The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a national Private Rented Sector Database. Every private landlord letting an assured tenancy in England will have to register themselves and each let property, and keep the entries current. The timetable is now fixed: The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 were made on 9 September 2026, the Register Your Rental Property service opens on 15 December 2026, and every in-scope property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. Nobody is in breach yet.
It is not a licence and it does not replace one. A landlord in a designated area needs a council licence and a database entry — two regimes, two obligations. Of the 317 councils in England and Wales we track, 90 operate at least one discretionary licensing scheme; registering on the database does nothing for any of them.
The consequence that matters most
An unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order. The court is barred from making one where the landlord is not registered in respect of that property.
This is the provision to understand properly, because it operates in the background and only surfaces at the worst moment. You can hold serious rent arrears, a mandatory ground, and a correctly served notice — and still lose the hearing because the database entry was never made or has gone stale.
It is the same shape as the old section 75 and section 98 licensing bars: a compliance failure that does not announce itself, and then decides a possession claim.
What must be on it
The landlord's identity and contact details, each let property, and evidence of the safety obligations attaching to it. The landlord registers themselves and each property; under regulation 4 of the Regulations an agent may supply information but cannot register on a landlord's behalf. Once registered, the registration number must appear on adverts. Entries must be kept up to date — a register that is right on the day you create it and wrong a year later is a register you are in breach of.
Timing: dated, and not yet in force
Until the Regulations were made, this guide recorded the rollout as a government intention with no confirmed timetable. It is now fixed by The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026, made 9 September 2026:
- 15 December 2026 — the Register Your Rental Property service opens. Rollout runs region by region over 12 months, and each region gets a 3-month window to register once it is called.
- 14 March 2027 — the first deadline, for landlords in the West Midlands, the first region called.
- 14 November 2027 — every in-scope property in England registered.
- £65 per property per year, renewed annually.
Two things follow, and both matter. Nobody is in breach today: the service is not open, and a landlord whose region has not been called cannot register and is not required to. And nobody outside the West Midlands has a deadline before 2027. The requirements initially apply to properties under let, or which become let, during the rollout. We will publish each region's window as it is announced; until yours is, the only preparation is the records the register will ask for.
Penalties
Once your region's window has closed, letting without registering, or holding out a property as available when it is not registered, carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to up to £40,000 or prosecution for a repeat or continuing breach; a rent repayment order can follow; and the possession bar applies, which in practice is the most expensive of the three. None of these can bite before the deadline for your region.
What to do now
- Treat it as a possession prerequisite, not paperwork. Its practical force is the bar on possession orders.
- Get your certificate records in order first. The entries reference the safety obligations, so a landlord who cannot produce a current gas or electrical record cannot complete a truthful entry.
- Do not assume it substitutes for licensing. Check your council's position separately — see our licensing index.
- Diarise your region's window, not the national date. 15 December 2026 is when the service opens; your obligation starts when your region is called, and the first deadline anywhere is 14 March 2027 in the West Midlands.
- Plan to maintain it. The duty is continuing, renewed annually at £65 per property, and nothing will remind you.
Check what applies to your address. The free compliance check covers licensing and the safety obligations the database entries reference.
Common questions
Does the PRS Database replace council licensing?
No. They are separate regimes with separate obligations. A landlord in a designated area needs the council licence AND the database entry, and complying with one does nothing for the other. 90 of the 317 councils we track operate at least one discretionary licensing scheme.
What happens if I am not registered?
The court is barred from making a possession order in respect of a property for which you are not registered. You can hold serious arrears, a mandatory ground and a valid notice and still lose the hearing. There is also a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 or prosecution for a repeat breach.
When does registration open?
The Register Your Rental Property service opens on 15 December 2026, under The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 made on 9 September 2026. It rolls out region by region over 12 months: the West Midlands is first, with a registration deadline of 14 March 2027, and every in-scope property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. Nobody is in breach today and nobody outside the West Midlands has a deadline before 2027.
How much does it cost?
£65 per property per year, renewed annually.
Can my letting agent register for me?
No. Under regulation 4 of the Regulations the landlord must register themselves and each property; an agent may supply information but cannot register on your behalf.
Do I register once, or per property?
Both. The landlord registers, and each let property is entered, with the registration number shown on adverts. The entries must be kept up to date — the duty is continuing, not a one-off.