PRS Database - What Landlords Need to Know

If you’re a private landlord, you may have seen the recent announcement about the Government’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database.

With further details now available, we’ve put together a quick overview of what landlords need to know and, importantly, when you’ll need to take action.

When do you need to register?

The date you will need to register your property will depend on the region of your rental property

If you own properties in different regions, the deadlines will vary depending on where each property is located, rather than where you live, but registration will be available to you from 15 December 2026, allowing landlords to register properties ahead of their individual regional deadlines.

Missing the relevant deadline could result in enforcement action from the local council and a fine.

What information will you need?

Landlords will be responsible for ensuring their properties are registered fully and correctly.

Briefly, you would be required to provide the following information:

• Your name, address and contact details
• The address of the rental property
• Number of residents in the rental property
• Number of bedrooms
• The achieved rent

You will also need to demonstrate that the property meets the required Health & Safety Standards by providing relevant compliance documentation, including (where applicable):

•  Landlord Gas Safety Certificate (LLGSC)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

How much will it cost? 

Registration will cost £65 per property per year which will be payable by the landlord.

Initially, the requirement will apply to occupied properties and properties that become occupied during the relevant registration period.

Later, once the public interface is introduced, landlords will also need to register unoccupied properties before they are remarketed.

Who can see the information? 

Initially, the information will only be accessible by local councils.

The second phase is currently expected around 2028, when tenants will be able to use the service to check whether landlords are complying with key legal requirements.

The exact information that will be publicly available has not yet been confirmed.

At this stage, it is expected that properties being marketed will also be issued with a unique reference number, which will need to be included in property marketing.

What does this mean if you self-manage?

If you manage your own rental property, or your managing agent does not deal with your compliance, you will remain responsible for registering your property and ensuring that the information and compliance documentation held on the database is complete and up to date.

There is expected to be an option for landlords to authorise managing agents to assist with certain parts of the process, but further guidance is still awaited on exactly what this will look like and how this will work.

At Brown & Co, we’ll continue to share further information as it becomes available so that landlords have plenty of time to prepare.

For full details, visit the Government’s ‘Get Ready: Register your rental property’ guidance.