Landlord Registration Opens December 2026: £65-Per-Property Fee Confirmed

The Government has confirmed the rollout timetable for the Private Rented Sector Database — now branded “Register your rental property” — with the first region, the West Midlands, opening on 15 December 2026. Every relevant rental property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027.

Every private landlord — whether an individual, a company, or a trust — must register each dwelling they let or market for let, regardless of portfolio size. The landlord entry itself is free, but each dwelling entry costs £65 per annum, and both must be kept up to date, potentially within 28 days of any change.

What you must submit
Required information includes the property address, gas and electrical safety compliance details, EPC ratings, room sizes, current rent, HMO or selective licence numbers where applicable, and any local authority enforcement history. Letting agents can assist with the submission, but the landlord must sign it off.

The register is not just a data collection exercise. It is designed to be publicly searchable, so tenants, local authorities, and enforcement officers can verify a landlord’s compliance status before entering into a tenancy.

What happens if you don’t register
Enforcement is substantial. Failing to register, or providing false information, can trigger fines of up to £7,000 per offence and up to £40,000 in serious cases. More critically, an unregistered landlord cannot lawfully market or let a property, and cannot serve certain notices to recover possession.

That last point is the one most likely to catch landlords out. A failure to register does not simply produce a fine — it strips away the legal tools required to end a tenancy. For any landlord with a tenant in situ on a periodic tenancy, that is a material operational risk.

Awaab’s Law moves closer to private rentals
Separately, the Government’s consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector opened on 9 October and closes on 18 December 2026, with implementation expected no earlier than 2027. The law would impose strict investigation and repair timescales for serious hazards such as damp and mould — investigations within 10 working days, repairs within 5 working days for significant hazards, and 24 hours for emergencies.

The consultation includes proposals to extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector at the same time. Together, the two measures would create a formal legal obligation to maintain minimum physical standards, backed by local authority enforcement.

Preparing for the deadline
Landlords should begin preparation now rather than in November 2027. That means auditing every property for current gas safety certificates, EICRs, and EPCs, resolving any outstanding enforcement notices, and confirming the correct licensing status. The £65 fee is manageable — but the operational disruption of a sudden compliance failure is not.

Landlord associations have argued that the fee should be capped for portfolio landlords, but no exemption has been announced. For a landlord with ten properties, the annual cost is £650 — small in absolute terms, but the administrative burden of keeping ten records accurate and current is the real work.