The PRS Database: what landlords need to register and when

PRS Landlord Database: What You Must Register and When

Registration on the Private Rented Sector Database costs £65 per property per year. The "Register your rental property" service opens on 15 December 2026 and rolls out region by region, starting with the West Midlands. Landlords have three months from their region's commencement date to register each let property.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England.

What registration costs

The fee is £65 per property per year. It is charged per property rather than per landlord, so a landlord with four rented properties pays the fee four times, and it is payable again on each annual renewal. (Source: Get ready: "Register your rental property" service, GOV.UK Housing Hub, updated 9 September 2026.)

Government has said the level is set to balance fairness and sustainability for landlords against the cost of operating the service and tackling non compliance in the private rented sector. Fee income is also intended to fund local authority enforcement capacity, including staffing and skills. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

This is a change from the earlier position. Until September 2026 the fee had not been announced, and guidance said only that it would be proportionate and represent good value. Landlords budgeting for 2027 should now plan on £65 per property as a recurring annual cost.

When you must register

The service opens on 15 December 2026 and rolls out on a regional basis across England, finishing in the South West in August 2027. Your deadline is set by where the property is, not where you live. A landlord living in London who lets a property in Birmingham follows the West Midlands date. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Once the regulations commence for a region, landlords have a three month window in which to register. After that deadline, councils in that region can begin enforcement activity.

(Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Early registration is permitted. Landlords who let in more than one region can register the whole portfolio at once from 15 December 2026 rather than waiting for each regional date, provided every property is registered before its own deadline.

Which properties must be registered

At launch, the requirement covers properties that are currently let, or that become let during the rollout period. Unoccupied properties do not need to be registered yet. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Government has said that under future legislation, as the public facing part of the service is introduced, landlords will also be required to register any unoccupied property before it is marketed for let, and to include the landlord and property identifiers on adverts. Further guidance is expected ahead of that requirement. Until those regulations are made, the marketing requirement is not in force.

The duty applies to landlords of assured or regulated tenancies. Landlords of supported exempt accommodation, as set out in section 12 of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, are not required to register through the service. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

What information must be provided

The information requirement is now published in full. It divides into landlord details, dwelling details, tenancy details, rent details, and health and safety evidence.

For individual landlords: name, date of birth, residential address, telephone number, and email address.

For organisational landlords: the organisation name, type of legal entity, address (which cannot be a PO Box), telephone number, and email address, plus the name, date of birth, email address and telephone number of the individual making the entry, and of a nominated contact within the organisation. A Companies House registration number or charity number is required where applicable. Where no Companies House number is given, the names, dates of birth and addresses of all directors, trustees, partners or governing body members must be supplied. Where the organisation is a trust, the lead trustee's details are required.

Where someone registers on a landlord's behalf in a legal capacity, such as an attorney under a power of attorney, a personal representative, a court appointed deputy, a trustee in bankruptcy, an administrator, or a mortgagee, that capacity must be declared and evidence of authority provided, for example the power of attorney document, the grant of probate, the deed of appointment, the mortgage deed, or a court order. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

For each property, the following is required:

(Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Two points are worth noting. The service asks whether the dwelling is let unfurnished, partly furnished or unfurnished, which appears to be a drafting slip in the published list. And the electrical requirement is satisfied by an Electrical Installation Certificate where the property is newly built or fully rewired, which matches the position under the EICR rules for rented property.

What happens if a landlord does not register

Failing to register carries both financial and possession consequences. GOV.UK guidance states that letting or advertising a property without an active entry carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to up to £40,000 for repeated breaches or for providing false or misleading information, with criminal prosecution available in the most serious cases. (Source: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act, GOV.UK.)

The possession consequence is the more significant one for most landlords. Government guidance indicates that an unregistered landlord will not be able to obtain a possession order except on Ground 7A, serious criminal behaviour, or Ground 14, tenant anti social behaviour. Since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, an unregistered landlord would in practice have very limited means of recovering the property. The precise mechanics will be set by the commencement regulations and landlords are advised to check the position when their region goes live. (Source: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act, GOV.UK.)

Rent repayment orders are also available. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 a rent repayment order can now cover up to 24 months of rent, double the previous maximum, and tenants as well as local authorities can apply. (Source: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act, GOV.UK.)

What about landlords who use letting agents

The landlord starts and ends the registration process, and remains responsible for it. Government guidance is explicit that while a letting agent or property manager can be asked to provide certain information on the landlord's behalf, the landlord remains responsible for providing all required information. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Guidance for letting agents and property managers explaining exactly which information they will be able to upload is expected before launch. Landlords using an agent are advised to agree in writing, before their regional date, who is doing what, and to keep their own copy of everything submitted. An agency agreement that is silent on registration is a gap worth closing now.

What about companies and joint landlords

Corporate and joint ownership is now addressed in the published information requirement rather than left to later regulations. Organisational landlords must supply entity details and, where no Companies House number exists, the personal details of every director, trustee, partner or governing body member. Trusts must identify the lead trustee.

The published list does not fully resolve how joint individual owners register between themselves, and landlords holding property through more complex structures are advised to take specific advice once the letting agent and service guidance is published.

Who can see the data

The public facing element of the service is not live at launch. Government has said that in future tenants will be able to use the service to check whether a landlord is complying with key legal requirements, and that a list of information the public will be able to access will be published at a later stage. The stated intention is to balance landlord privacy against tenants' need to make informed rental choices. (Source: GOV.UK Housing Hub.)

Local councils will have the fuller view. The service is intended as an enforcement tool allowing housing officers to identify poor practice, which in practice means cross referencing registration data against licensing records rather than waiting for a complaint.

How to prepare before your region opens

The single most useful thing to do now is make sure the documents the service will ask for exist, are current, and can be produced quickly. Registration is largely a data entry exercise, and the friction comes from hunting for certificates rather than from the form itself.

Check that each property has a current gas safety record with its issue date, a valid EICR or EIC with its expiry date, and a current EPC, and that you know the tenancy start date where an EPC has lapsed. Confirm your HMO, additional or selective licence numbers. Record the number of occupants and households, the rent and payment frequency, and which utilities the rent includes. Confirm the freeholder, superior landlord and property manager contact details, which many landlords do not hold to hand.

Then diarise your regional deadline, agree the division of labour with your agent if you use one, and budget £65 per property per year from 2027. Landlords wanting a fuller checklist can read our guide to preparing for PRS Database registration, and the wider case for keeping a structured compliance audit trail applies directly here, since registration asks you to evidence a position rather than assert it.

LLCR maintains a per property compliance record covering Gas Safety, EICR, EPC, deposit protection and licensing, with expiry tracking and stored documents, so the information the service asks for is already in one place when your region opens. You can check where your properties currently stand with the free compliance checker.

Last reviewed: 9 September 2026.