Landlords in England are being advised to prepare for the rollout of the government's new national landlord registration service, which forms the next phase of implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
The service is the first stage of a new national private rented sector (PRS) database designed to improve transparency, support enforcement activity and help tenants verify that landlords are complying with their legal obligations.
Under the new requirements, landlords of assured and regulated tenancies will be required to register both themselves and all their relevant rental properties.
Registration will cost £65 per property, with failure to register potentially resulting in enforcement action and financial penalties.
Landlords of supported exempt accommodation, as set out in section 12 of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, will not need to register.
Supporting enforcement and compliance
Initially, registration applies only to properties that are already let or become occupied during the rollout period.
However, the government has confirmed that future legislation will require landlords to register vacant properties before they are marketed, and both landlords and letting agents will need to display registration identifiers in property advertisements.
To complete registration, landlords will need a GOV.UK One Login account. They will have to provide information including property details, rent levels, occupancy data and evidence of compliance with key health and safety requirements, such as gas safety certificates, electrical safety reports and energy performance certificates (EPCs).
The service will be introduced on a regional basis from 15 December 2026, with landlords given a three-month window to register once their region enters the scheme (see Table 1).
Registration requirements are determined by the location of the rental property rather than the landlord's home address.
Region | Date regulations commence | Deadline to register |
West Midlands | 15 December 2026 | 14 March 2027 |
East of England | 15 January 2027 | 14 April 2027 |
East Midlands | 15 February 2027 | 14 May 2027 |
15 March 2027 | 14 June 2027 | |
Yorkshire and Humber | 15 April 2027 | 14 July 2027 |
North West | 15 May 2027 | 14 August 2027 |
North East | 15 June 2027 | 14 September 2027 |
London | 15 July 2027 | 14 October 2027 |
South West | 15 August 2027 | 14 November 2027 |
Table 1: PRS database registration timetable. Source: GOV.UK
According to the government, the database will give local authorities more effective tools to identify rogue landlords and target enforcement action, while allowing responsible landlords to demonstrate compliance.
In future, tenants will also be able to access selected information from the database to make more informed decisions when choosing a home.
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