Rent Repayment Order Calculator — RRO Exposure for Landlords
Work out the maximum Rent Repayment Order for an unlicensed HMO, illegal eviction, banning order breach or Renters' Rights Act offence — plus the separate council civil penalty.
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A Rent Repayment Order (RRO) makes a landlord repay rent to a tenant, or to the council, after certain housing offences. Since 01/05/2026 the Renters’ Rights Act has doubled the maximum period an RRO can cover — from 12 months’ rent to 24 months’ rent — and added new tenancy-reform offences to the list that can trigger one. This calculator works out the statutory maximum for an offence, flags the separate (and much larger) civil penalty a council can also issue, and explains why there is no single formula for what a tribunal actually orders below that maximum.
Which offences qualify
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 sets out a specific table of offences (section 40(3)). The six families this calculator covers are unlicensed HMOs (Housing Act 2004, section 72(1)), unlicensed selective licensing (Housing Act 2004, section 95(1)), illegal eviction or harassment (Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 1), breach of a banning order (Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 21), failure to comply with an improvement notice (Housing Act 2004, section 30(1)), and — new from 01/05/2026 — the Renters’ Rights Act’s own tenancy offences (Housing Act 1988, section 16J), such as knowingly misusing a possession ground or re-letting during the restricted period after using the moving-in or sale ground. Violence for securing entry and failing to comply with a prohibition order also qualify but are not separate options here.
How the maximum is worked out
The starting point is simple: monthly rent × the number of months the offence ran, capped at 12 months for anything before 01/05/2026 or 24 months for an offence on or after that date. Section 44(3) of the 2016 Act then narrows this to “the rent paid by, or on behalf of, the tenant … less any relevant award of universal credit” — so any part of the rent that was actually Universal Credit or housing benefit comes off the top before the maximum is set. That share is not lost: the local council can bring its own, separate repayment order for it under a different section of the same Act, paid to the council rather than the tenant.
Why there is no fixed percentage
Below the maximum, tribunals do not apply a formula. In Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC) the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) set out a four-step approach — work out the whole rent for the period, deduct any utility costs the landlord paid that only benefited the tenant, weigh how serious this offence was against other cases, then adjust for the landlord’s conduct, finances and history — and said in terms that “there are no rules as to the amount to be repaid; there is no rate card.” That corrected an earlier drift, after Vadamalayan v Stewart [2020] UKUT 183 (LC), toward tribunals awarding close to 100% by default; Williams v Parmar [2021] UKUT 244 (LC) had already pushed back on that presumption. One thing IS fixed: where the landlord has a previous conviction, financial penalty, or Rent Repayment Order for the same type of offence, tribunals are expected to award the full maximum rather than weigh it case by case.
The separate civil penalty
A council does not have to go to a tribunal at all — it can instead fine the landlord directly, as an alternative to prosecution, for the same conduct. Before 01/05/2026 that fine was capped at £30,000 per offence. From 01/05/2026 the Renters’ Rights Act replaced that single cap with two tiers: up to £7,000 for a lower-tier breach and up to £40,000 for a more serious or repeat one. This penalty is paid to the council, not the tenant, and a landlord can face both a civil penalty and an RRO for the same offence — they are not alternatives to each other.
What this means for the numbers
None of this is tax-deductible. A Rent Repayment Order or a civil penalty is a consequence of unlawful conduct, not a cost of running the letting, so it cannot be set against rental income the way a normal allowable expense can. If the underlying issue is licensing, check whether the property actually needed one with what counts as an HMO or the HMO licence rules before assuming the worst; for tenants and landlords working through the wider reform, the Renters’ Rights Act hub covers every other change from 01/05/2026.
Sources, all read in full 13 September 2026: Housing and Planning Act 2016, sections 40 and 44 (legislation.gov.uk); Shelter Legal, “Rent repayment orders” (england.shelter.org.uk); Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC) (bailii.org); Plymouth City Council’s civil penalty policy for the pre-RRA £30,000 cap (plymouth.gov.uk). The £7,000 / £40,000 penalty tiers and the 01/05/2026 commencement date are the same figures used throughout this site (site/taxdata.py). The illustrative “likely award” range is editorial commentary, not a legal rule — no percentage is fixed in law. England only. General information, not advice — a solicitor or a tenants’ union (e.g. Justice for Tenants) can assess a specific case.
Asked constantly
Up to 12 months' rent for an offence before 01/05/2026, or up to 24 months' rent for an offence on or after that date, under the Renters' Rights Act. That is the statutory ceiling — what a tribunal actually orders below it depends on the case.
No. The Upper Tribunal said in Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC) that “there are no rules as to the amount to be repaid; there is no rate card.” Ordering the full maximum without weighing how serious the offence was is treated as a sign something has gone wrong — except where the landlord has a relevant previous conviction, penalty or RRO, when the full maximum is expected.
Only for the part of the rent you paid yourself. Section 44(3) of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 caps a tenant's RRO at rent paid "by, or on behalf of" the tenant, less any Universal Credit award. The council can separately claim the Universal Credit share back for itself.
An RRO is money paid to the tenant (or the council, for the benefit share) by order of a tribunal. A civil penalty is a fine a council issues itself, instead of prosecuting — up to £7,000 or £40,000 depending on severity, from 01/05/2026. A landlord can face both for the same offence.
Yes — section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004 covers letting a property that needed a selective licence (not an HMO) without one, and it is on the same qualifying-offence table as unlicensed HMOs.
No. Fines and penalties for unlawful conduct are not allowable expenses against rental income — they sit outside the normal running-cost deductions covered on our allowable expenses page.
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Sources
The primary documents this page is built from. Links checked 5 September 2026.
- Housing and Planning Act 2016 s.40 — legislation.gov.uk
- Housing and Planning Act 2016 s.44 — legislation.gov.uk
- Shelter Legal - Rent repayment orders from 1 May 2026 — Shelter Legal England
- Shelter Legal England - Housing conditions — Shelter Legal England