Independent RRO Applicants Survey

Following a request from the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Flat Justice has conducted a survey of independent RRO Applicants who have subscribed to our “DIY” Rent Repayment Order (RRO) Guide. The Ministry was interested in receiving direct feedback from the Applicants themselves in addition to that from their representatives, such as Flat Justice.

RRO Survey Results

Flat Justice has collected contact details from subscribers to their RRO guide for tenants since 2020, some 1700 individuals after removal of duplicates and fake emails.

We issued our survey over the Christmas period and chased non-responders twice. As a result we received over 200 responses. Of these about 160 had either made a RRO application independently or were actively considering making one independently. The survey had a branching structure so that only limited responses were collected from those who had not made or were not considering making an application on their own behalf.

It is the statistics for the independent Applicants that we were most interested in collecting and analysing. The charts below relate to these independent Applicants (88) or would be Applicants (74).

The full results are in the attached spreadsheet, some of the charts from which are presented below:

  • No problem: I had no problem completing the RRO1 form
  • Notes: it would have been helpful to have some notes on the government website on how to complete the form
  • Multiple Applicants: I applied with other Applicants but there was only space for one Applicant
  • Respondent: I wasn’t sure what this meant
  • Grounds: I wasn’t sure how to complete this section

  • Difficult: I found the whole RRO process difficult
  • Manageable: I found the whole RRO process manageable with the resources available
  • Brief guide: I would have liked to have had a brief guide from the government to help me understand the process before I started
  • Multi-Fee: I applied with my flatmates but because we had different tenancies we had to each pay an application fee. This made the application very expensive.
  • LA unclear: The local authority did not give a clear answer to our request for information about an effective licence application date by the landlord
  • LA date: The local authority gave the wrong date for the effective licence application date
  • FRA: In a licensing case, the tribunal directions should require the Respondent to provide all documentation required for the licence, including any Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) and the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
  • LA expert: The local authority should have a trained officer that is responsible for RROs who can give advice to tenants
  • Save trees: Tribunals should be encouraged to accept online/email applications and always to allow electronic bundles
  • Bar R: Respondents that do not respond to directions should be barred from appearing at a hearing
  • LA loss: Mistake/s by the local authority caused me to lose my case

FOR THOSE INTENDING TO MAKE A RRO APPLICATION:

Importance of various factors:

Importance of Aspects of the Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB):

Flat Justice team

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