Database of rogue landlords and property agents

A central record of the worst-offending landlords and letting agents in England — but one tenants generally cannot search themselves, which catches people out.

Can tenants check whether their landlord is on the rogue landlords database?

Not directly. The database set up under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 is held centrally but local housing authorities are responsible for its content, and access has been restricted to local authorities themselves rather than the general public. A 2019 government consultation looked at widening public access, but tenants currently cannot search it themselves the way they might search a public register.

What has to happen for a landlord to end up on the database?

Entry is either mandatory or discretionary. A local authority must add a landlord or property agent against whom it has obtained a banning order. It may also add someone who has not been banned but has been convicted of at least one banning order offence, or received civil penalties for two or more banning order offences within a 12-month period.

What counts as a 'banning order offence'?

A list of specified housing and landlord-related offences set out in regulations under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 — covering matters such as unlawful eviction, harassment of occupiers, failing to comply with HMO licensing requirements, and breaches of housing standards. A banning order itself is made by the First-tier Tribunal on a local authority's application, following a conviction or civil penalty for one of these offences.

Is the rogue landlords database the same as the new Private Rented Sector Database under the Renters' Rights Act 2025?

No, and the two are easy to confuse. The rogue landlords database is the older, 2018 system aimed specifically at the worst offenders, with local-authority-only access. The Private Rented Sector Database, due to launch from 15 December 2026, is a much broader landlord registration system covering ordinary compliant landlords as well, intended to inform tenant choices and support council enforcement more generally. Government guidance describes the newer database as likely to absorb and replace fragmented records, including rogue landlord information, but confirm the current position before relying on either as a complete answer.

How long does an entry stay on the database?

Entries made because of a banning order generally stay for the life of the order, since the database exists to record who is currently banned. Discretionary entries based on convictions or penalties are subject to removal rules set out in the underlying regulations, and a local authority can decide to remove an entry it no longer considers necessary.

If I cannot check the database myself, how do I find out about a landlord's history?

Ask your local council's private sector housing or environmental health team, since they hold database access and may also hold separate selective licensing or HMO licensing records they can tell you about. Companies House, Land Registry title records, and online reviews from previous tenants can also help, though none of these substitute for the council's own enforcement records.

Why it exists and who it is for

The database went live in England in April 2018, under powers in Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. It was designed as a targeted enforcement tool against the worst landlords and agents, not as a general record of everyone operating in the private rented sector. The Secretary of State is responsible for establishing and operating it, while individual local housing authorities are responsible for adding and maintaining the entries that relate to action taken in their own area.

Because the database is aimed at serious and repeat offenders, the bar for appearing on it is deliberately high. Ordinary landlords who comply with their obligations, or who commit a single minor breach, do not appear on it — it is reserved for banning orders and patterns of serious non-compliance.

How an entry gets made

• 1 Mandatory entry. A local authority must add a landlord or agent against whom it has obtained a banning order from the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
• 2 Discretionary entry — single conviction. A council may add someone convicted of a banning order offence, even without a banning order itself.
• 3 Discretionary entry — repeat civil penalties. A council may also add someone who has received civil penalties for two or more banning order offences within a 12-month period.

Access is the part people get wrong

The most common misunderstanding is assuming this database works like the CCJ register or a Land Registry search — something a tenant can look up before signing a tenancy agreement. It does not. Access has, since launch, been restricted to local housing authorities, who use it as an enforcement and intelligence tool rather than a public-facing checking service. A 2019 government consultation examined widening public access, but check the current position with your local council rather than assuming either outcome.

This is also where the database is easy to confuse with the newer Private Rented Sector Database being introduced under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, due to launch from 15 December 2026 and roll out across England over roughly a year. That newer database is aimed at landlord registration generally, covering compliant landlords as well as problem ones, and is expected to be more tenant-facing than the 2016 database — but the two are legally separate systems with separate origins, even though the newer one may absorb some of the older one's function over time.

Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database

HMO — House in Multiple Occupation

Housing and Planning Act 2016, Part 2

Banning Orders and the Rogue Landlord Database

Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — roadmap

Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents — Renters' Rights Glossary

What the rogue landlords database covers, how an entry is made, who can access it, and how it differs from the new Private Rented Sector Database.