The Renters’ Rights change nobody’s talking about
The Renters' Rights change nobody's talking about The Renters' Rights Act brought a set of changes on 1 May 2026 that have dominated landlord discussion: Section 21 abolished, periodic tenancies in place, rent increases capped to one per year, pet requests mandatory.
All of these changes matter. But one element of the legislation has received considerably less attention in landlord circles than the headline reforms, despite having direct financial consequences for anyone who falls foul of it. The strengthening of Rent Repayment Orders is the change most landlords know exists in outline but few have absorbed in its current form.
What Rent Repayment Orders were
Before the Renters’ Rights Act, a tenant could apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order requiring a landlord to repay up to twelve months of rent where specific offences had been committed. The most common trigger was operating an unlicensed HMO. The order applied to the landlord directly involved in the tenancy.
What they are now
From 1 May 2026, three significant changes apply to the Rent Repayment Order regime, each of which enlarges the exposure a landlord carries if they fall foul of the Act’s requirements.
The maximum claim period has doubled from twelve months to twenty-four months. A tenant who successfully applies for a Rent Repayment Order following a qualifying offence can now recover up to two years of rent paid. On a tenancy at £1,200 per month, that represents a potential liability of £28,800 before any additional penalty is considered.
The maximum civil penalty for a Rent Repayment Order has been raised to £40,000 for serious or repeated breaches. This is the same ceiling that applies across the wider enforcement framework of the Act and signals the government’s intention to make the consequences of non-compliance financially meaningful.
The scope of offences that trigger a Rent Repayment Order has expanded to cover new requirements introduced by the Act. Failure to register on the Private Rented Sector Database, once that system goes live in late 2026, will be a qualifying offence. Accepting or encouraging rental bids above the advertised asking rent is a qualifying offence. Accepting more than one month’s rent in advance, or accepting any rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, are qualifying offences. Each of these is in addition to the pre-existing triggers such as unlicensed HMO operation and illegal eviction.
The coverage has also extended to superior landlords. Where a property is sublet and the superior landlord, rather than the immediate landlord, has committed a qualifying offence, they can now be the subject of a Rent Repayment Order application. This matters for anyone who operates through intermediary arrangements, including some corporate landlord structures.
What this means in practice
The practical implication for landlords is straightforward: the financial consequences of operating outside the Act’s requirements are now considerably more significant than before May 2026, and they apply to a broader set of behaviours. The changes that landlords might have considered administrative, such as correctly setting a fixed asking rent and not accepting offers above it, or not taking rent before an agreement is signed, now carry a direct enforcement mechanism that a tenant can invoke.
The Rent Repayment Order regime is not designed to catch landlords who are genuinely trying to comply. It is designed to deter and penalise specific practices. Understanding which practices trigger it, and ensuring those practices are not occurring, is the most straightforward way to remain outside its reach entirely.
Talk to our lettings team about managing your compliance
This article was originally published by BriefYourMarket and is reproduced here with their permission.
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