A specialist legal firm has warned that landlords who defend Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) without having rock solid evidence face ‘financial suicide’.

Des Taylor, casework director at Landlord Licensing & Defence (main image), says: “RROs are strict liability offences. If a property was unlicensed when the law required one, the landlord is guilty regardless of whether the agent failed them or they were unaware of the requirement”.

The only defence, Taylor says, is to have the evidence that proves the landlord’s case. This means time-stamped proof of a licence application, payment receipts, bank statements, council acknowledgements and detailed phone call records.

Without this, the tribunal will take the council’s word that no valid licence existed, he says.

Professional representation is not an expense; it is an investment in minimising otherwise massive financial penalties.”

He also warns that too many landlords are walking into tribunal hearings relying on irrelevant emotional arguments, such as claims about tenant behaviour, disputes over fire safety items, and all manner of ’emotional issues’.

“These do not work. They have no validity in law. What is even worse, they actually increase a landlord’s penalties and leave a permanent public record of an ineffective defence and evidence of poor landlording visible in Google to all and sundry – including the landlord’s mortgage provider, their employer and, if they are in a regulated profession, their regulating authority as well.”

Taylor adds that: “Rejecting expert legal help is a costly mistake, and one that landlords make to their ultimate cost. Professional representation is not an expense; it is an investment in minimising otherwise massive financial penalties and in averting severe and very public reputational damage.

Lambs to the slaughter

“Achieving successful anonymity is something landlords are not capable of without expert assistance; they face public shaming because most landlords walk into a tribunal like lambs to the slaughter.”

His advice is therefore unequivocal – if landlords are facing an RRO claim, they should not ‘deny reality’. And they should invest in professional representation from specialists with a proven track record in landlord tribunal defence.