The Mandatory Landlord Register: What We Know So Far

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a mandatory Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database — effectively a national landlord register for England. Every private landlord who lets residential property will be required to register.

This is the most significant structural change to the English private rented sector in decades. Here is what has been confirmed, what remains unclear, and what you should do now.

What is confirmed

All private landlords must register

The Act requires every landlord letting residential property under an assured tenancy (or an assured shorthold tenancy during the transition period) to register on the PRS Database. This covers:

Individual landlords
Company landlords
Landlords using letting agents (the obligation is on the landlord, not the agent)
Landlords of standard lets and HMOs alike

There is no small-portfolio exemption. Whether you let one flat or fifty houses, you must register.

The database will be publicly searchable

Tenants, prospective tenants, and local authorities will be able to search the database. The stated purpose is threefold:

Tenant protection — Tenants can verify that their landlord is registered and check their compliance record before signing a tenancy.
Enforcement — Local authorities gain a centralised tool to identify non-compliant landlords, replacing the current patchwork of local licensing schemes and ad hoc enforcement.
Market transparency — The government will have, for the first time, comprehensive data on the private rented sector.

Registration will require compliance evidence

The database is not merely a name-and-address list. Landlords will need to demonstrate compliance with key obligations as part of registration. While the exact requirements will be set out in secondary legislation, the Act makes clear that the database is intended to be a compliance tool, not just a registry.

Based on the Act's framework and government statements, landlords may need to provide evidence of:

Valid gas safety certificates
Valid EICRs
Current EPCs meeting the minimum rating threshold
Deposit protection compliance
Smoke and CO alarm compliance

This means your existing compliance records become registration prerequisites.

Annual fees are likely

The government has indicated the database will be self-funding through registration fees. The exact fee structure has not been published, but the Renters' Rights Act impact assessment references a per-property annual fee model.

For context, existing local authority licensing schemes charge between £500 and £1,000+ per property for a 5-year licence. The PRS Database fee is expected to be significantly lower — the government has suggested the system should not be a financial burden on landlords — but no figure has been confirmed.

Expected launch: late 2026

The government has stated it intends to launch the PRS Database in late 2026, though an exact date has not been set and no commencement order has been published. Secondary legislation setting out the detailed rules (registration process, fee amounts, data requirements) has not yet been published. Until these are made, the timeline remains subject to change.

Penalties for non-registration

Failing to register will be a criminal offence. The Act provides for:

Civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first offence and up to £40,000 for repeat offences
Rent Repayment Orders — tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to reclaim up to 12 months of rent from an unregistered landlord
Restrictions on possession proceedings — an unregistered landlord may be unable to use the new possession grounds introduced by the Act

What remains unclear

Several critical details depend on secondary legislation that has not yet been published:

Exact registration process

Will it be a single online form? Will you need to upload certificates, or simply declare compliance? Will there be identity verification? The user interface and workflow are still being developed.

Fee amounts

No confirmed figures. The government has committed to consulting on fees before they are set. Watch for a consultation document in 2026.

Transition period

How will existing tenancies be handled? Will there be a grace period for landlords to register, or will registration be required from day one of the database launch? The Act allows for transitional provisions, but these have not been specified.

Interaction with existing licensing schemes

England currently has a patchwork of local authority licensing schemes — mandatory HMO licensing (national), additional HMO licensing (local), and selective licensing (local). The government has suggested the PRS Database could eventually replace some local licensing schemes, but the timeline and mechanism for this are not defined.

If you hold an HMO licence, you should assume you will need both the licence and PRS Database registration for the time being.

Data sharing

How will the database interact with HMRC, the Land Registry, and other government bodies? The Act permits data sharing for enforcement purposes, but the extent of cross-referencing is not specified.

Enforcement approach

Will the government take a "help first, punish later" approach during the early months, or will penalties be applied immediately? Local authorities will need resources and training to use the database effectively, which suggests a phased enforcement rollout.

What you should do now

You do not need to register yet — the database does not exist yet. But you can prepare, and preparation now will save you a scramble later.

1. Get your compliance house in order

If the database requires compliance evidence at registration, you need valid certificates and records for every property. Use our compliance checklist for 2026 to audit your portfolio now. Address any gaps before registration opens — you do not want to discover an expired EICR the week you need to register.

2. Organise your records

You will likely need to provide or reference specific documents. Gather your:

Gas safety certificates (CP12s)
EICRs
EPCs
Deposit protection certificates and prescribed information
Right to Rent check records
HMO licences (if applicable)
Smoke and CO alarm test records

If these documents are scattered across emails, filing cabinets, and various letting agent portals, consolidate them now.

3. Understand your current obligations

The PRS Database does not create new obligations — it creates a mechanism for verifying existing ones. If you are already fully compliant, registration should be straightforward. If you are not, the database will expose that.

Review your obligations using the compliance checklist and check your current status with the Rental Compliance Score tool.

4. Budget for the fee

No fee amount has been confirmed. As a rough guide for budgeting only, fees in the range of £50–£150 per property per year would be consistent with government statements about affordability and comparisons with existing schemes — but the actual figure could be higher or lower. Build a placeholder into your annual property costs and adjust when the consultation is published.

5. Stay informed

Secondary legislation will fill in the gaps above. Follow official government publications and, when available, the PRS Database guidance itself. We will update this post as new information is published.

The bigger picture

The PRS Database is part of a broader shift toward accountability in the private rented sector. Combined with the abolition of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, the new Ombudsman scheme, and strengthened local authority enforcement powers, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is reshaping the relationship between landlords, tenants, and regulators.

Landlords who are already compliant have little to fear from a register. Landlords who are not will find it increasingly difficult to operate under the radar.

For a full breakdown of the Renters' Rights Act and its implications, read our Renters' Rights Act landlord guide.

How DueProper will help

DueProper is building compliance tracking software that will help you maintain the records and evidence you need for PRS Database registration — with automated reminders, jurisdiction-aware obligation tracking, and centralised document storage.

Coming soon — join the waitlist for early access.

Free tools

Rental Compliance Score — free portfolio compliance assessment
Compliance Deadline Calculator — check when your certificates expire

This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is enacted but many provisions depend on secondary legislation and commencement orders that have not yet been published. Details in this article may change as further regulations are made. Always verify your obligations with current legislation at legislation.gov.uk.