. The decision will be sent in writing after the hearing.   

7. If your application is successful, the landlord must pay you. The FTT usually gives the landlord a maximum of 28 days from the date of the decision to do this. 

Engaging with tenants about your RRO 

The tenant(s) of the property for which you are seeking an RRO may hold information that is relevant to your application. If this is the case, you can ask the tenant(s) for this information. You may consider that you already have, or have access to, all the necessary evidence to successfully pursue an RRO. If this is the case, you may consider that you do not need to request information from the tenant. 

You should consider: 

• informing the affected tenants that you are seeking an RRO against their landlord 

• telling them that they may be able to make an application for the same offence, if the tenant paid some of the rent themselves 

Engaging with tenants about their RRO 

You may support a tenant with their own application for an RRO. 

A tenant may contact you asking for information to support their RRO application. If this happens and you have information that may be relevant to their application, you should consider providing information: 

• that proves or helps prove the offence alleged by the tenant 

• about convictions, financial penalties or RROs that you have successfully pursued, or are aware of, in relation to the tenant’s landlord 

• about the landlord’s conduct 

If a tenant contacts you about an issue and you believe the landlord may be committing one of the RRO offences, you should consider informing the tenant of their potential ability to obtain an RRO.  

Applying with a tenant 

You and a tenant can apply for an RRO at the same time as each other against the same landlord for the same offence. You can do so if part of the rent was paid by the tenant and part through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. Your applications will need to be separate, but if you apply alongside each other, you will have the benefit of sharing information and evidence. This may make your case stronger. Your cases may be heard together at the FTT. This will be decided by the FTT on a case-by-case basis.  

When to apply for an RRO 

You can apply for an RRO at any point within 2 years of a landlord committing an offence. You can apply for an RRO whilst the affected tenants are still renting the property or after they have stopped renting the property. If you apply after, you must still comply with the 2-year limit.  

Who an RRO can be made against (respondent) 

An RRO can be made against:  

• a landlord, which may be an immediate landlord, superior landlord or company landlord 

• a director, manager or similar officer of a company landlord 

• a licensor

When you are completing your RRO1 form you will need to name a ‘respondent’. This is the person(s) and/or organisation(s) you consider has committed an offence and who you are applying for an RRO against. You should therefore name any person(s) and/or organisation(s) from the above list as the respondent if you consider that they have committed an offence. 

It does not matter who the rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit was paid to. An RRO can be made in favour of a local authority against any landlord for the amount of rent through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that was paid, regardless of who that money was paid to. You should not name a letting agent or managing agent as the respondent as an RRO cannot be made against them. 

The respondent does not have to be the tenant’s current landlord. They just need to have been the landlord at the time they committed the offence unless you are applying in respect of offences 8 or 9 in the list, in which case, you can apply even if the landlord committed an offence after the affected tenant moved out.

Rent-to-rent arrangements 

The tenant may be renting under a rent-to-rent arrangement. This is where the landlord (immediate landlord) does not own the property the tenant lives in. Instead, they rent it from the owner or someone higher up the chain (superior landlord). If this is the case, you can apply for an RRO against any or all the landlords in the chain who you think has committed an offence.  

Rent through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit does not need to have been paid directly to the person who you are naming as the respondent. For example, if rent was paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to the immediate landlord, you can still name the superior landlord as the respondent if you think they committed the offence.  

Immediate landlord 

In a rent-to-rent arrangement an ‘immediate landlord’ is the person who the tenant rents from. They are likely to be named as the landlord on the tenancy agreement. They may be an individual person or a company.  

You should name both the immediate and superior landlord as respondents, if you think both may have committed the offence.  

Superior landlord  

A ‘superior landlord’ is the person who lets the property to the tenant’s immediate landlord. They are likely to own the property. You can find out who the owner of the property is by searching the land registry. 

You may wish to name the superior landlord as the respondent if you feel the immediate landlord cannot or will not pay the amount of the RRO and you think the superior landlord committed the offence. 

Applying against more than one person and/or organisation 

There may be more than one landlord if the tenant lives under a rent-to-rent arrangement or rents from joint landlords. If this is the case, you can apply for an RRO against any or all of the landlords or companies in the same application if you think they committed an offence.  

If the FTT finds that all the people or organisations you have named in your application have committed an offence, they will be jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the RRO. You can choose to take action against any or all of them if none of them pays the full amount you are owed in the RRO. 

Director, manager or officer of a company landlord

The landlord may be listed as a company rather than an individual person. If this is the case, you should name the director(s), manager(s) or senior officer(s) of that company as the respondents, as well as the company. This is because in some circumstances, companies do not have enough assets to pay an RRO. To find out who the director, manager or senior officer of a company is, you can search Companies House.  

How much money to apply for 

You can apply for up to 2 years’ worth of rent that has been paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit in respect of the affected tenant(s). How much you apply for depends on the offence the landlord has committed. 

One-off offences 

A one-off offence is an offence that is committed once at a particular time. If you are applying because of one of these offences, you can apply for the amount of rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for the period of up to 2 years ending with the date of the offence. 

The offences are: 

• illegal eviction and harassment of occupiers

• violence for securing entry

• knowing or reckless misuse of a possession ground   
• letting or marketing of a property within 1 year of using the ‘moving in’ or ‘selling’ ground of eviction

However, the way you calculate the amount to apply for can be different. You can apply for up to 2 years’ worth of rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for the 2 years before either the date the offence was committed or, if the tenancy ends before that date, the date the tenancy ends. 

Ongoing offences 

An ongoing offence is an offence that is committed over a period of time. If you are applying because of one of these offences, you can seek up to 2 years’ worth of rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for the period in which the offence was ongoing. 

Duty to consider applying for an RRO 

If you are aware or find out that a landlord has been convicted of any of the RRO offences, and the offence was committed in your local authority’s area, you must consider applying for an RRO. This means assessing whether it would be appropriate to apply for an RRO and making a decision based on this assessment. 

Amount of money you may get 

If your application is successful, the landlord will have to pay you up to 2 years’ worth of the rent that was paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit in respect of the affected tenant. The final amount of the RRO will be decided by the FTT. This will be dependent on the following factors. 

Conduct of the landlord 

The conduct of the landlord is the behaviour and actions of a landlord in relation to managing the property, dealing with tenants and the RRO process. The conduct of the landlord may relate directly to the offence or may be to do with something else. You will need to provide evidence of any landlord conduct in your applicant bundle prepared for use at the hearing. 

Bad landlord conduct 

Some examples of what may be considered bad landlord conduct are described below. 

Failure to make repairs 

This is where the landlord fails or is slow to deal with problems about the property they had been made aware of. Problems include but are not limited to: 

• damp and mould 

• leaks 

• fire-safety concerns 

• broken heating 

• pests 

Failure to send correct documentation 

This is where the landlord fails or is slow to send all the information the tenant needs at the start of the tenancy. Documents include: 

• electrical and gas safety certificates 

• Energy Performance Certificate 

• written statement of terms 

• tenancy agreement 

Fire hazards 

Fire hazards include but are not limited to: 

• a lack of fire doors in an HMO 

• no smoke alarm 

• key lock on the inside of the front door or bedroom door in an HMO (as opposed to the safer thumb lock) 

Harassment, aggression or intimidation 

This includes: 

• trying to get the tenant(s) to leave the property without following the proper process 

• entering the property without giving notice 

• raising rent without following the correct process  

• threatening behaviour 

• behaving in a way that could make the tenant leave 

Non-compliance with other laws 

This may include: 

• asking for or accepting a higher rent than advertised 

• failure to give good reason for not allowing a pet 

• discrimination against the tenants for any of the protected characteristics 

Good landlord conduct 

Examples of good landlord conduct include: 

• responding to complaints about the property and making acceptable repairs 

• providing all the correct documents at the start of the tenancy 

• complying with all other laws  

Convictions, financial penalties or RROs 

If the landlord has previously been convicted, received a financial penalty, or had an RRO made against them in the past, this can affect the amount of the RRO. 

Previous offences 

If the FTT is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the landlord has committed the offence you allege, it must consider past enforcement actions (convictions, financial penalties or RROs) for any of the offences when deciding the amount of the RRO. 

Repeat offences 

If the landlord has committed the same offence before (even at a different property or with different tenants) and had formal enforcement action taken against them for it, the FTT must make the RRO for the maximum amount – unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

Already penalised for this offence 

If the landlord has already been convicted of or given a financial penalty for the same offence you are applying for, the FTT must also make the RRO for the maximum amount – again, unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

How to get this information 

You should be able to access this information internally, if it relates to enforcement action taken by your council. To see if any relevant enforcement action has been taken by another council, you can engage with them. You can also check the tribunal website to see if the landlord has had an RRO made against them in the past.   

Fees 

When you submit your application to the FTT, you will be asked to pay an application fee. You will also have to pay a fee for a hearing if the FTT schedules one. This happens later in the process. The amount of the fee is stated in section 10 of the RRO1 form. 

The FTT will give you information about how to make these payments, including relevant bank details and what reference to use. 

Notice of intended proceedings 

You must give the landlord a notice of intended proceedings before applying for an RRO.  

The notice of proceedings must:  

• be served within 2 years of the landlord committing the offence

• tell the landlord that you are proposing to apply for a RRO and explain why

• state the amount that you are seeking to recover 

• invite the landlord to make representations within a set time which must be at least 28 days

You must:  

• consider any representations made within the notice period; and 

• not apply to the FTT for an RRO until the period specified in the notice of intended proceedings has expired. 

You can apply for an RRO once the notice has been made and the time for representations has passed.  

RRO application 

After you have served a notice of intended proceedings and 28 days have passed, you need to send your application to the FTT. This involves: 

1. completing the RRO1 form 

2. gathering the other necessary documents you will need at this stage 

3. sending everything to the FTT 

Information on how to do this is below.  

RRO1 form 

You will need to complete the RRO1 form.You should follow the instructions on the form, though you may find the extra information below helpful.  

Details about the respondent 

You will be asked to give the name of the respondent. The respondent is the person(s) and/or organisation(s) you are making your application against.  

You will be asked to give the address and contact information of the respondent(s). If you do not have this information, you can put the contact details of the letting or managing agent or whichever contact details the tenant was given to report issues to. When you do this, you should make a note in the form that you do not have the contact details of the respondent(s). 

Grounds for making the application 

Section 9 is titled ‘grounds for making the application’. Here, you should: 

• state the offence you are alleging the landlord has committed 

• say whether or not the landlord has been convicted of or received a financial penalty for the offence 

• give a brief description of what you allege the landlord has done or failed to do to commit the offence 

• say how much rent each tenant paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit 

• say the total amount you are applying for 

• avoid talking about the landlord’s conduct or general behaviour and instead include this in your applicant bundle after the FTT sends you directions

Other documents to send 

You need to send other documents with your RRO1 form. These are listed below. 

Details of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit payments 

Give details about the rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit in the relevant period. You should: 

• state the total amount paid 

• provide a table or spreadsheet detailing how much was paid for any affected tenant month by month as evidence

• provide Housing Benefit Statements or Universal Credit statements as evidence 

Tenancy or licence agreement (if you can access it) 

You may need to get this from the tenant. It is fine if you cannot access it. In such a scenario, you should complete section 11 of the RRO1 form as far as possible.  

Notice of intended proceedings 

Include a copy of the notice of intended proceedings you sent to the landlord. 

Application submission 

Once you have completed your RRO1 form and gathered the other necessary documents, you need to send everything to the FTT. You should follow the instructions on the form to complete this. If possible, you should share a copy of your completed RRO1 form and the other documents with the respondent when you send it to the relevant Tribunal Regional Office. 

Tribunal acknowledgement

The FTT will provide an acknowledgement that they have received your application. This will usually be done by email but sometimes by letter. At this time, the FTT will also notify the landlord that an RRO is being pursued against them.  

Tribunal directions 

The FTT will also send ‘directions’. This is a list of actions that you and the respondent need to do by a certain time. One of the main actions will likely be to create and send an applicant bundle.  

You will be sent directions by the FTT either at the same time as they acknowledge your application or shortly after. 

Applicant bundle

A bundle is a term used to describe documents you give the FTT to support your application. In the FTT’s directions, they will usually tell you: 

• when to send your bundle to them 

• what to include in your bundle 

• how to arrange documents in your bundle 

Your applicant bundle needs to include all the evidence you want to present to the FTT at the hearing. The FTT may refuse to consider any evidence that is not in your applicant bundle. 

For general information on preparing bundles for the Tribunal, see the ‘Case preparation’ section of this guidance produced by HM Courts and Tribunal Service. 

Format 

You should send your bundle as one document. Read the tribunal directions to ensure your regional tribunal can receive bundles by email and where to send it to. You can also send your bundle by post to the address in Annex A of the RRO1 form. 

If you are sending your applicant bundle electronically, you can convert all the documents you are using as part of your case to PDF documents. Websites are available which will enable you to merge and order all the different documents. This will mean you can send the final applicant bundle as one document in the order you want it.  

Information to include and structure 

Include all the necessary information in your applicant bundle. The sort of information you will need to include, along with a suggestion on how to structure your applicant bundle, is set out below.  

Index 

This should be a table that lists all sections and documents together with page numbers in the bundle. During the hearing the judge will use the index table to find evidence in your bundle. 

Section 1 – statements of case 

All the points you make in your statements of case should be backed up by evidence. Refer to your evidence when you make your statements and include that evidence as exhibits in section 3. This section should include the information outlined below. 

Full details of the alleged offence 

Present all the evidence you have to try to prove the landlord has committed the alleged offence.   

Details of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit payments 

Give details about the rent paid through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit in the relevant period. You should: 

• state the total amount paid 

• provide a table or spreadsheet detailing how much was paid for any affected tenant month by month as an exhibit 

• provide Housing Benefit Statements or Universal Credit statements as evidence  

Enforcement action taken against the landlord 

Give details about any other enforcement action against the landlord, including: 

• whether the landlord has been convicted of or received a financial penalty for the offence in relation to the same property and tenants 

• whether the landlord has been convicted of or received a financial penalty for the same offence on a different occasion 

• whether the landlord has had an RRO made against them for the same offence on a different occasion 

• whether the landlord has been convicted of, received a financial penalty for or had an RRO made against them for any of the RRO offences in the past 

• relevant documentation to prove enforcement action has taken place as an exhibit 

Conduct of the landlord 

Give evidence of the landlord’s behaviour, including: 

• descriptions and examples of bad or unsatisfactory behaviour 

• descriptions of communications between you or the tenant and the landlord which show bad conduct 

• descriptions of disrepair or problems 

• descriptions or summaries of council reports about the property’s condition 

Say if the landlord’s conduct was good. Check the conduct of the landlord section for more information about good and bad landlord conduct.  

Return of application and hearing fees 

State that you want to be reimbursed for application and hearing fees, if you want this. The FTT will decide whether the landlord needs to reimburse you for these fees. 

Statement of truth 

Provide a statement confirming that everything you have said in your application and other documents is truthful. 

Section 2 – witness statements 

Include as many relevant witness statements as possible from tenants or other witnesses. Witness statements should always include a statement of truth from the witness. Other details that it might be appropriate to include are: 

• the dates each tenant moved into and left the property 

• the relationship between the different tenants 

• any details about the landlord’s conduct 

• details about the offence 

If you cannot get any witness statements, the FTT may still be satisfied that the offence was committed. Other evidence may include records of a local authority officer visiting the property and seeing a certain number of residents. 

Section 3 – exhibits 

The third and final section should contain all relevant documents that support your application. This includes: 

• any document referred to in any statement of case or witness statement 

• any document that helps prove the offence 

• any communication between you and the FTT 

• any document sent to you by the FTT 

Reference supporting documents as ‘exhibits’ throughout your statements of case and witness statements in your applicant bundle. For example, ‘as shown in exhibit Y…’ or ‘as depicted in exhibit K…’. 

Landlord’s evidence 

After you submit your applicant bundle, the landlord should submit a ‘respondent bundle’ which compiles all their evidence in relation to the offence you allege they have committed. You should receive a copy of the landlord’s bundle when it is submitted to the FTT.  

You are likely to be given the chance to respond to the content of the landlord’s evidence in the respondent bundle before the hearing through a new bundle called an ‘applicant reply bundle’. The FTT will give you relevant directions if they want you to do this.   

Pre-hearing settlement 

You and the landlord may agree a solution without going to the FTT. This is called reaching a settlement. This may involve the landlord paying you an amount in exchange for you withdrawing your application. The landlord may approach you or you may approach them. You are under no obligation to make a settlement offer or accept one made by the landlord. However, if you and the landlord have reached a settlement amount that you are happy with, you can accept.  

When negotiating a settlement with the landlord or their representative, you can include the words ‘without prejudice’ at the top of the message or in the subject line. This means the FTT should not take these communications into account when they determine the case if it is not possible to reach a settlement. Such documents should not be shared with the FTT in any bundles or via other means. If you want the communications to be taken into account by the FTT, you should make it clear that you are making an open offer of settlement. 

​​If the negotiations are close to the hea​​r​​ing date, you may request that the FTT delays the hearing to see if an agreement can be reached.​ 

You should not withdraw your RRO application until the money agreed in any settlement has been paid. 

Mediation 

The FTT may offer a mediation service to reach a settlement with your landlord. This typically involves a meeting between you, the respondent and a neutral mediator. You should consider whether this is a good option for you. You may want to use the FTT’s mediation service if you feel uncomfortable attending an FTT hearing or negotiating with the respondent privately. However, you may prefer to attempt a settlement with the respondent by correspondence as described above, rather than attending an in-person mediation. 

Tribunal hearing 

This is where your RRO application will be heard. See general guidance on what to expect when you go to a court or tribunal.  

FTT hearings can vary in structure, but they usually follow an order similar to the one below. 

Opening 

The FTT judge will introduce your application and set out the issues that are being addressed.  

Introduce your case by briefly explaining: 

• why you are applying for an RRO and  

• the offence you are alleging the landlord has committed. 

Applicant’s case 

This is your opportunity to present all the evidence included in your applicant bundle to support your RRO application. You should follow any instructions from the FTT about how they want your case to be presented. 

Typically, your case will include: 

Details of the alleged offence 

Start by explaining what offence you allege the landlord has committed. 

Walk the FTT through each part of the offence and show the evidence that supports it. 

The FTT must be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that every part of the offence is satisfied. 

Evidence about the landlord’s conduct 

Next, present any evidence about how the landlord behaved. 

Explain why this behaviour should impact the amount of the RRO award. 

Respondent’s case  

When the landlord or their representative presents their defence, they may take 1 of 2 main approaches: 

Denying the offence 

They might argue that they did not commit the offence. To support this, they may: 

• challenge the quality or completeness of your evidence 

• focus on a specific part of your evidence and claim it does not prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt 

If they successfully argue this, your application will be rejected. It is therefore important that you try to prove every element of the offence as best you can. 

Admitting the offence took place but offering a defence or suggesting mitigating circumstances 

They may accept that the offence has taken place, but argue that: 

• someone else was responsible, such as a managing agent, letting agent or another landlord 

• their conduct was good outside of the offence 

You should therefore do your best to show that the person(s) you have named as the respondent is responsible for the offence. 

Questions and cross-examinations 

Both you and the landlord may be asked questions by the FTT to clarify points.  

You may also be cross-examined by the landlord. As part of your preparation, you should think about how the landlord might criticise your evidence and consider how you will respond.  

You should also consider cross-examining the landlord. Here, you can ask the landlord questions about the offence, the landlord’s conduct and the landlord’s defences. You should prepare these questions in advance using the landlord’s respondent bundle and you may also pick up on points they make in the hearing and ask questions about them, if you think appropriate.  

Closing statements 

You and the respondent will summarise your cases. You should: 

• sum up the evidence which you think proves the landlord committed the offence you claim they have committed  

• summarise the conduct of the landlord and why this should affect the amount of the RRO award 

• summarise your responses to the landlord’s defences, if you have any 

• confirm if you want to be reimbursed for your application and hearing fees  

General tips for the hearing 

You may find the following tips about the hearing helpful. You should: 

• bring a paper copy of your bundle 

• bring a laptop 

• try to ensure all witnesses are at the hearing, or as many as possible 

• follow any instructions you have been given by the FTT about arrangements on the day, like how early to arrive before the hearing 

• ask for the WiFi at reception 

Decision 

The panel will not normally make their decision at the hearing. A written decision will be sent in the post. This is normally done within four weeks but can take longer. 

Appeals 

If you lose your case and you think the decision is legally wrong, you can apply to appeal. You should consider that this will incur further costs which vary.  

If the application to appeal leads to a hearing, the same witnesses who were at the original hearing may need to be there. Appeal hearings tend to be arguments about the law rather than hearing the evidence again. Appeals are normally made where the FTT is said to have got the law wrong, and are heard by a single judge. 

When you will receive the money 

If the FTT makes an RRO against the landlord, they will set a date for the landlord to pay you the money. This is usually 28 days.  

If the landlord doesn’t pay 

If the landlord does not pay by the date set by the FTT, you can apply to your local county court for an order forcing them to pay. ​You must first apply to convert your tribunal judgment into an enforceable County Court Judgment (CCJ). There is no fee for this. You can find the application form here. The civil penalty notice guidance sets out the ways that are available to enforce the debt’

Income from RROs 

You can keep any money received through RROs as long as it is used for your functions related to your PRS enforcement activities.  

Commencement and transitional provisions 

You will need to consider when the new RRO provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 are commenced and the related transitional provisions when making an application. 

Offences committed before commencement 

An offence that was committed entirely before the commencement date, that is 1 May 2026, will be judged by the FTT in accordance with the pre-commencement law.  

Offences committed on or after commencement 

An offence that was committed on or after the commencement date, that is 1 May 2026, will be judged in accordance with the new law.  

Offences that straddle the pre- and post-commencement period 

The commission of ongoing offences may straddle the pre- and post-commencement period. If this is the case, the FTT will judge the part of the offence that was committed before the commencement date in accordance with the old law, and apply the new law to the part of the offence that was committed on or after the commencement date.

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