The Government's statutory guidance on RROs (rent repayment orders) under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 has taken on fresh urgency. From 1 May 2026, changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 double the maximum penalty to two years' rent and extend the reach of RROs to new offences and superior landlords. The guidance - which local housing authorities must have regard to under section 41 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 - sets out who can apply, on what grounds, and how the process works.
The Qualifying Offences
A council can pursue an RRO against a landlord who has committed any of the qualifying offences. The original set under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 includes: operating an unlicensed HMO (house in multiple occupation - a rental property shared by three or more people from different households), failing to comply with an improvement notice, failing to comply with a prohibition order, illegal eviction, using violence to secure entry, and breaching a banning order.
The Renters' Rights Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026, adds further offences including knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground - for instance, relying on a ground to recover a property when the landlord did not genuinely intend to meet the conditions attached to that ground (GOV.UK, 2026).
A prior criminal conviction is not required. The FTT (First-tier Tribunal) must simply be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt - the criminal standard of proof - that the landlord committed the offence. This means a council can act before any prosecution has concluded or even started.
How the Council Process Works
Before applying to the FTT, a local housing authority must serve a Notice of Intended Proceedings on the landlord. This notice must state why the authority is proposing to apply, specify the amount it seeks to recover, and give the landlord a minimum of 28 days to make representations (statutory guidance, GOV.UK).
The authority must serve this notice within 12 months of the offence. It may only apply to the tribunal where the offence was committed no more than 2 years before service of that notice. The council can pursue an RRO whether the affected tenants are still in the property or have already moved on.
The Financial Stakes After 1 May 2026
Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the maximum amount a landlord may be ordered to repay has increased from 12 months' rent to 24 months' rent (GOV.UK, 2026). Repeat offenders face the full maximum amount as a mandatory floor. The Act also extends RRO liability to superior landlords - meaning landlords in a chain of sub-lettings cannot shelter behind intermediate parties.
For offences that straddle 1 May 2026, the FTT applies the old law to the pre-commencement period and the new law to any conduct from that date onwards (GOV.UK statutory guidance, 2026). Any ongoing compliance failure that started before May 2026 and continues after it is now judged partly under the higher penalty regime.
The purpose of the regime, as the guidance states, is to ensure an RRO has "a real economic impact on the offender and demonstrate the consequences of not complying with their responsibilities" - stripping out the financial gain from the breach entirely.
