Rent repayment order for unlicensed HMO

Short answer

Yes. Both an unlicensed HMO and an unlawful eviction are among the offences that entitle a tenant to apply for a rent repayment order (RRO) in England. The relevant framework is the Housing and Planning Act 2016, and the application is made to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). If your property is in Wales, the same 2016 Act applies but the application goes to the Residential Property Tribunal Wales, and the licensing regime differs.

What a rent repayment order is

An RRO is an order requiring a landlord to repay rent (or, if the rent was paid through housing benefit or the housing element of universal credit, to repay that to the local authority) because the landlord has committed one of a defined list of housing offences. The tenant does not need the landlord to have been convicted first. The Tribunal can make the order if it is satisfied, to the criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt), that the offence was committed, even without a prosecution.

The qualifying offences

Under section 40 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 the offences that can found an RRO include:

1. Control or management of an unlicensed HMO (an offence under section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004).

2. Control or management of an unlicensed house under a selective licensing scheme (section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004).

3. Unlawful eviction or harassment of an occupier under section 1(2), 1(3) or 1(3A) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

4. Using violence to secure entry (section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

5. Failure to comply with an improvement notice or a prohibition order.

6. Breach of a banning order.

So an unlicensed student HMO and an illegal eviction each independently qualify, and it is possible to rely on more than one offence arising from the same tenancy.

Unlicensed student HMO

The key question is whether the property actually required a licence. Mandatory HMO licensing applies to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, regardless of the number of storeys. Many student houses fall within this. In addition, a local authority may operate additional HMO licensing (covering smaller HMOs, for example three or four sharers) or selective licensing for a designated area, and student areas are commonly covered. You need to identify which scheme applied to your address at the relevant time, because that determines both whether an offence was committed and which offence you rely on.

Points that commonly matter:

The offence is committed by the person having control or management of the HMO, which is usually the landlord and can include a superior landlord in some circumstances. Following the Supreme Court decision in Rakusen v Jepsen, an RRO can generally only be made against your immediate landlord, not a superior landlord higher up the chain, so identifying the correct respondent matters.

The landlord may have a defence of reasonable excuse for operating without a licence, for example if a valid application had already been duly made and was pending. That is a matter for the landlord to raise and prove.

You can only recover rent for the period during which the property was actually unlicensed and being operated in breach.

Illegal eviction

For an RRO based on unlawful eviction or harassment, you rely on the offences in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. In broad terms, unlawful eviction is depriving a residential occupier of occupation without a court order (for example changing the locks while you are out, as in one recent Tribunal case), and harassment covers acts likely to interfere with peace or comfort, or persistent withdrawal of services, done to make you leave.

You should be alert to alternative innocent explanations, because the Tribunal applies the criminal standard. For example, if you had genuinely surrendered the tenancy, given notice, or abandoned the property, or if a court possession order had in fact been obtained and enforced by bailiffs, there may be no offence. The material facts, especially the exact dates, what was said, and whether any court process was used, are decisive.

Who can apply and the time limit

A tenant who paid the rent during the relevant period can apply. Where rent was paid from housing benefit or universal credit, the local authority can apply instead for that element.

There is a strict time limit: the application must be made within 12 months of the offence being committed (or, for a continuing offence like operating an unlicensed HMO, within 12 months of the last day the offence was being committed). Missing this deadline is usually fatal, so act promptly.

How much you can recover

The maximum recoverable is the rent paid during a period of up to 12 months in which the offence was being committed. The Tribunal does not automatically award the full amount. Following the Upper Tribunal guidance in Williams v Parmar and related cases, the Tribunal starts by considering the rent for the relevant period and then adjusts having regard to the conduct of the landlord and the tenant, the landlord’s financial circumstances, and whether the landlord has any relevant convictions.

Recent First-tier Tribunal decisions illustrate the range: awards have been made at 70 percent and 80 percent of rent for serious cases, and around 30 percent where the licensing breach was treated as less serious and other factors reduced it. Utilities and other services included in the rent may be deducted, as the order is intended to repay rent rather than the cost of services provided. A more serious offence such as unlawful eviction, or a landlord with a bad record, tends to push the percentage up.

Evidence you will need

1. Your tenancy agreement and proof of the rent paid, such as bank statements or receipts, covering the full period claimed.

2. Evidence of the licensing position, for example the local authority’s public register of HMO and selective licences, and any correspondence confirming the property was unlicensed at the relevant time. The local authority licensing team can confirm the scheme in force and whether a licence or application existed.

3. For illegal eviction, contemporaneous evidence of what happened and when: photographs, messages, texts or emails from the landlord, witness statements from housemates, a police report or crime reference number, and any record of the local authority tenancy relations or environmental health team being involved.

Procedure and cost

You apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) using the RRO application form. The application fee is modest and there is a further hearing fee, both of which the Tribunal can order the landlord to reimburse if you succeed. There is generally no adverse costs risk of the kind found in the ordinary courts, since costs are only awarded for unreasonable behaviour, which makes the RRO route relatively low risk. Housemates who each paid rent can apply together, and each can recover their own share.

Practical order of steps

1. Check the licensing position with the local council and gather your rent payment records now, before the 12 month clock runs out.

2. If an illegal eviction has just happened or is threatened, contact the council’s tenancy relations or housing options team immediately, as they can intervene and even prosecute, and consider the police if there is violence or a break-in. An injunction to get back into the property is a separate and urgent remedy.

3. Consider a clear written demand or letter before claim to the landlord, which sometimes prompts settlement, though an RRO cannot be waived away simply by the landlord’s objection.

4. If unresolved, make the Tribunal application within the 12 month limit, identifying the correct respondent (normally your immediate landlord).

Key missing facts that affect the answer

The outcome depends on: how many occupiers and households were in the house and what licensing scheme actually applied; whether the property was genuinely unlicensed for the whole period you claim; the exact dates and mechanics of any eviction and whether any court order was used; who your immediate landlord was as opposed to any agent or superior landlord; and whether the 12 month time limit is still open. If you tell me the number of sharers, the council area, the rent, and the dates involved, the position can be pinned down much more precisely.