The Department for Work and Pensions has expanded its trial giving councils streamlined access to Universal Credit data to support Rent Repayment Order applications, moving from three pilot areas to 41 local authorities across England. The department says the scheme will better protect around 400,000 households receiving housing support by enabling action where homes are unlicensed, improvement notices are ignored or conditions are unsafe.
Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) allow the First‑tier Tribunal to require a landlord or superior landlord to pay back rent to a tenant or a local housing authority where specified offences are proven. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 doubles the potential recovery from 12 to 24 months and extends liability to superior landlords and, in certain cases, company officers; these changes apply to offences committed on or after 1 May 2026.
DWP states the expanded scheme provides councils with the Universal Credit information needed to evidence awards when submitting RRO applications. This sits alongside wider improvements to local authority data‑sharing tools (including Searchlight and the Universal Credit LCTR feed) being rolled out through late 2025.
In Camden, one of the original trial areas, the council reports recovering nearly £100,000 in housing support using the new data‑sharing route and has made a fraud referral. Enfield is among the authorities in the expansion, with about 30,000 households on housing support expected to benefit.
The expansion spans authorities across London, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the Midlands, the North East, the South West, the South East and the East of England. Government has published the full list of the 38 additional councils which, with the three pilots, brings the total to 41.
Statutory guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, issued on 13 November 2025, sets the operational framework for local authority RRO work. It confirms the two‑year limit and clarifies that the new regime applies to offences on or after 1 May 2026, with applications determined by the First‑tier Tribunal.
Under this guidance, councils may retain money received through RROs provided it is used for private rented sector enforcement functions. Authorities are encouraged to coordinate with tenants, who may bring a parallel claim where part of the rent was paid directly by them.
The government’s published roadmap shows a phased implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act. Investigatory and enforcement powers begin from 27 December 2025 via an initial commencement instrument, with core tenancy reforms and expanded RROs following in Phase 1 from May 2026.
For landlords, the Act clarifies that RROs can be made against superior landlords and, where relevant, company officers, and introduces joint and several liability where orders are made against more than one person. Successive orders cannot cover the same rent period.
This enforcement scheme is separate from the contested automated Universal Credit rent‑deduction process. Following a court ruling, DWP is reviewing those arrangements, while the Fair Repayment Rate introduced on 30 April 2025 reduced the overall deductions cap from 25% to 15%.
For housing teams, the immediate task is case‑building: identify eligible offences where Housing Benefit or Universal Credit was paid in the relevant period, issue notices of intended proceedings within two years of the offence, and prepare tribunal bundles. The guidance notes a prior conviction is not required, though the tribunal will assess the evidence on the underlying offence.