A pair of landlords have avoided paying more than £12,000 in Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) following a court ruling.
The Housing and Real Estate Court said the RRO application was filed one day too late to qualify and had to be denied. 
However, the court still considered the case, as the judgment could be considered if the tenant appealed to a higher court.
Rent has been paid
The lawsuit, brought by campaign group Justice for Tenants, which claims RRO cases have a 98% success rate, claims that three tenants of a flat in the Music Box Block (main photo) in Union Street, Southwark, They were entitled to more rights. Over £30,000 via RRO.
They said Hong Kong-based landlords Christian Stewart and Wang Yi Wong (also known as Deon Wong), and their agent Sarka, rented the property between March 1st and March 1st. It is said that he did not apply to Southwark Council for an HMO license for the three-bedroom apartment. Includes February 1, 2022 and 2023.
RRO applications must be filed within one year, and case law becomes final after one year.
The appeal was filed one day later. ”
“In this case, an application sent to court on 1 February 2024 would only be timely if the offense had been committed on 2 February 2023,” said Justice O'Brien of the tribunal.
“The last day the applicants could apply to the court for a rent repayment order was 31 January 2024. The application was made one day late.”
The tribunal decided that had the application been made in time, he would have been awarded 40% of the £30,148, or £12,059.
Read the full judgment here
Supreme Court rules on landlord's landmark rent repayment order lawsuit
