PRS Database registration: a landlord’s guide

What is the PRS Database?

The PRS Database is a national register of private landlords and rental properties in England. It was introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 as part of a wider package of reforms aimed at raising standards in the private rental sector.

The database has four main purposes. It holds landlords to consistent legal standards, lets tenants verify a landlord’s legitimacy before signing a tenancy, supports local councils with enforcement, and consolidates key data on each rental property such as letting status and landlord history.

The database operates alongside other compliance regimes, including gas and electrical safety, EPCs, and deposit protection. Registration does not replace those duties; it sits on top of them.

When does registration open?

The PRS Database opens for registration on 15 December 2026, starting with properties in the West Midlands. It then opens in a new region on the 15th of each month until August 2027. Each region has about three months to register. Your deadline depends on where the property is, not where you live.

The government publishes each region’s dates on its Housing Hub. They are:

Once your region’s deadline has passed, marketing or letting a property that is not registered can lead to a financial penalty.

Who must register?

Every private landlord letting residential property in England under an assured or regulated tenancy will need to register. This includes private individuals, limited company landlords, and portfolio landlords with multiple properties.

Each property a landlord owns will need to be registered individually, with up-to-date information about the tenancy and the landlord. The database is property-by-property, not landlord-by-landlord. The fee is £65 per property per year, payable when you register and at each annual renewal.

Social housing is outside the scheme, and so is supported exempt accommodation. There is no general exemption for build-to-rent landlords. If you are unsure whether your property is covered, take advice before registration opens in your area.

Penalties for not registering

The consequences of failing to register escalate with non-compliance:

• A financial penalty of up to £7,000 for breaching the marketing, advertising and letting restrictions in section 82 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025
• A financial penalty of up to £40,000, or prosecution, where the conduct amounts to an offence under section 92. That covers knowingly or recklessly giving the database operator false or misleading information, continuing the same conduct more than 28 days after a penalty, or a further breach within five years of a penalty or conviction
• Repeat penalties, since a further penalty can be imposed where the conduct continues beyond 28 days from the last one
• Entries on the database recording banning orders, convictions and financial penalties, which councils must add where they took the action. Regulations will set out how much of this the public can see
• No possession order while you are not registered, once the registration rules apply to you. The only exceptions are claims brought on Ground 7A or Ground 14, the two anti-social behaviour grounds. Landlords who want to take possession to move in or sell will therefore need to be registered first

Enforcement sits with local councils, which already lead on private rented sector enforcement. The database is designed to give councils a single source of truth for their area, making non-compliant landlords easier to identify.

The Landlord Ombudsman scheme

Private landlords in England will also have to join a government-approved redress scheme, known as the Landlord Ombudsman. The government expects membership to become mandatory in 2028, after the database is up and running. The Ombudsman provides redress for tenants in resolving complaints about a property without the need to go to court.

A redress scheme can cover disputes about rent, repairs, communication, and breaches of tenancy or the law. Decisions can be binding on the landlord, and the scheme is intended to give tenants a faster, cheaper alternative to litigation.

Membership of the Ombudsman is a separate obligation from PRS Database registration. Once both are in force, a landlord will need to comply with both.

What letting agents need to know

Letting agents must not market a property unless both the landlord and the property have an active entry on the PRS Database. Any written advert must also show the database identifiers for the landlord and the property. In practice, agents will need to check each landlord’s registration before marketing a property.

An agent that markets a property for an unregistered landlord risks enforcement action in its own right. Agencies should put compliance checks into their onboarding and renewal workflows ahead of the rollout in their area.

What landlords should do now to prepare

Registration has not opened yet, but there are practical steps that will make the process easier when it does:

• Gather up-to-date documentation for every property: tenancy agreements, gas safety certificates, electrical reports, EPCs, deposit protection records
• Check that any older tenancies reflect the assured periodic regime that applies from 1 May 2026, and that every existing tenant was given the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026
• Decide whether you will register yourself or delegate to a letting agent
• Watch for the launch of the Landlord Ombudsman, which the government expects in 2028
• Check your region’s registration deadline in the table above and put it in your diary

For an overview of the wider reforms taking effect alongside the database, read our guide to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

Speak to our property litigation team

Our landlord and tenant solicitors advise private landlords on compliance with the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, including PRS Database registration, Ombudsman scheme membership, and the new section 8 possession regime.

Call us on 020 7485 8811 or contact us online to speak to a member of the team.