You've found out your landlord was running an unlicensed HMO, or letting a house that needed a selective licence without one. You know you're owed money back. The question sitting in your head now is how long this is going to take.
Expect several months, not weeks, from the moment you submit your application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to the day a decision lands. Neither GOV.UK nor the tribunal publishes an average for rent repayment orders in England, and the GOV.UK tenant guidance says only that the time varies. The stage timings below are rough guides, not official figures.
The timeline isn't fixed, though. A landlord who contests the claim, missing evidence, or a busy tribunal listing window can push things out.
What are the stages of a rent repayment order claim?
The rent repayment order process has five distinct stages. The timeframes are rough guides and your case may move faster or slower.
Stage 1: Gathering evidence (2 to 4 weeks) Before you file anything, you need to build your case. That means pulling together your tenancy agreement, rent payment records, proof of the landlord's offence (an unlicensed HMO or unlicensed house, a breached improvement notice, an illegal eviction), and evidence that you were paying rent during the period you're claiming for. This stage is entirely in your hands, and it's the one most people underestimate. Do it properly here and you save time at every stage after.
Stage 2: Submitting your application (1 to 2 weeks) The application goes to the First-tier Tribunal using the RRO1 form. There is an application fee, plus a separate hearing fee if the case is listed for a hearing, and you can request reimbursement if your claim succeeds. Check the current amounts on GOV.UK. Once submitted, the tribunal acknowledges receipt, notifies your landlord and sends directions setting the deadlines for each side.
Stage 3: The landlord's response (2 to 4 weeks) Your landlord gets a chance to respond. If both sides agree, or neither objects after the tribunal gives notice, the case can be decided on the papers without a hearing. Otherwise a hearing gets listed, and how soon depends on tribunal workload in your area.
Stage 4: The hearing GOV.UK says hearings usually last around three hours but can take up to a full day, so plan for the whole day. You present your evidence, the landlord presents theirs, and the tribunal panel decides. You do not need a solicitor to attend, though well-organised evidence matters.
Stage 5: The decision (usually within 4 weeks of the hearing) The panel does not normally decide on the day. GOV.UK says the written decision is normally sent within four weeks, though it can take longer. It will confirm whether you're entitled to a repayment order, and if so, how much and over what period.
Add those stages up and a contested case will usually take several months. A claim decided on the papers can be quicker.
Why do some rent repayment order cases take longer?
Certain things reliably slow a case down.
A landlord who fights back. A landlord who appoints a representative and submits detailed written arguments will trigger a full contested hearing. That adds time to the schedule, especially if the tribunal asks for further rounds of evidence.
Missing documentation. If the tribunal asks you to provide additional evidence after submission and you're slow to respond, the clock stops moving. Tribunals will typically set a deadline for additional documents, and missing it can push your listing date back by weeks.
Tribunal backlog. The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) handles a large volume of cases. In high-demand areas, you may wait some time for a hearing slot once your case is ready. There's no way to pay to jump the queue.
Multiple tenants claiming together. A group of housemates filing a joint claim can complicate the scheduling and the evidence bundle. Joint claims are worth doing because they typically produce larger total awards, but they do take longer to coordinate.
The one thing that speeds up a case is a well-prepared initial application. Tribunals reward clear, organised evidence that makes the decision easy. A thorough bundle submitted on day one is worth more than any legal argument you could make at the hearing.
How much can you claim through a rent repayment order?
Before you decide whether it is worth your time, know what you're potentially claiming.
For a continuing offence such as an unlicensed HMO, the order covers rent paid while the offence was being committed, up to 2 years. If the offence started before 1 May 2026, the pre-May part stays under the old 12-month rules and only the months from 1 May 2026 count under the new 2-year limit, so a full 2 years under the new rules cannot build up until May 2028. Do not add the two caps together. For an illegal eviction or harassment, the order covers rent paid in the 2 years before the offence, or 12 months if the offence was before 1 May 2026. Rent paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit does not count. If you paid £1,200 a month for 6 eligible months, that gives a ceiling of £7,200 for the tribunal to consider.
Usually the tribunal decides the amount. It must take into account the conduct of the landlord and of you as tenant, the landlord's financial circumstances, and whether the landlord has been convicted, fined or had an RRO for a qualifying offence. For offences from 1 May 2026, it must order the maximum if the landlord has been convicted or given a final financial penalty for the offence, or has a previous conviction, penalty or RRO for the same offence, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
You can claim if your landlord committed one of the qualifying offences listed in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025), which pulls in offences from the Housing Act 2004, the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and other statutes. Qualifying offences include operating an unlicensed HMO or an unlicensed house under selective licensing, failing to comply with an improvement notice, illegal eviction or harassment and, for offences from 1 May 2026, knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground. This route applies to housing in England, and Wales runs its own separate scheme. You can read about which offences qualify on our rent repayment order grounds guide.
There is an application fee, plus a hearing fee if the case proceeds to a hearing. Check the current figures on GOV.UK.
Do you have 12 months or 2 years to apply for a rent repayment order?
The RRO process has a strict time limit, and missing it ends your claim entirely.
For a one-off offence before 1 May 2026, such as an illegal eviction, you have 12 months from the day it happened. A licensing offence such as an unlicensed HMO is committed every day the property stays unlicensed, so the clock runs from the day it stopped, for example when the landlord applied for a licence or you moved out. If it stopped before 1 May 2026, you have 12 months from that day. If it started before 1 May 2026, the pre-May months may keep the old 12-month limit, so apply before 30 April 2027 to protect that rent. The clock does not pause while you gather evidence.
For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act extended the limitation period to 2 years. That's one of the more tenant-friendly changes in the legislation, giving you a longer window to identify the offence and build your case before the deadline cuts you off.
Neither limitation period can be extended by a tribunal. If you're outside the window, the tribunal has no discretion to hear your claim, regardless of how strong the underlying case is.
If you're not sure when the offence started, or whether you're still inside the window, check now. Remedy can tell you for free whether you're still within time.
For a detailed walkthrough on completing the application itself, see our step-by-step guide to the RRO1 form.
How to stop your rent repayment order claim being delayed
You cannot control the tribunal's listing schedule. You can control everything else.
Get your evidence bundle right before you file. That means rent receipts or bank statements showing every payment, your tenancy agreement, proof of the landlord's offence (a council licensing search, correspondence, dated photos), and a clear summary of the period you're claiming for. An organised bundle submitted upfront reduces back-and-forth with the tribunal.
Respond to tribunal correspondence the same day. The tribunal will send you documents by post or email. Every day you sit on a request for further information is a day added to your timeline. Set a reminder to check for tribunal correspondence regularly.
Don't wait for the landlord to admit anything. Most landlords contesting an RRO deny liability until the end. Their denial is not evidence that your claim is weak. The tribunal decides on the evidence, not on what the landlord admits.
Keep records of everything after you file. Any communication with your landlord during the process, any changes to the property, anything relevant should go into your evidence folder. Tribunals sometimes request up-to-date information at the hearing.
Remedy's tribunal support feature helps you prepare your evidence bundle, track deadlines, and upload and annotate documents so nothing slips through. For renters managing this without a solicitor, that structure helps. See our full guide on how to apply for a rent repayment order in the UK for the complete application process.
What changes after 1 May 2026 affect RRO timelines?
The Renters' Rights Act 2025's rent repayment order changes came into force on 1 May 2026, and they change the RRO picture in ways that may affect how long your case takes.
First, the expanded grounds. The Act added new offences that qualify for a rent repayment order, including knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground, and letting or marketing the home during the restricted period after using a moving-in or selling ground. Further grounds tied to the Private Rented Sector database are written into the Act but have not yet been brought into force. More qualifying offences mean more potential claims in the tribunal system, which may push listing times out further in the short term.
Second, the 2-year limitation period for post-May 2026 offences gives tenants more time to identify problems and file, which should reduce the number of borderline cases where tenants rush a poorly prepared application.
Third, landlord fines under the new Act are significant. Local councils can now issue civil penalties of up to £40,000 for certain offences. A landlord facing both a council fine and an RRO claim at the same time may be more inclined to settle, which could shorten timelines for some claimants.
GOV.UK has published updated rent repayment order guidance for tenants under the new framework.
If your claim involves an offence that straddles the May 2026 commencement date, check which rules apply to both the time limit and the amount before you file. You can read more about the fines landlords now face under the Renters' Rights Act and what that means for your bargaining position as a claimant.
Not sure whether your offence falls under the 12-month or the 2-year limit? Remedy can check your dates and help you build the evidence bundle that keeps a claim moving.
