This is a basic summary of the process of applying to get you rent
back through a Rent Repayment Order. Please read through all the advice
on this web site to get a clear picture of what's involved. See also
Camden's excellent tenant guide to making a RRO application
here.
These
are the checks you need to make and the steps to take to Get Rent Back:
1. Check proof of rental payments, eg bank statements. Please
don't send a big pile of bank statements and expect the Tribunal to sort
through them: best is an online banking search for your rental payments
(or relevant cash withdrawals if you paid in cash) which you then
"print" as a pdf. (Under Windows systems
there should be an option to choose the printer as "Microsoft print to
pdf": choose this to print or save as pdf. If there isn't a print option
then press CTRL +P. On a Mac: look for the PDF button in the lower
left corner, click on that pull-down menu, and select Save as PDF).
Some banks, e.g. HSBC/First Direct, don't allow you to search
transactions older than 3 months: in this case we recommend you "snip"
or screenshot the individual transactions and compile them in date order
on a Word document or similar. Please note that mobile banking
screenshots are very difficult to work with: best to use a real computer
as suggested above. It may be helpful to add a spreadsheet of payments,
however an exported data file by itself is not good enough evidence as
anyone could have typed it.
2. Check proof that your property needed a licence. This is a bit
tricky: so either it's a Mandatory HMO, in which case you need to show
that there were at least 5 occupants sharing amenities such as kitchen,
bathroom or toilet
(see our HMO definition here). Note the "3 or
more storeys" requirement was abolished by the Prescribes Descriptions
Order 1/10/2018. Or the property was in a borough with an
additional or selective licensing scheme:
you can check this here (look
under your borough). You also need proof that the property was a HMO, e.g. rental contracts
for the minimum number of tenants to qualify as a HMO during your rental period.
For selective licence areas you do not need proof of HMO status: all
privately rented properties in selective areas should be licensed.
3. Check proof of allegation. e.g., for licensing: email from Local
Authority(LA)/Council/borough confirming property unlicensed during rental.
Be very careful here that you have a clear statement from the LA about
when a valid application was made: often landlords send
in an application without payment and/or obligatory supporting
documents: this may not count as a valid application. For
harassment you will need sworn statements from the tenants concerned or
witnesses;
4. In the case of HMO property: make up a table showing how the property was occupied over the period for which you apply for a RRO. List tenants names and dates of arrival/departure in a form that is easily understandable;
4. Fill out
& send
RRO1 form with evidence (respect format with content &
appendices). Enclose a cheque or Postal Order for £100 or application for waiver (only if
approx. <£1100/month earnings & <£3000 savings). You can have multiple
tenants covered by 1 fee and 1 application, but 1 person should be
chosen as the representative. You do not need a solicitor. Decide also on
a postal address for correspondence- the tribunal posts everything even
though they email you as well if you request it. Keep a copy/scan of the
application!
5. After application, the First-tier Tribunal contacts
you and checks on available dates (Listing Questionnaire) before
arranging for a
Case Management Conference (CMC) appointment with you and the landlord
and/or their representative/solicitor
6. CMC: duration about 30
mins. A Judge checks if there is a case to be answered before proceeding
to tribunal hearing appointment and advises what documents/evidence need
to be produced and in what format. They also clarify how to communicate.
CMC is not automatic so you might not have this stage
7. Directions are issued by post:
a) Summary of CMC discussions
b) Clarification of necessary evidence
and it's distribution, e.g. 3 copies for tribunal members, 1 for respondent
(landlord) and 1 for yourself or your representative
c) Details of how communication must be done before the
hearing, e.g. correspondence to tribunal must be copied to the other party
d) Date set for respondent (landlord) to provide statement of defence
(usually about a month after the CMC)
e) Date set for applicant
(tenant/s) to respond to landlord's defence (about a month after (d))
f) Date set for hearing: about 1 month after (e)
g) Demand for
hearing fee of £200 along with confirmation of attendance at hearing is
due within 2 weeks
h) Form for agreement to mediation to be returned
within 2 weeks. You don't need to mediate and you are not disadvantaged
if you don't. So you only need to tick the box that says you don't want
to mediate :-)
8. Return to tribunal by post: cheque for £200,
agreement/non-agreement to mediate form completed, attendance at hearing
form completed
9. You receive a bundle of papers from the
respondent on date set at 7 (d) above which you can assess and prepare
your response to
10. You send your response to the respondents
defence by the date set at 7 (e). You may add other evidence at this
stage including sworn statements. Witness statements must have numbered
paragraphs with a statement of truth and the signature of the witness. 5
copies: 1 for yourself (for hearing), 3 for the tribunal & 1 for the
respondent
11. Attend hearing at date set in 7 (f). You can
expect the hearing to last 3-5 hours. They usually start at 10, break
for lunch and reconvene after, so it takes a good chunk of the day.
You will have to argue your case against the landlord and/or their
representative who may be a lawyer or barrister. Three judges will
normally preside over proceedings. Sometimes 2, sometimes 4.
If you are claiming harassment as
well and have other witnesses who have made statements, they will need
to attend the hearing in order to answer questions about their statement.
Although the Tribunal rules are a bit vague on this it is possible to
submit witness statements without witnesses appearing: but they carry
less weight.
There is a
useful guide here for what are called "Litigants in Person", ie
people representing themselves or without a lawyer
12. A
Decision or Judgment will
normally be issued within 6 weeks of the hearing
13. (Unlucky for some) The respondent or applicant may appeal against
the judgment. They have 28 days from the judgment to lodge an appeal.
If allowed the case may be heard at the Upper Tribunal....
If you need help you can email us or ring us: see here.
TIPS:
- Get the application in as soon as possible: you can only apply for
rent to be repaid that was paid in the 12 months immediately before the
date of your application ---STOP PRESS 10/01/2019----
Following our letter
to the Tribunal the RRO1 form is now being corrected and this rule no
longer applies! Our interpretation of the timing of
applications and the period for which you can claim rent has now been
confirmed by a
successful appeal case we have brought. You now have much more time
to get your application/evidence together and you can Get more Rent
Back:-)
- Check who the real landlord of your property is/was. Often agents put themselves as the landlord on a tenancy agreement and hide the identity and or address of the true landlord. Government guidance here (section 3.8) directs that the respondent should be the eventual recipient of the rent, whatever middle-lease agreements there may be. Safest bet: use the Land Registry to find the owner of the property (costs only £3) and put them as the respondent along with the agent/shell company etc.: the Tribunal may help decide who is the real landlord
-
Judges hate messy paperwork as it wastes time: fair enough. Make sure everything is
paginated and indexed properly; bind documents in a lever-arch file with
dividers to signpost the content
- Make a "skeleton" argument summary: on 1 side of an A4 (no more) summarise the essential details of your application and distribute this on top of your evidence bundles. Take a few copies with you to the hearing. This helps bring everybody up to speed quickly
- Go to a hearing before yours to see how things work: the public are allowed to attend. You can find out about upcoming hearings by checking the schedule at First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Residential Property, HMCTS, 10 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7LR tel: 0207 446 7700
- Think carefully about how to present your case. Although you will get a fair hearing, the tribunal has to remain impartial and they cannot make your case for you, so you need to have your arguments ready. Check out especially our pages on case law and RRO history
-Make sure you comply with all Directions issued by the Tribunal: copy your communications with the Tribunal to the respondent, don't miss deadlines for evidence, etc. If you don't comply your application may be struck off: this happened in October 2018 to a tenant RRO case (not one we were assisting with...)
- Be especially well prepared to defend against claims by the landlord for costs to be offset against the rent paid...see our discussion of this here . Also our arguments we use in submissions re allowable costs, available here
- On the day of the hearing, make sure you allow plenty of time for security checks at the entrance to the tribunal building. Allow at least 15 minutes for this.
- At the hearing: if judges start talking about costs that the landlord wants to set against the rent repayment, ask them (politely) to explain under what part of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 they believe that such deductions are allowable