PRS Database
The one obligation nobody can work around
Licensing depends on your council. The Private Rented Sector Database depends on nothing: every landlord of an assured tenancy in England will have to be on it, region by region from 15 December 2026. Once your region’s window has closed, letting or advertising an unregistered property carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first or minor breach, and up to £40,000 or prosecution for a serious or repeated one.
And while you are unregistered you cannot get a possession order at all — section 90 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, with the single exception of ground 7A or ground 14 for tenant anti-social behaviour.
Getting ready
Step 1
Add your properties
Address, type, tenancy. Two minutes each.
Step 2
Record your dates
Gas, electrical, EPC. We keep the dates, not your documents.
Step 3
Your region is called
Service opens 15 December 2026; West Midlands first, every region by 14 November 2027.
Step 4
Register yourself and each property
£65 per property per year. We'll tell you when your region opens and what to have to hand.
The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 were made on 9 September 2026. The service opens on 15 December 2026; the West Midlands must register by 14 March 2027; every in-scope property in England by 14 November 2027. £65 per property per year. Nobody is in breach today, and nobody outside the West Midlands has a deadline before 2027. Get your dates recorded now and we’ll tell you when your region is called.
We record dates and details, not documents. Certificates are recorded, not on file unless you switch that on yourself in Settings.
Questions
Who has to register on the PRS Database?
Every landlord of an assured tenancy in England. Unlike licensing, this does not depend on your council, your property type or the number of occupiers — there is no version of it you can be outside.
What is the penalty for not registering?
Letting or advertising an unregistered property carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first or minor breach, and up to £40,000 or prosecution for a serious or repeated one. Those are two different thresholds for two different kinds of conduct, and they should not be collapsed into a single figure.
Can I evict a tenant if I am not registered?
No. Section 90 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 bars a possession order while you are unregistered, with the single exception of ground 7A or ground 14 — the anti-social behaviour grounds. In practice that means an unregistered landlord cannot recover the property for rent arrears, for sale, or to move in.
When does the PRS Database open?
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 rolls out region by region over 12 months, each region getting a 3-month window once it is called. The West Midlands is first: landlords there must be registered by 14 March 2027. Every in-scope property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. Registration is £65 per property per year, renewed annually. Nobody is in breach today, and nobody outside the West Midlands has a deadline before 2027. Anyone offering to register you before the service opens is selling something that does not exist yet.
What can I do before it opens?
Get your records straight, because the register will ask for facts you should already hold: which properties you let, and the dates on your gas, electrical and energy certificates. That is work you can do today and it is the whole of the preparation.
Can my letting agent register for me?
No. Under regulation 4 of the Regulations the landlord registers themselves and each property; an agent may supply information but cannot register on a landlord's behalf. Once registered, the registration number must appear on adverts.
Who must register, in full → · What of the Act is in force →