Guides · Last checked 24 Oct 2026 · England

The PRS landlord register: what it is, who must register, and when

The Private Rented Sector Database is a compulsory register of every private landlord and every let property in England, created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It opens on 15 December 2026, one region at a time, costs £65 per property per year, and letting without an active entry carries civil penalties of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000.

Who has to register

Every residential landlord in England letting a dwelling under an assured tenancy (which, since 1 May 2026, is nearly every private tenancy) or a Rent Act 1977 regulated tenancy. You register once as a landlord, then register each property you let. Social landlords, lodger arrangements and supported exempt accommodation are out of scope.

Companies, trusts and joint owners register too. A company gives its entity type and Companies House number; joint owners share a single property entry and a single fee. A letting agent can enter the property details for you, but the landlord has to start and finish the registration and pay the fee.

When it opens

Registration opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and then rolls out one region a month until the South West on 15 August 2027. Each region gets a three-month window to register. The window is set by where the property is, not where you live, so a landlord in Kent with a flat in Birmingham has a West Midlands deadline of 14 March 2027.

You can register early, before your region opens. Every let property in England must have an active entry by 14 November 2027.

What it costs

£65 per property, paid when you register the property and again at each annual renewal. Registering yourself as a landlord is free. The fee is set by the database operator against its running costs, so it can change with inflation. Agents cannot pay it on your behalf and there is no direct debit; you pay on renewal.

What you have to provide

Your own details (name, date of birth, address, phone, email), then for each property: the address, ownership and property type, number of bedrooms, whether it is let, the rent, and copies of your gas safety record, electrical safety report (EICR) and Energy Performance Certificate. HMO and selective licence numbers go in where they apply. The full list is in our guide to what you need to register.

Keeping the entry active

• Entries last 12 months and must be renewed; a missed renewal makes the entry inactive the next day.
• Anything that goes out of date (a new gas record, a change of rent) must be updated within 28 days.
• If you register a property before it is occupied, the certificate details must be added within 28 days of letting it.
• All your properties renew on the anniversary of the first one you registered.

What happens if you don't

Once your region's window closes, councils can issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for letting without an active entry or for letting it lapse. Continuing breaches, repeat breaches and false or misleading information carry penalties of up to £40,000 and can be prosecuted. A landlord in breach also cannot get a Section 8 possession order except on the antisocial-behaviour grounds (7A and 14), which matters a lot now that Section 21 has gone.

Certkept keeps your gas, electrical and EPC dates in one place and emails you before they lapse, so the copies you upload to the register stay in date. It's free for one property.