I'm helping my daughter apply for a RRO for a property she has now moved out of. The landlord's HMO license expired 3 months before she moved out and has never been renewed, though he is still letting it to groups of students. The local authority know about it - they wrote to my daughter's household to let them know the HMO had expired and inform them of their rights, including the RRO option. She tried to contact the HMO team for advice about applying for the RRO, but they didn't reply. Reading between the lines, I suspect they have a big caseload and are concentrating on the most serious cases of exploitation. I am starting to help her make the application independently of the LA. We're following the instructions online, but would be interested to hear from anyone else who has been through the process and might have insight.
(Tagging a few people from old threads I've read on this topic in case they are still around: @cherryma , @pinkpapaya , @landlordstress )