Section 98: Rent repayment orders for offences under the Housing Act 1988 and sections 67 and 92 of this Act

Renters' Rights Act 2025 · 2025 c. 26View on legislation.gov.uk

Our take on Section 98: Rent repayment orders for offences under the Housing Act 1988 and sections 67 and 92 of this Act

This widens the link between council fines and your claim. Since 1 May 2026, if your landlord in England has been convicted of the offence you rely on, or has a final council fine for it, the tribunal must order the maximum save in exceptional circumstances. So does an earlier conviction, fine or order for the same kind of offence. Before, a conviction for letting an unlicensed home did not force the maximum. You now have 2 years from the offence to apply, not 12 months, and misusing a possession ground counts if you left within four months without a court order. In our view timing is the limit, as none of this applies to offending before 1 May 2026.

Part 2: Residential landlords — Chapter 4: Part 2: supplementary provision

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 is amended as follows.

In section 40 (introduction and key definitions), in subsection (3)—

at the end of line 2 of the table in that subsection insert— 2AHousing Act 1988section 16J(1)Knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground2Bsection 16J(2)Breach of restriction on letting or marketing dwelling-house2Csection 16J(3)Tenancy reform: continuing breaches;
in line 5 of the table in that subsection, in the third column, for "control or management of unlicensed HMO" substitute ;"offences relating to unlicensed HMOs"
in line 6 of the table in that subsection, in the third column, for "control or management of unlicensed house" substitute ;"offences relating to unlicensed houses"
at the end of the table in that subsection insert— 8Renters' Rights Act 2025section 67(1)Landlord redress schemes: continuing breaches9section 92(1)Private rented sector database: provision of false or misleading information10 (but only if the penalty imposed relates to a breach of a requirement imposed by section section 92(2)82(3))Private rented sector database: continuing breaches.

In section 41 (application for rent repayment order)—

in subsection (2)(b), for "12 months" substitute ;"2 years"
after subsection (2) insert— 2A The requirement in subsection (2)(a) does not apply to an application for a rent repayment order in relation to an offence under section 16J(1) or (2) of the Housing Act 1988.

In section 42 (notice of intended proceedings), in subsection (5), for "12 months" substitute ."2 years"

In section 44 (amount of order: tenants)—

in subsection (2), in the first column of the table—
in the first row, for "or 2" substitute , and", 2, 2A or 9"
in the second row, for "3" to "7" substitute ;"2C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 10"
in subsection (2), after the first row of the table insert— an offence mentioned in row 2B of the table in section 40(3)the period of 2 years ending with the date of the offence or, if the tenancy ends before that date, the date on which it ends;
in subsection (4)—
omit the "and" at the end of paragraph (b),
in paragraph (c), after "of" insert , and", or received a financial penalty in respect of,"
at the end of paragraph (c) insert , and d whether the landlord has at any time had a rent repayment order made against them.

In section 45 (amount of order: local housing authorities)—

in subsection (2), in the first column of the table —
in the first row, for "or 2" substitute , and", 2, 2A or 9"
in the second row, for "3" to "7" substitute ;"2C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 10"
in subsection (2), after the first row of the table insert— an offence mentioned in row 2B of the table in section 40(3)the period of 2 years ending with the date of the offence or, if the tenancy ends before that date, the date on which it ends;
in subsection (4)—
omit the "and" at the end of paragraph (b),
in paragraph (c), after "of" insert , and", or received a financial penalty in respect of,"
at the end of paragraph (c) insert , and d whether the landlord has at any time had a rent repayment order made against them.

In section 46 (amount of order following conviction)—

in subsection (1), for "both" substitute ;"either"
for subsection (3) substitute— 3 Condition 2 is that the order is made against a landlord in relation to an offence (the "relevant offence") where the landlord has at any time (whether or not in relation to the same tenancy or housing)— a been convicted of another offence which is the same offence as the relevant offence, b received a financial penalty in respect of another offence which is the same offence as the relevant offence, or c had a rent repayment order made against them in respect of another offence which is the same offence as the relevant offence.;
after subsection (4) insert— 4A For the purposes of subsection (3), an offence under section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004 is to be treated as the same offence as an offence under section 95(1) of that Act (and vice versa).

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.