Renters' Rights Act 'Register your Rental Property' service to launch in December 2026

In brief

• On 9 September 2026, the Government announced details of the second phase of implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the Private Rented Sector database, rebranded by the Government as the 'Register your rental property' service.
• The new service will be introduced region by region from 15 December 2026. Registration will be a legal requirement, there will be an annual fee for each property, and failure to register may lead to enforcement action and a fine.
• This article examines what landlords need to know.

Who will need to register?

Landlords of assured and regulated (Rent Act 1977) tenancies will need to register both themselves and each property they let. Assured tenancies include all new assured periodic tenancies (APTs) and assured shorthold tenancies that automatically converted to APTs on 1 May 2026. Where there is more than one landlord, each landlord will be required to register themselves individually but can share the single entry for their jointly owned property.

Landlords of supported exempt accommodation, as defined in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, will not be required to register.

During the initial rollout, registration is required only for properties that are currently let or become let during the rollout period. Unoccupied properties do not need to be registered yet. A further requirement is planned under future legislation which will require unoccupied properties to be registered before they can be marketed for letting.

When does registration start?

The service opens on 15 December 2026, but the legal requirement is being introduced regionally. Once the regulations take effect in a particular region, landlords will have three months to register properties there.

The timetable is:

How do I know which region my property is in?

The registration timetable is based on the region in which the property is located, rather than where the landlord lives or has its registered office.

The regions listed in the timetable correspond to the nine established English regions, and to assist landlords, Schedule 1 to the draft PRS Database Regulations lists the local authorities falling within each region.

Landlords with properties in several regions do not have to wait for each regional start date. From 15 December 2026, they can choose to register their portfolio at the same time, provided each property is registered by the applicable deadline. 

How much will it cost?

There is no separate fee for landlords to register themselves. Instead, landlords will pay an annual fee of £65 for each property registered, with registration renewed each year. A landlord with ten registered properties would therefore pay £650 annually.

During the initial rollout, the fee will be pro-rated so that landlords required to register earlier do not pay more simply because their region comes first in the timetable.

What information will landlords need?

As well as information identifying the landlord, the government will require details about each property, including its address, ownership and dwelling type, number of bedrooms and whether it is currently let.

For occupied properties, landlords will also need information about the number of occupants and households, any HMO, additional or selective licensing requirements, whether the property is furnished, the rent charged and payment frequency, and whether rent includes utilities. 

Landlords will also be asked to provide health and safety information, including relevant gas safety, electrical safety and EPC documentation. Where an EPC records an energy efficiency rating below the minimum required level, information about any registered MEES exemption will be required. 

The Government has said that, in future, tenants "will be able to use the service to see if a landlord is compliant with key legal requirements, helping them make better informed decisions about where they rent". The government will publish a list of the precise information that the public (and tenants) will be able to access at a later stage.

Can a managing agent deal with registration?

Even where a property is fully managed, the landlord must start and complete the registration process. An agent or property manager can be authorised to provide certain information on the landlord’s behalf (details to be published before launch), but responsibility for ensuring that all required information is provided remains with the landlord.

What happens if a landlord does not register?

Once the three-month registration window for a region has expired, local authorities will be able to take civil enforcement action (impose a fine) against landlords who have failed to register. Landlords should also be aware that it is a criminal offence to provide false or misleading information to the database, for which a local authority can impose a fine of up to £40,000.

The new service is intended to be an enforcement tool as well as a register. Councils will be able to use it to identify non-compliance, and part of the registration fee will fund local authority enforcement of the Renters’ Rights Act reforms. Once the wider scheme is complete, landlords and agents will need to quote valid registration details in any property advert or listing, and marketing a property without them will itself become unlawful. The government has not yet confirmed the date this restriction takes effect.

What should landlords do now?

It is not yet possible for landlords to register (the database is not yet live), but landlords should use the period before December to get their records in order.

In particular, portfolio landlords may want to identify the applicable registration deadline for each property now and check that property, tenancy, licensing, rent and safety information is complete and readily accessible. It would also be sensible to review gas safety records, EICRs or EICs and EPC documentation before registration opens rather than discovering gaps during the registration process.

Landlords who rely on managing agents should also discuss who will collate the necessary information, while recognising that the landlord retains ultimate responsibility for registration.

The Government’s latest announcement is available here: Get ready: ‘Register your rental property’ service. Landlords wishing to receive further government guidance and announcements as soon as they are published can register on GOV.UK.