An RRO claim is decided on the balance of probabilities — the civil standard of proof, not the criminal "beyond reasonable doubt" standard. That means you don't need a police investigation or a criminal conviction against your landlord. What you do need is enough evidence to show the Tribunal it's more likely than not that the offence occurred.
Evidence of the Tenancy and Rent Paid
- Your tenancy agreement, showing the property address, the parties, and the rent amount.
- Bank statements or rent payment records covering the period you're claiming for.
- Any correspondence confirming who your landlord is — this matters particularly if the property is owned through a company; see our guide on claims against company landlords.
Evidence of the Offence
What you need here depends on which offence applies:
- Unlicensed HMO or selective licensing: a copy of, or reference to, the council's public licensing register showing no valid licence for the property and dates. We check this for you as part of a free assessment.
- Illegal eviction or harassment: messages, call logs, photographs, witness statements, or a diary of events showing what happened and when.
- Failure to comply with an Improvement or Prohibition Notice: a copy of the notice itself and evidence the required works weren't carried out.
Licensing registers are public documents, so in most licensing-offence cases the core evidence doesn't depend on anything the landlord has to hand over voluntarily — it's simply a matter of checking the public record.
Building a Timeline
A clear timeline of your tenancy — when it started, when rent was paid, and when (if relevant) you moved out — helps the Tribunal quickly understand your claim and confirms you're within the relevant application time limit.
What If You Don't Have Everything?
Don't let a gap in your paperwork put you off getting in touch. In our experience, the most decisive evidence in licensing-offence cases — the licensing register itself — isn't something you need to already hold; we retrieve it as part of your free assessment. A tenancy agreement and basic proof of rent paid is usually enough to get started.