PRS Database: dates, £65 fee and how to register (2026)

England’s Private Rented Sector Database opens on 15 December 2026 as the GOV.UK service “Register your rental property”. It rolls out one region a month, starting in the West Midlands, and every landlord with a let home in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. The fee is £65 per property per year.

What is the PRS Database?

The PRS Database is England’s statutory register of private landlords and the homes they let, created by Chapter 3 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Landlords register through a GOV.UK service called “Register your rental property”.

The Act requires the database to hold “entries in respect of persons who are, or intend to become, residential landlords,” and “entries in respect of dwellings which are, or are intended to be, let under residential tenancies”. The PRS database, the PRS register, the PRS landlord database, the landlord database and the England landlord register all refer to this one service. It is separate from the PRS Landlord Ombudsman.

It covers England only. Wales already requires Rent Smart Wales registration because “The landlord of a dwelling subject to, or marketed or offered for let under, a domestic tenancy must be registered”; Northern Ireland’s 2014 scheme says “A landlord letting a dwelling-house must register”; and Scotland requires each local authority to keep its own register.

When does the PRS Database start?

Registration opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands. Each region then gets a three-month window, and the last region, the South West, closes on 14 November 2027.

The government announced on 9 September 2026 that the service “will launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and onto other areas over 12 months.” GOV.UK’s guidance for landlords sets each region’s window:

Region	Registration opens	Deadline
West Midlands	15 December 2026	14 March 2027
East of England	15 January 2027	14 April 2027
East Midlands	15 February 2027	14 May 2027
South East	15 March 2027	14 June 2027
Yorkshire and Humberside	15 April 2027	14 July 2027
North West	15 May 2027	14 August 2027
North East	15 June 2027	14 September 2027
London	15 July 2027	14 October 2027
South West	15 August 2027	14 November 2027

Your region is decided by the property’s council, not where you live: GOV.UK says, “Use your property’s postcode to check the relevant council.” A landlord with homes in several regions has a different deadline for each. You do not have to wait for your region: “You can register your rental properties before their region’s start date.”

Who has to register on the PRS Database?

Every private landlord with a home in England let on an assured or regulated tenancy must register, both themselves and each property.

GOV.UK says, “If you are a private landlord that is renting out a property in England that is currently occupied by tenants on an assured or regulated tenancy, you must register.” The Act defines a residential landlord as “the landlord under a relevant tenancy of a dwelling in England that is not social housing”, and requires “an active landlord entry in the database in respect of the person and an active dwelling entry in the database in respect of the dwelling”.

Joint landlords register individually: “If you rent out a property with one or more other landlords, in a joint landlord arrangement, each landlord must register.” One of them registers the property and invites the others. Companies, charities, trusts and LLPs register as organisation landlords. The one exemption GOV.UK names is supported exempt accommodation: “You do not need to register if you operate a tenancy that is included in the meaning of supported exempt accommodation.”

For now the duty covers let homes. GOV.UK adds, “In the future, you will be required to register unoccupied properties before marketing or advertising them.”

How do you register on the PRS Database?

You register online through GOV.UK’s “Register your rental property” service: first yourself as a landlord, then each property, paying the fee for each property to get its registration number.

GOV.UK says, “You can then pay your property registration fee and be given a property registration number.” The landlord has to start it: “You must start the registration, and you are responsible for meeting the registration requirements.” Once a property is registered, a letting agent can add the tenancy and safety details: “you can ask a letting or property manager to provide tenancy and health and safety information.”

You do not need every certificate to hand on the day. GOV.UK says “you can submit your registration and provide any outstanding information within 28 days,” and “you are responsible for ensuring that the property record is completed within 28 days of registering it.”

Abodient already holds the records the form asks for on each property: the tenancy and rent, the gas safety certificate, the EICR and the EPC, with their expiry dates tracked. So a landlord on Abodient has the answers ready when their region opens.

How much does the PRS Database cost?

The fee is £65 per property per year. During the rollout the first year is pro-rated, so a landlord who registers early pays less.

GOV.UK says, “The annual service fee is £65 per property.” It adds, “This fee is not subject to VAT,” and “The service fee is tax-deductible, you should review the relevant HMRC guidance when you submit your tax return.” Registering yourself as a landlord, and updating your records, costs nothing.

The pro-rating works because no fee is charged for the months before the national deadline: “Your fee will be adjusted to disregard any days before 15 November 2027.” GOV.UK’s own examples are £5.34 for a property registered on 15 December 2026 and £39.60 for one registered on 25 June 2027. The full £65 then falls due each year after.

What information do you need to register on the PRS Database?

You need the property’s details, a correspondence address in England or Wales, the tenancy and rent details, and the property’s safety certificates and licences.

GOV.UK lists the gas safety certificate (where there is gas), the electrical safety certificate, the Energy Performance Certificate, tenancy and rent information, and any licence, such as an HMO licence. It also asks for contact details for any managing agent, superior landlord and freeholder.

Legal commentators reading the draft regulations list the property-level questions in more detail: property type, ownership, bedrooms, whether it is let, the number of occupants and households, the rent and how often it is paid, whether bills are included, furnishing, and any Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards exemption.

The record has to stay current: “You must update any information that changes or expires within 28 days of that change or expiration.” A gas safety certificate that is renewed every year is therefore a database update every year. Abodient tracks each certificate’s expiry and chases the renewal, so the new one is on file when the update is due.

What happens if you don’t register on the PRS Database?

A landlord who does not register can be fined up to £7,000 by the local council, and up to £40,000 for false information or repeated breaches. They also cannot get a possession order from the court.

GOV.UK says, “You may be subject to penalties of up to £7,000 for failing to register yourself and your property on the service,” and “Your local authority may take enforcement action if you do not comply with the service requirements.” Once a region’s registration period has opened, tenants there can also apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order.

The court bar comes from section 90 of the Act: “The court may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house while the landlord ... is in breach of section 82(3)(a) ... unless the ground for possession is Ground 7A ... or Ground 14”. So the only possession claims an unregistered landlord can still bring are for anti-social behaviour, under Ground 7A or Ground 14. The bar applies to the court making the order, not to the wording of every section 8 notice.

Will your home address be published on the PRS Database?

No. GOV.UK says landlord and property information is not shared publicly at present.

GOV.UK’s guidance says, “Currently your landlord and property information will not be shared publicly.” The address it asks for is a correspondence address in England or Wales, which does not have to be your home.

The Act lets later regulations make some details public: section 86 allows them to “specify the information contained in active landlord and dwelling entries in the database” that the operator must publish. Registration numbers are going the same way. GOV.UK says you can already show them on adverts, and “In the future it will be a requirement to include landlord and rental property numbers when advertising a property.”

Does registering on the PRS Database replace a selective licence?

No, registering on the PRS Database does not replace a selective licence in an area where selective licensing applies.

Selective licensing under Housing Act 2004 Part 3 remains a separate regime: section 80 says “A local housing authority may designate” a selective licensing area, and section 85 says “Every Part 3 house must be licensed under this Part unless” an exception applies. GOV.UK also says, “Selective licensing remains a valuable tool when used appropriately and combined with other measures.”

The practical difference is that the PRS Database is a national register covering every let home in England, while selective licensing is a local council scheme for particular areas. A landlord may need both, plus any HMO licence, and the database itself asks which licences the property holds.

What is landlord registration in Scotland?

Landlord registration in Scotland is a live council-run legal register, separate from England’s PRS Database, and a registration entry normally lasts 3 years.

The Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 says, “Each local authority shall prepare and maintain a register for the purposes of this Part,” and each entry must state a “landlord registration number”. The Act says the authority removes an entry “on the expiry of the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which the entry is made.” A registered landlord advertising a let must include the number: “the registered person must ensure the advertisement includes the landlord registration number given by the authority.”

Scottish fees move with indexation: the 2019 regulations started with “a principal fee of £65,” but also say fees are varied from 1 April each year. Aberdeenshire currently publishes £85 plus £20 per property as an example.

What is the HMRC landlord database?

There is no separate HMRC landlord database for UK-resident landlords. The phrase usually means England’s PRS Database, which the government runs, or HMRC’s own Self Assessment and data-matching systems.

HMRC’s ordinary rule is Self Assessment: “If you do not usually send a tax return, you need to register by 5 October following the tax year you had rental income.” The PRS Database is not run by HMRC: the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 says the database operator is “the Secretary of State”. Its £65 fee is, however, a cost you can claim against your rental income.

HMRC’s Connect system “cross-references more than 22 billion lines of data including customers’ Self Assessment returns, property and financial data,” and the Let Property Campaign is for “landlords who owe tax through letting out residential property in the UK or abroad.”

Last reviewed November 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “If you are a private landlord that is renting out a property in England that is currently occupied by tenants on an assured or regulated tenancy, you must register.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “The annual service fee is £65 per property.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “Your fee will be adjusted to disregard any days before 15 November 2027.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “You can register your rental properties before their region’s start date.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “You must update any information that changes or expires within 28 days of that change or expiration.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “You may be subject to penalties of up to £7,000 for failing to register yourself and your property on the service.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “Currently your landlord and property information will not be shared publicly.” Source
• GOV.UK Register your rental property service: guidance for landlords — “In the future it will be a requirement to include landlord and rental property numbers when advertising a property.” Source
• GOV.UK Stronger protections and greater confidence for renters (9 September 2026) — “It will launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and onto other areas over 12 months.” Source
• HCR Law, Private Rented Sector Database to go live from 15 December 2026 — property details landlords will provide on registration. Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.75 — “entries in respect of persons who are, or intend to become, residential landlords,” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.75 — “entries in respect of dwellings which are, or are intended to be, let under residential tenancies” Source
• Housing (Wales) Act 2014 s.4 — “The landlord of a dwelling subject to, or marketed or offered for let under, a domestic tenancy must be registered under this Part in respect of the dwelling (see sections 14 to 17), unless an exception in section 5 applies.” Source
• Landlord Registration Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 reg.3 — “A landlord letting a dwelling-house must register with the registrar in accordance with paragraph (2).” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.63 — “residential landlord” means the landlord under a relevant tenancy of a dwelling in England that is not social housing; Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.82 — “an active landlord entry in the database in respect of the person and an active dwelling entry in the database in respect of the dwelling” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.86 — “specify the information contained in active landlord and dwelling entries in the database” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.90 — “The court may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house while the landlord (or, in the case of joint landlords, any of the joint landlords) is in breach of section 82(3)(a) of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 in relation to the dwelling-house, unless the ground for possession is Ground 7A in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act or Ground 14 in Part 2 of that Schedule.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.80 — “A local housing authority may designate” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.85 — “Every Part 3 house must be licensed under this Part unless” Source
• GOV.UK Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act — “Selective licensing remains a valuable tool when used appropriately and combined with other measures.” Source
• Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 s.82 — “Each local authority shall prepare and maintain a register for the purposes of this Part.” Source
• Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 s.84 — “landlord registration number” Source
• Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 s.84 — “on the expiry of the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which the entry is made.” Source
• Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 s.92B — “the registered person must ensure the advertisement includes the landlord registration number given by the authority.” Source
• The Private Landlord Registration (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 — “a principal fee of £65” Source
• Aberdeenshire Council landlord registration — “It costs £85 to apply for landlord registration, plus a fee of £20 per property.” Source
• GOV.UK Renting out a property: paying tax — “If you do not usually send a tax return, you need to register by 5 October following the tax year you had rental income.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.76 — “the Secretary of State” Source
• HMRC No Safe Havens 2019 — “Connect cross-references more than 22 billion lines of data including customers’ Self Assessment returns, property and financial data.” Source
• GOV.UK Let Property Campaign — “The Let Property Campaign is for landlords who owe tax through letting out residential property in the UK or abroad.” Source