Claim back your rent if your private landlord breaks the law
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
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You can claim back up to 2 years’ worth of rent if your landlord breaks the law. For example, this might be because:
they used violence to get into your home
they evicted you illegally
they didn’t follow rules about licensing the property
You’ll need to apply for a ‘rent repayment order’ (RRO) at the First-Tier Tribunal.
How much rent you can claim back depends on when your landlord broke the law. If they broke the law before 1 May 2026, you can claim back 1 year’s worth of rent. If they broke the law on or after 1 May 2026, you can claim back 2 years' worth of rent.
You can make an RRO application even if you don’t live in the property anymore. If you still live there, keep paying your rent while you apply. If you stop, your landlord might try to evict you.
You can usually apply for an order even if you’ve complained to the council about your landlord - or you’re planning to complain.
If you decide to apply, it’s important to know you might not get back the full rent. If you have to go to a tribunal hearing, you might have to pay tribunal fees.
If you get Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit
If these benefits pay your full rent, you can’t apply for an RRO to claim them back.
If these benefits only pay part of your rent, you can apply for an RRO to claim back the rent you paid yourself.
Before applying for an RRO, you should:
check if you can claim back your rent
check the deadline to apply for your RRO
check how much rent you can claim back
gather evidence to show what your landlord did
If you’re worried your landlord might evict you
If you have an assured tenancy, applying for an RRO won’t affect your housing status. Your landlord can’t evict you just because you applied for an RRO.
If you don’t have an assured tenancy, your landlord might try to evict you if you apply - for example if you live in the same building with them.
If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have, check your housing status.
Check if you can claim back your rent
You can only claim back your rent if your landlord broke the law in one of the following ways.
Your landlord threatened you or used violence to get into your home
This applies if you were inside the property when the landlord tried to enter. The threats or violence might have been against you, any family members living with you, your belongings or the property. This also applies if the letting agent did any of these things.
You should save any evidence about what happened, for example:
witness statements - including statements from yourself, other people you live with or your neighbours
police log numbers or crime reference numbers - if there were any police officers involved
details about the council’s involvement - for example if Tenancy Relations Officers were present, ask the council
why they got involved and what they did
text messages, emails or any written communication you had with your landlord or letting agent
video recordings, if you have any
Your landlord evicted you illegally or harassed you
You should first check if your landlord followed the correct legal process to evict you.
You were evicted illegally if for example your landlord:
changed the locks while you were out
physically removed you from your home
stopped you getting into your home or parts of it
Your landlord might have also harassed you when they evicted you illegally.
Harassment happens if your landlord tries to force you to end your tenancy before you have to. For example, it’s harassment if they cut your electricity to try to make you leave.
You can apply for a rent repayment order even if you didn’t leave because of the harassment.
If you think your landlord evicted you illegally or harassed you, talk to an adviser.
Your landlord ignored an improvement notice, prohibition order or banning order
There are different rules depending on what your landlord did.
If your landlord ignored an improvement notice or prohibition order
Your local council might have given your landlord an improvement notice or a prohibition order. The council should have also sent you a copy.
If you think your landlord didn’t follow them, you should tell the council. Find your local council on GOV.UK.
Ask the council if they can confirm that your landlord broke the law. For example, they might have sent the landlord a fine or warning letter after the improvement notice.
The council might visit the property, for example if they want to check the landlord did some repairs properly. You might be able to use their assessment as evidence for your RRO claim.
If the council can’t confirm that your landlord broke the law, it’ll be expensive and difficult to find that evidence yourself. For example, you can pay a surveyor to check how the landlord did the repairs.
If your landlord ignored a banning order
If the council applies at the tribunal, the tribunal might give your landlord a banning order. For example, your landlord might get a banning order if they needed a licence for their property and didn’t have one.
Councils can use banning orders against landlords who committed a serious offence. A banning order stops someone from acting as a landlord, letting agent or property manager.
If you know your landlord has a banning order and they’re ignoring it, you should report them to your local council.
If your landlord rented the property to you while they had a banning order, you should tell your local council.
Ask the council:
to give you a copy of the order
to confirm if the landlord didn’t follow the order within the deadline
what actions they took or will take against the landlord
Your landlord needs a licence for your property and doesn’t have one
Your landlord might need a licence to rent the property to you if either:
it’s in an area where the council has a ‘selective licensing scheme’ - to find out, check your local council’s website or contact them
it’s a ‘house in multiple occupation’ (HMO)
You’re usually in an HMO if you live in a shared house, bedsit or hostel. You must live in a building with 2 or more people who aren’t part of your family.
If you suspect your landlord might have broken the rules, contact your local council. Ask them:
if the landlord needs a licence for the property
if and when they applied for and got the licence - if they applied for a licence, they stopped breaking the law at that point
Find your local council on GOV.UK.
If you need help working out if your landlord should have a licence, talk to an adviser.
Your landlord got a fine from the council and didn’t fix the problem quickly
You can apply for an RRO if your landlord got a fine for specific reasons and didn’t fix the problem within 28 days. This period might be longer if they appealed the fine.
If you have an assured tenancy, the council might have given your landlord a fine if for example:
they didn’t give you a written statement within [required time]
they tried to end your tenancy without giving you a valid notice
Most tenancies with private landlords are now assured tenancies. If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have, check your housing status.
In most cases, the council will find out that your landlord broke the law from you - for example if you complain about them.
Ask the council:
if they fined your landlord and why
when they fined them
Your landlord evicted you using a reason they didn't believe was true
You can apply for a rent repayment order if all of the following is true:
you had an assured tenancy
your landlord gave you a section 8 eviction notice on or after 1 May 2026
you moved out of your home within 4 months of the end date on the eviction notice
your landlord didn’t believe the reasons on the eviction notice were true - for example if they pretended they were going to live in the property
Most tenancies with private landlords are now assured tenancies. If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have, check your housing status.
It can be difficult to prove your landlord didn’t believe that the reasons on the eviction notice were true. If you suspect this, complain to the council - they should investigate. The council might give you evidence that can support your RRO application after their investigation.
You can’t apply for an RRO for this reason if a court gave your landlord a possession order.
Your landlord evicted you so they could sell the property or live in it - then rented it out again within a year
You can only apply for an RRO for this reason if you have an assured tenancy.
Most tenancies with private landlords are now assured tenancies. If you’re not sure what type of tenancy you have, check your housing status.
Your landlord must have evicted you using either:
‘Ground 1’ - this is where they say they or their family are going to live in the property
‘Ground 1A’ - this is where they say they’re going to sell the property
You can apply for an RRO if your landlord rented or advertised the property for rent within a year of the end date on the notice. This period could be longer in some cases.
You’ll need to show evidence that the landlord ended your tenancy using one of the 2 grounds - for example, your eviction notice.
You can’t apply for an RRO if your landlord:
used Ground 1 and rented the property to a family member as their home
used Ground 1A and rented the property to a buyer while they finished the sale of the property
If you need help working out if you can apply for an RRO, talk to an adviser.
Check the deadline to apply for an RRO
You can apply for an RRO up to 2 years after the date your landlord broke the law.
If your landlord evicted you illegally, you can apply for an order up to 2 years after they physically evicted you from the property.
If your landlord broke the law in another way, you can apply within 2 years of the last date when they broke the law. For example, if they needed a licence for your property and didn’t have one, the deadline usually started on the earliest out of:
the last day they didn’t have a licence
the day your tenancy ended
If you need help to check the deadline to apply for an RRO, talk to an adviser.
Check how much rent you can claim back
You can get back up to 2 years’ worth of rent if your landlord:
threatened you or used violence to get into your home
evicted you illegally or harassed you
evicted you using a reason they didn’t believe was true
evicted you so they could sell the property or live in it, then rented it out again within a year
If your landlord did any of the above on or after 1 May 2026, you can get back 2 years’ worth of rent. If they broke the law before 1 May 2026, you can only get 1 year’s worth of rent.
For all the other offences, you can only get back the rent covering the time your landlord broke the law. The maximum you can get is:
2 years’ worth of rent if your landlord broke the law on or after 1 May 2026 and they did it continuously for 2 years
12 months’ worth of rent if your landlord broke the law before 1 May 2026 and they did it continuously before that date
You need to work out:
the period when you landlord was breaking the law
how much rent you paid during that time
The court will look at all the circumstances and decide how much your landlord has to pay you.
You’ll usually only get the full rent you paid if either:
your landlord has been convicted or fined for the same type of issue
someone else has got an RRO against your landlord for the same type of issue
If your landlord committed multiple offences during the same period, you should include them in the same application. This will help you get back as much rent as possible.
You can’t get back more than the amount of rent you paid for the period.
If you’re a joint tenant
You can only get back your share of the rent.
If all joint tenants apply together, the tribunal will consider the whole rent when deciding how much everybody should get back.
If you paid rent in advance
You might be able to claim it back if it covers all or part of the RRO period.
If you paid bills as part of your rent
If your rent included payments for bills, like gas and water, you can’t get these payments back with an RRO.
If you had rent arrears
You can’t claim an RRO for a period when you had rent arrears.
If you had rent arrears outside of the RRO period, the tribunal can take these into account to reduce the amount you can get.
Gather your evidence
What evidence you should gather depends on what your landlord did.
Usually, you’ll need to contact your council to get evidence of what they ordered your landlord to do - and what the landlord did or didn’t do.
In rare situations, you might also need to contact the police to see if your landlord was prosecuted. For example, they might have been prosecuted if they used violence to get into your home.
You should also collect anything that can support your case, like:
copies of your tenancy agreement, eviction notices and any other documents your landlord gave you
statements from you or other people about what happened - for example if your neighbours heard your landlord threatening you
any communication between you and the council - for example letters, emails and text messages
copies of any documents the council shared with you - if they gave your landlord a fine, they should also give you evidence of this
Applying for a rent repayment order
You should first write to your landlord to tell them you’re planning to apply for an RRO. You don’t have to do this, but it can help you in a number of ways.
Your landlord might agree to pay back some or all of your rent so you will not have to go to the tribunal.
If they don’t agree to pay, they’ll usually say why they think they shouldn’t have to pay. This will help you check if you have a strong case against them.
They should also let you know if someone else is actually the landlord - for example if they’re only a management company. This will help you apply for an RRO against the right person or organisation.
If you’re not sure who your landlord is
You can find your landlord’s name and address on your rent book or tenancy agreement. If you have an assured tenancy, your landlord or letting agent must give you a written tenancy agreement.
If you have a letting agent, you can also ask them for your landlord’s details. They have to tell you.
If your landlord is renting from someone else, you might be able to apply for an RRO against the person who owns the property. You’ll need to show that they broke the law - this can be difficult.
If the property should have a licence but doesn’t have one, it might be difficult to work out who’s responsible and who to apply against. It might be your landlord or the owner of the property.
If you’re not sure who your landlord is or who to apply against, talk to an adviser.
Fill out the RRO form
To apply for a rent repayment order, you need to fill in form RRO1. Download form RRO1 on GOV.UK.
In your form, you’ll need to:
explain why you’re applying
say how your landlord broke the law and give the time period
say if your landlord was convicted, fined or had a previous RRO made against them for the same reason
give evidence that you paid your rent during the time your landlord broke the law
You need to send your form to the First-Tier Tribunal. You can usually send it by email or post - you can find these details at the end of the form.
You’ll need to pay a fee to apply - you’ll find the cost on page 6 of the RRO form.
If you have to go to court, you might have to pay extra fees. If you win, you can ask the court to make your landlord pay you the legal fees.
Get support to apply for a rent repayment order
You can contact Flat Justice - they’re an organisation that offers free advice on how to apply for an RRO. They can also represent you at the tribunal, but you need to pay - it’s a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
Flat Justice Telephone: 07377 748 811 Email: office@flatjustice.org Website: www.getrentback.org
You can also ask your council to make the application for you, but they don’t have to help. Find your local council on GOV.UK.
Help us improve our website
Take 5 minutes to tell us if you found what you needed on our website. Your feedback will help us give millions of people the information they need.