Updating post from Reddit.
As above. Here's what I'm filing for, and why. Would anyone help evaluate my claim before I file for my Rent Repayment Order?
I lived in the property for 12 months, paying £760 per month in rent on time every month without fail. I request a a repayment of the full 12 months' rent: £9,120.
The property met the criteria for a House in Multiple Occupation but my landlord failed to obtain the required licence. When a prospective tenant inquired why it wasn't on the register, my landlord said "Not on the HMO register yet as it's a new requirement." It has, to my knowledge, been a legal requirement since 2006. Haringey Council contacted her about this in early March 2025. At the time of filing this RRO, she has still not applied for the license.
She refused to place my deposit in a government approved scheme, stating in writing to a prospective tenant: "Please note we don't do the Tenancy Deposit Scheme as we have had problems with it." This is a clear breach of the Housing Act 2004.
The property had severe damp issues, resulting in black mould mushrooms growing on my windows and curtains. This affected all tenants (who have provided me with images to support this) but my landlord blamed my habit of drying clothes on a radiator (as I am instructed to do so in my contract, despite her insisting that my contract forbids this) rather than addressing the strutcural issues of the house. We had mice at one point, which suggests a hole in the wall which could have contributed to the issue. She refused to install an extractor fan in the kitchen or bathroom, despite acknowledging the damp problem, and continued to blame me. This discussion took place on 2^(nd) March 2025, in which landlady (a smoker) also tried to blame my housemate at the time and her partner (who are non-smokers like me) for smoking in the house or nearby the windows for the smell of cigarette smoke. I recorded this discussion.
Landlady and her partner regularly turned up to the property without having provided the legally required 24 hours notice. I once found her partner outside my bedroom window with no warning. Times were otherwise often unspecified, or without notice at all. On 28^(th) March 2025, landlady entered my room without permission while I was out the house, claiming she believed she thought she was allowed to do that over text. On 19^(th) March 2025, her partner got into an unnecessary argument with a cable repair man at around 12:30pm in my room. The work had been completed at this time, so I was surprised when he reentered my room at around 5:30pm that evening without warning. Landlady stayed till 10pm to defrost a freezer without warning. The freezer was working fine, but this meant that I couldn't cook that evening.
When I requested the CP12 and EICR valid for when my tennancy began, she would not provide them. I suspect this is because she does not have them.
I have all of my claims documented via text, email, recorded conversations and videos.
Don't forget to try to reclaim 3x the deposit for it not being protected. Sometimes they only award one month, but it's worth asking for more and getting less, than asking for less and getting even less
Good luck!
If they are unlicensed, there’s a very good chance that their insurance is invalid. You might get enough money to pay for the move to your new place. You certainly won’t be staying on there as they chuck people out to get below HMO requirements
> The property met the criteria for a House in Multiple Occupation but my landlord failed to obtain the required licence
The lack of a licence, when required, is almost always going to win you the RRO case - what monies are awarded, and whether you'd every recover any, is another matter.
Have the council confirmed in writing that a licence was required for the period ?
> Landlady and her partner regularly turned up to the property without having provided the legally required 24 hours notice. I once found her partner outside my bedroom window with no warning.
This is always misunderstood. The only legislation that mentions 24hrs is the LTA 1985 in respect of 'viewing their condition and state of repair'. It's commonly accepted that 24hrs is reasonable for other purpsoes but it's not specified in legislation. Less than 24hrs itself isn't an offence but it can add weight to other matters.
If you rent a room only then there's even less restrictions on the landlord entering common areas,
> In a lease in which the lessor’s repairing covenant is implied there is also implied a covenant by the lessee that the lessor, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair.
> The property had severe damp issues, resulting in black mould mushrooms growing on my windows and curtains.
Report damp to the council.
> "Please note we don't do the Tenancy Deposit Scheme as we have had problems with it."
If they took a deposit then protection is not optional, and there's a depoist protection case for you as well.
Get an Improvement Notice from the council for the damp and mould issues. If she doesn't do the repairs requested by the time set by the Council, then you can file the rent repayment case straight away.
Also, she may be entitled to a hefty fine from the Home Office if she did not check your Right to Rent at the start of the tenancy. Did she check it?
So I'm leaving because of the mould and have a new place lined up. Does that affect my claim? Needless to say, no Right to Rent check was done.
How soon can you contact the Council for an Env Officer to come around and make an inspection? If you can get that improvement notice, it will help strengthen your claim, even if you are leaving, and not just for you, but for all other occupants as well.
About the right to rent, your landlady is now entitled to a fine of £10000 per adult occupant she has not checked their RtoR at the start of the tenancy. The Home Office will be more than willing to investigate if a whistleblower exposes her on their webpage...
Rent Repayment Orders are simple in theory and complex in practice. This is because you have to prove the elements of the offence to the criminal standard (I.e. beyond reasonable doubt, instead of to the civil standard, on the balance of probabilities).
Get in touch with Justice for Tenants. They work with tenants and councils and focus primarily on Rent Repayment Orders. I believe they take a percentage of any award but they don’t charge anything if they are not successful.
The legal test for a Rent Repayment Order is that someone was controlling or managing an HMO and that the property didn’t hold a valid HMO licence.
You have to prove that the property was a licensable HMO during the period of the alleged offence, which can be tricky, as it requires evidencing who else was living in the property, available facilities, etc.
If the offence is made out (and there isn’t a valid defence in the form of a reasonable excuse) then you WILL receive a RRO award. The amount of the award depends on the severity of the breach but is typically somewhere between 25%-75% of the rent you paid in the 12 month period.
You can only submit a RRO application for 12 months after the last day the breach occurred.
There are lots of pitfalls and traps that you can fall into in trying to make out your case at the tribunal, so I really would advise seeking advice and representation on this matter.