Rent Repayment Order calculator
Enter your rent and how long the property was let without a licence. This works the calculation the way the tribunal works it, so the number you see is a realistic range rather than the statutory ceiling.
Enter your monthly rent and how many months the property was unlicensed to see the range.
A worked example
A tenant paying £1,200 a month, with £150 of that covering gas, electricity and broadband, in a property that was unlicensed for 30 months.
| Months claimable, capped at 24The cap removes 6 months straight away. | 24 of 30 |
| Rent across those months£1,200 x 24 | £28,800 |
| Less utilities£150 x 24 | -£3,600 |
| Rent after utilities, the ceilingNot the award. | £25,200 |
| Tribunal applies 40% to 75%For seriousness, then adjusted under section 44(4). | £10,080 to £18,900 |
A calculator that simply multiplied £1,200 by 30 would have shown £36,000. The honest figure is a range around £15,120, and even that assumes the offence can be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Everything above assumes one thing
That the property actually needed a licence and did not have one. That is the part the tribunal must be satisfied of beyond reasonable doubt, and it depends on whether your exact address fell inside a live council designation. Selective and additional schemes are frequently drawn street by street.
Check the postcode free
Every live selective, additional and mandatory HMO scheme that could have applied to that address, with the council's own source link.
Check my addressCommon questions
How is a rent repayment order calculated?
The Upper Tribunal set the method in Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC). Take the whole rent for the period the offence was being committed, capped at 24 months. Subtract any part of the rent that paid for utilities only the tenant consumed. Apply a percentage reflecting the seriousness of the offence. Then adjust for the section 44(4) factors: the conduct of the landlord and tenant, the landlord's financial circumstances, and any previous convictions.
Do tribunals award the full 24 months?
Rarely. The cap is the ceiling, not the expectation. Awards for straightforward licensing breaches commonly fall between 40% and 75% of the rent after utilities. In Acheampong itself the Upper Tribunal arrived at 75%.
Is the maximum 12 months or 24 months?
24 months for an offence committed on or after 1 May 2026, under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. 12 months for an offence that ended before that date. The 24-month uplift applies in England; Wales remains at 12.
Does the order include my deposit or my bills?
No. It repays rent you paid. Money you paid the landlord for gas, electricity or internet that you alone consumed is deducted, because that is not really rent. A deposit is a separate matter with its own protection rules.
What if housing benefit paid part of my rent?
The part covered by housing benefit or the housing element of universal credit belongs to a council claim rather than yours, and the amount is split proportionately. You claim the part you paid.
Sources
- Rent Repayment Orders: guidance for tenants (GOV.UK)
- Apply for a rent repayment order: Form RRO1 (GOV.UK)
- Housing and Planning Act 2016, Chapter 4 (rent repayment orders)
- Housing Act 2004 s.72 (unlicensed HMO offence)
- Housing Act 2004 s.95 (unlicensed house offence)
- Acheampong v Roman [2022] UKUT 239 (LC)
This calculator is an estimate, not advice and not a prediction. The First-tier Tribunal decides each case on its own facts.
Next: how to apply for a Rent Repayment Order and how to check whether your landlord is licensed.