Landlord Register 2026: PRS Database Dates, £65 Fee and What to File

Quick answer: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a mandatory Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database for England, branded by government as the "Register your rental property" service. Landlords of assured and regulated tenancies must register themselves and each property, supplying contact details, property and tenancy information and core safety records: gas, electrical and EPC. Registration opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and rolling out region by region over twelve months; every landlord must be registered by 14 November 2027. The fee is £65 per property per year. The teeth: once live in your region, you cannot lawfully market or let an unregistered property, and a court will generally not grant a possession order to an unregistered landlord.

Update, 28 September 2026: on 9 September MHCLG confirmed the launch date, the regional order and the fee. This article has been rewritten around the confirmed schedule. The regional table is below.

Most coverage of the Renters' Rights Act has focused on the end of section 21. The database is the quieter half of the reform, and for record-keeping it is the more consequential one: it converts a landlord's compliance file from something you produce when challenged into something you file with the state before you are allowed to trade.

Where the Act has got to

The first phase landed on 1 May 2026. Existing assured shorthold tenancies converted automatically to the new periodic system, fixed terms fell away, and section 21 no-fault possession ended. Possession now requires a stated ground. Landlords also had to give tenants the government's information leaflet explaining the reforms.

The database is phase two, and the dates are now fixed. Registration opens on 15 December 2026. Government is calling regions forward one a month to avoid a bottleneck; once your region is called, you have three months to register yourself and every property you let there.

Two details in the government material matter more than the headline dates. First, you may register any property from 15 December 2026 regardless of region; the schedule sets the deadline, not the earliest date. Second, the initial duty covers properties that are currently let or become occupied during the rollout. Empty properties do not need registering until they are let; government has said a later requirement to register before marketing will follow once the public-facing side of the database is built.

The fee is £65 per property, renewed annually. Landlords with several properties will be put on a single renewal date. We track movement on this on our reform timeline.

What you have to register

Two things get registered: you, and each property. Expect to supply:

• Landlord identity and contact details: name, date of birth, address and contact details (or company details)
• Property details for every dwelling let under an assured or regulated tenancy: address, type, number of bedrooms, ownership
• Tenancy details: how many households, whether it is furnished, HMO licensing status, the rent and how often it is paid, and whether utilities are included
• Gas safety certificate, the annual CP12 (what a CP12 is)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report, the five-yearly EICR (EICR codes explained)
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC reform 2026-27)

That list will look familiar. It is, almost exactly, the core of a landlord's property logbook. The database does not ask for anything a well-run landlord does not already hold. It asks you to prove you hold it, on demand, per property, before you let. Government guidance says all of the required information must be supplied within 28 days of the entry being created.

One point that has caught agents out: the landlord must create the entry. Letting agents and property managers can supply information on the landlord's behalf, but the guidance is explicit that the landlord remains responsible for the registration and its accuracy.

Why it bites harder than a fine

The enforcement design is what makes this different from previous registration schemes. Two consequences matter more than any penalty:

1. You cannot market or let. Once the duty is live in your region, advertising an unregistered property is itself the breach. The risk arrives before a tenant does.
2. You cannot get possession. A court will generally be unable to make a possession order where the landlord is not registered. With section 21 gone, possession already depends on establishing a ground; failing registration removes the route entirely until you fix it.

The penalties sit alongside those two consequences. Marketing an unregistered property, leaving a required advert without the registration numbers (a duty that follows in later regulations), or failing to keep the entry up to date attracts a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Knowingly supplying false information, or continuing in breach, takes that to up to £40,000, and tenants can seek a rent repayment order. The possession bar has one carve-out: anti-social behaviour grounds.

Late registration can normally remedy the possession problem, but the practical exposure in the meantime (a tenant you cannot remove, on a property you should not have let) is exactly the scenario that turns a paperwork lapse into a year of cost. This mirrors the long-standing trap where a missing gas certificate blocked a section 21; see gas safety and section 21.

What to do now

1. Inventory your portfolio properly. One row per dwelling, with the expiry date of each of the three certificates. Most landlords discover at this point that one property's EICR is older than they thought.
2. Close the gaps before your region is called, not after. West Midlands landlords have until 14 March 2027; everyone else can see their own date in the table above. Renewing an expired EICR under time pressure while a letting is on hold is the avoidable version of this.
3. Budget the fee. £65 per property per year is modest for one flat and real money for a portfolio; it lands on a single renewal date each year.
4. Fix the renewal cycle. Annual gas, five-yearly electrical, ten-yearly EPC, all with reminders that fire early enough to book a contractor.
5. Decide who holds the file. If an agent manages the property, agree in writing who registers, who updates, and who is responsible when a certificate lapses.
6. If you let in Scotland, note the regime is separate and already registration-based. See our Scottish landlord records checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Private Rented Sector Database?

A national register created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Landlords of assured and regulated tenancies in England must register themselves and each of their properties, along with core compliance information, before marketing or letting.

When does the PRS Database launch?

Registration opens on 15 December 2026, starting with the West Midlands (deadline 14 March 2027). Regions are called forward monthly and each gets a three-month window. The final region, the South West, must be registered by 14 November 2027.

How much does it cost to register a rental property?

£65 per property, payable every year. Landlords with several properties are put on a single annual renewal date.

What happens if a landlord does not register on the PRS Database?

An unregistered landlord cannot lawfully market or let the property, and a court will generally be unable to grant a possession order. Late registration can usually remedy the position, but it is a serious operational risk.

What records do landlords need for the PRS Database?

Landlord and property details plus core safety records: the gas safety certificate, the electrical installation condition report (EICR) and the EPC. These are the same documents a property logbook already holds.

Primary sources

• Renters' Rights Act 2025 (c. 26)
• GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act
• MHCLG press release, 9 September 2026: launch date and rollout confirmed
• GOV.UK Housing Hub: Get ready to register (regional schedule, fee, information required)

Reviewed by Jamie Dawson, Editor of Logbook.co.uk, the independent home of the UK logbook. Logbook.co.uk is not a logbook provider and has no commercial relationship with any provider. Corrections: corrections@logbook.co.uk