Tenants in the UK could be owed thousands back in rent if their landlord has failed to follow one major rule. There are several rules that landlords have to face under UK housing law, including properly licensing their properties.
The UK housing law states that if landlords are renting a single property to multiple residents, they must licence it with the local council. If they don't do this, then tenants could end up being owed money.
Renters whose landlord hasn't registered the property they're living in with the local council could be refunded up to 12 months rent. The council can check if the property meets the right standards for multiple occupancies.
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Other types of rental properties may also have to be licensed under local council rules, reports the Mirror.
If your landlord hasn't licensed your rental property properly then you could be owed a refund through a rent repayment order (RRO) which could amount to a few thousand pounds.
A tenant or the council can apply for this through a tribunal and a council might offer help doing this as they run the licencing scheme. If you are to do this there most likely will be fees involved, however, these fees can be claimed back if you are successful. The amount you would get back depends on how much rent you pay.
If the rent for your entire property is £750, then you could be entitled to a refund for the entire year which would equate to £9000, if the landlord is ordered by the tribunal to repay the entire amount.
If you receive Housing Benefit for rent or have used Universal Credit to pay your rent then this can be reclaimed from the landlord by the council or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The charity Shelter, which campaigns for tenant rights, says your landlord must have a house in multiple occupations (HMO) licence from the council if you share with four or more other people and there are two or more separate households.
HMO licences usually last around five years, however in some areas, councils make landlords apply more often. Shelter also highlighted that an HMO licence cannot be transferred to another person so If your landlord changes, they will have to reapply for the licence.
If your landlord does not have an HMO licence, then alongside having to repay rent, they cannot evict you from the property with a section 21 notice or "no-fault eviction" notice and they can be banned from renting out properties.
According to the group, Justice for Tenants, you can also apply for a rent repayment order if the landlord has not complied with a council notice and the tenant has been harassed or evicted without the correct paperwork.
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