Renters' Rights Act and Landlord Licensing: Higher Fines, Longer RROs and What It Means

What the Renters' Rights Act Changed for Licensing

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent and its key enforcement provisions took effect on 1 May 2026. For property licensing, two changes hit hardest:

Civil penalty cap raised from £30,000 to £40,000. Under Section 249A of the Housing Act 2004, local authorities could already issue financial penalties as an alternative to criminal prosecution for licensing offences. The Renters' Rights Act increased the maximum from £30,000 to £40,000 per offence. Multiple breaches — operating without a licence on several properties, or breaching licence conditions on the same property — can each attract a separate penalty, so the combined exposure for a portfolio landlord can run well into six figures.

Rent repayment orders extended from 12 to 24 months. Tenants (or the local authority) can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order when a landlord has committed certain housing offences, including operating without a licence. For offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the tribunal can order the landlord to repay up to 24 months of rent — double the previous 12-month cap.

Why This Matters in Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest runs three licensing schemes covering most rented properties in the borough. A single let in Hatch Lane & Highams Park North or Endlebury (the two wards excluded from selective licensing) does not need a selective licence; other statutory or designation exemptions may also apply. The council actively pursues non-compliant landlords — tribunal records show financial penalties and rent repayment orders against Waltham Forest landlords in cases like 50 Lancaster Road, E17, where a landlord's lack of awareness of additional HMO licensing was explicitly rejected as a defence.

The higher penalty cap makes enforcement more expensive for landlords who delay. A landlord with two unlicensed properties now faces potential penalties of up to £80,000 combined, plus rent repayment orders of up to 24 months per property. For a property let at £1,500 per month, that is £36,000 in rent repayment alone.

Other Renters' Rights Act Changes Running in Parallel

The Act introduced broader tenancy reforms beyond licensing penalties:

• Abolition of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions from 1 May 2026 for private assured tenancies. Existing assured shorthold tenancies transitioned to assured periodic tenancies, and new tenancies are assured periodic tenancies.
• Landlord registration on the national Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database, with a registration window opening on 15 July 2027.
• Mandatory membership of the Landlord Ombudsman scheme as duties roll out.

Crucially, the national PRS Database registration is separate from local property licensing. Registering on the national database does not replace the requirement to hold a Waltham Forest property licence, and holding a local licence does not exempt you from national registration when it opens.

What to Do Now

If you have not yet applied for a property licence in Waltham Forest, the cost of waiting has gone up. The combination of £40,000 civil penalties, 24-month rent repayment orders and Waltham Forest's active enforcement record means the risk of operating unlicensed is substantially higher than it was before 1 May 2026.

Our Waltham Forest landlord licensing guide covers the complete application process — which licence your property needs, the documents required, the Part A/Part B fee structure and the online submission workflow.

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