Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database

A new national register for every landlord letting property in England — not live everywhere yet, rolling out region by region, with a deadline some way off but a reason not to leave it until the last minute.

Is the PRS Database open for landlords to register yet?

Not as a single, nationwide launch. The service — officially called the Register Your Rental Property Service — is scheduled to launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands before rolling out region by region across England over the following 12 months. Check the current gov.uk guidance for whether it has opened in your area before assuming registration is or isn't yet required where you let property.

By when must a landlord register?

Any landlord actively letting a property in the private rented sector in England must be registered by 14 November 2027, once the regional rollout schedule has run its course. Registering earlier, once the service is live in your region, is the safer approach rather than waiting for the final deadline.

What happens if a landlord doesn't register?

Gov.uk guidance describes non-registration as risking a fine, without the specific penalty amount confirmed in the official guidance reviewed for this page. Figures reported elsewhere for the potential penalty vary, and have not been independently confirmed against the regulations themselves — check the current, specific penalty figure in the regulations or official guidance before relying on any number quoted online.

Is registration the same thing as a selective licensing scheme?

No. Selective licensing is a scheme some councils run for specific areas, requiring a licence to let property there. The Private Rented Sector Database is a separate, national requirement introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, intended to apply across England regardless of whether a property is also in a council's selective licensing area. A landlord may need to comply with both requirements at once.

What information does a landlord have to provide?

The specific data fields required for registration had not been confirmed against primary source material at the time this page was last reviewed. Check the current gov.uk guidance on the Register Your Rental Property Service for exactly what information you will need to provide before your region's registration opens.

What the database is, and what is still unconfirmed

Until now, there has been no single, national record of who is letting property in England's private rented sector. Local authorities have run their own licensing schemes — mandatory HMO licensing, and selective licensing in specific areas — but there has been no equivalent nationwide register covering every private landlord. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces exactly that: a Private Rented Sector Database that landlords letting residential property in England will be required to register with.

The service has a public-facing name — the Register Your Rental Property Service — confirmed directly on a gov.uk announcement. It is scheduled to launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands, and will then roll out region by region across England over the following 12 months. The announcement states that any landlord actively letting a property must be registered by 14 November 2027, once that regional rollout has completed, and that failing to register "risks a fine."

Several commonly repeated details about the database are not yet independently confirmed against primary government sources as of this page's last review: the exact civil penalty amount for non-registration, whether an unregistered landlord is specifically barred from serving a valid possession notice, any annual registration fee per property, and the precise statutory instrument number for the underlying regulations. Secondary legal and industry sources report figures and consequences for each of these, but they are not consistent with each other, and this page deliberately does not repeat a specific number or consequence that could not be checked against gov.uk or legislation.gov.uk directly. Check the official guidance for the service, or the regulations themselves, before relying on any such figure.

The database is separate from council-run selective licensing schemes, which can still apply to a property in addition to the national registration requirement. Registering on the national database does not remove the need to hold a selective licence or an HMO licence where either is otherwise required.

A landlord lets three properties, two in the West Midlands and one in a different region that is not scheduled to come online until several months after the initial December 2026 launch.

West Midlands properties

Can register from the 15 December 2026 launch

Other-region property

Registers once that region's rollout opens

Final deadline for all properties

Rather than waiting for the final November 2027 deadline, the landlord registers each property as soon as the service becomes available in its region, reducing the risk of missing the deadline for a property in a later-rollout area while focused on the earlier ones.

HMO — House in Multiple Occupation

Renters' Rights Act 2025

Stronger protections and greater confidence for renters

Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database — Renters' Rights Glossary

What the new Private Rented Sector Database (Register Your Rental Property Service) is, when it launches, and what landlords need to do before the 2027 deadline.