The PRS Database: What Landlords Need to Know About Mandatory Registration

Short answer: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a new, mandatory national database for the private rented sector in England — every private landlord will eventually have to register themselves and each rental property before letting. It has not launched yet: the government's implementation roadmap puts the start of registration from late 2026, rolled out regionally, with full public access following later. There is nothing to sign up for today, but unregistered letting is expected to carry a civil penalty and block certain routes to possession once the duty switches on.

Key takeaways

• The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and will require every private landlord in England to register themselves and their rental properties before letting.
• It is a separate England-only system — it does not replace HMO licensing, and it is not the same as Rent Smart Wales.
• The database is being introduced in Phase 2 of the Act's rollout, starting from late 2026 — it is not live as of this article's review date (15 July 2026).
• Registered information is expected to include landlord contact details, property details, and safety certificates (Gas Safety, EICR, EPC); the government has said what will be publicly visible versus council/landlord-only will be set out in regulations.
• Once in force, letting without registering is expected to carry a civil penalty of up to £7,000 (rising to £40,000 for serious or repeat breaches) and to block most possession orders for that property.
• There is currently no live registration portal — do not act on, or pay for, anything claiming to be early PRS Database registration.

What the PRS Database is, and why it's being created

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The Act establishes a new Private Rented Sector Database under Part 2, Chapter 3 of the Act (broadly sections 75 to 96) — a national register bringing together information about private landlords and the properties they let in England.

The government's stated aim is threefold: to inform tenants before they enter a new tenancy, to help landlords demonstrate compliance with their legal obligations, and to help local councils target enforcement at the minority of non-compliant landlords. It sits alongside the new PRS Landlord Ombudsman, which the Act also creates for dispute resolution. This is a genuinely new requirement, separate from the tenancy reforms (Section 21 abolition, assured periodic tenancies, new Section 8 grounds) that came into force on 1 May 2026.

Who must register

Legal requirement (once in force): every private landlord letting a residential property in England will need to register themselves — including all joint landlords on a property — and register each individual rental property, before it can lawfully be let or re-let. This is expected to apply regardless of portfolio size, from a single let to large portfolio landlords.

Using a letting agent does not remove this duty. The registration obligation is a landlord duty; an agent may complete the registration on your behalf, but you remain the legally responsible party.

If you hold an HMO licence under Part 2 or Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004, that licence is a separate, existing requirement from your local council and will continue to apply — the roadmap does not suggest the PRS Database replaces HMO licensing. Expect the database to sit on top of it as an additional national layer, though the government has not yet confirmed the operational detail of how the two systems will interact.

This does not apply in Wales. Wales already has its own mandatory landlord registration and licensing scheme, Rent Smart Wales, running under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 since 2015. The PRS Database is an England-only creation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

What information is required, and what's public

Based on the government's roadmap, registration is expected to require, at minimum, for each property:

• Landlord contact details, including a UK address for service of notices, for all joint landlords.
• Property details: full address, property type, bedrooms, number of households/residents, and whether it is occupied and furnished.
• Safety information: current Gas Safety Certificate, EICR, and EPC details.

The roadmap states that public access and data-sharing will be enabled following the launch of landlord registration — implying a distinction between what a landlord submits and what later becomes visible to tenants and the public. The exact public/private split has not yet been set out in secondary legislation, so treat any third-party claim about it with caution until MHCLG publishes the regulations.

Timeline: what's actually in force today

It's easy to conflate "the Act is in force" with "the database is live." They are not the same. Implementation is happening in three phases:

Phase	What it covers	Status
Phase 1 — 1 May 2026	Section 21 abolition, assured periodic tenancies, new/reformed Section 8 grounds, rent increase process, rental bidding and discrimination bans, expanded rent repayment orders	In force
Phase 2 — from late 2026	PRS Database (regional rollout, then public access); PRS Landlord Ombudsman	Not yet in force — rollout beginning late 2026
Phase 3 — dates TBC	Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law extended to the PRS	Not yet in force — subject to consultation

The government's own statutory guidance on civil penalties states it "will be updated to include breaches and offences under parts 2 and 3 of chapter 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Landlord Redress Schemes and Private Rented Sector Database) ... when this legislation is brought into legal force." Even the government has not yet finalised how registration failures will be enforced — that guidance follows once the database goes live.

Consequences of non-registration (once the duty is in force)

These are the government's stated intentions in the roadmap and the wider civil penalty framework the Act uses elsewhere — not yet confirmed, published guidance specific to the database, since that follows once it launches.

• Civil penalty. Letting a property that should be registered is expected to follow the Act's standard structure: up to £7,000 for a first breach, up to £40,000 for a serious, repeated, or dishonest breach (for example, false information). Local councils, not the database operator, would issue and enforce these.
• Possession orders blocked. A landlord in breach of the registration duty is expected to be unable to obtain a court possession order for that property, other than on the anti-social behaviour possession grounds — similar to how the Act already restricts landlords in breach of other duties, such as deposit protection.
• Rent repayment order exposure. The Act separately strengthens rent repayment orders and extends them to superior landlords, doubling the maximum penalty. Non-registration is not currently a listed trigger, but don't assume enforcement stops at the civil penalty — see our guide to rent repayment orders for how these already work for other housing offences.

How to register

There is nothing to register for yet. GOV.UK has not published a live "register your rental property" service, and no registration fee has been confirmed — the roadmap states an annual fee will apply but the amount is "confirmed closer to launch."

When the database goes live, registration is expected to be a GOV.UK digital service, matching how the rest of the Act's guidance and forms have been delivered. Do not pay any third party claiming to offer "PRS Database registration" today — check GOV.UK's changes to private renting page for the official announcement.

In the meantime, prepare: keep your Gas Safety Certificate, EICR, and EPC current, keep clear contact details for every joint landlord, and keep tenancy paperwork up to date — our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide and assured tenancy agreement template reflect the current post-1 May 2026 legal position.

---

This is legal information, not legal advice. It explains the law of England & Wales in general terms based on primary legislation and current government guidance, and does not take account of your specific circumstances. Reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Tenancy Agreement Service is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. For advice on your situation, speak to a regulated adviser.

Reviewed by Bradley Askew, Solicitor (non-practising), England & Wales. Reviewed 15 July 2026, reflecting the Renters' Rights Act 2025's implementation roadmap and statutory guidance current as at that date. The PRS Database's exact launch date, registration fee, and public/private data split had not been confirmed by government at the time of review — this page will be updated when they are.