Get help to apply for a rent repayment order

What a rent repayment order is, who can apply, how to apply, what it costs, how to get help to apply.

What a rent repayment order is

A rent repayment order allows you to claim back up to 12 months' rent if your landlord or letting agent has committed at least one of the following offences:

  • illegally evicts or harasses you to make you leave the property
  • using or threatening violence to enter the property
  • not making improvements to the property after we've served a legal notice telling them to do so (not complying with an improvement notice)
  • letting or managing property after they've been banned from doing so (being in breach of a banning order)
  • letting a property or parts of property after we've served a notice telling them not to, or letting it to more people than we've said they can (not complying with a prohibition order)
  • letting or managing a property without a licence in an area where a licence is needed
  • letting or managing a house in multiple occupation (HMO) without a licence if a licence is needed 

Who can apply for a rent repayment order

You can apply for a rent repayment order if:

  • you're a private tenant 
  • the offence took place while you were living in the property 
  • the landlord or agent committed the offence in the past 12 months

How to apply for a rent repayment order

To apply for a rent repayment order, download and fill in the application form from GOV.UK.

You'll need to provide evidence that the offence happened. The landlord doesn't have to have been convicted of the offence. To help you do provide evidence, you can fill in one of our supplementary evidence sheets and include it with your application:

Send your completed application form to the First Tier Tribunal at the address on the application form

Cost 

It costs £100 to apply for a rent repayment order. You'll need to send the fee when you apply. You can pay by cheque or postal order. Find out about help with court fees on GOV.UK.

The First Tier Tribunal may decide to hold a hearing. If there is a hearing, you'll need to pay another £200.

Get help to apply for a rent repayment order

We may be able to help you apply for a rent repayment order:

We give initial advice free of charge. If we assist with your application, for example helping you fill in the application form or helping provide evidence, you'll need to pay us a fee if a rent repayment order is granted. 

The fee depends on how many months' rent the rent repayment order is granted for.

See the pdf table of fees (70 KB) .

For more information and a check list for your application, view our  pdf tenants guide. (759 KB)

Get help from other organisations

There are other organisations which may be able to help you with the process of applying for an RRO including:

Tell us about a problem with a form, page or Citizen Portal account