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The PRS Database: What Landlords Should Prepare Before Registration

Published: 3 October 2026 · Last reviewed: 2 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 minutes

The government says its "Register your rental property" service for England starts rolling out on 15 December 2026. Your deadline depends on where each rental property is, not where you live. Much of what the service asks for is information landlords already deal with: gas, electrical and energy performance records, and basic facts about the property and tenancy.

The harder part is finding the right version of each document, for each property, when you need it. This article covers what the government has announced, what the legislation shows and what to prepare.

It covers England only, not the landlord registers in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. It is general information, not legal advice. Check the official sources at the end before you act.

Where things stand

What the government has announced. The service launches on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and reaching other areas over 12 months. When an area is called forward, landlords with properties there have three months to register. The government says all landlords actively letting property need to have registered by 14 November 2027. It says registration will be a legal requirement and "risks a fine if not completed".

Who it covers. The government says landlords of an assured or regulated tenancy in England must register themselves and each property. The Act defines a residential landlord as the landlord under an assured or regulated tenancy of a dwelling in England that is not social housing (section 63). Landlords of supported exempt accommodation are excluded. We cannot tell you whether your own tenancies are covered. Check the definitions.

What the legislation shows. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 provides for the database (sections 75 and 76). The rules on making an entry are in the Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026. On 2 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk still labelled these a draft that had "not yet been made as a UK Statutory Instrument". The explanatory memorandum says a "Commencement No. 4" instrument will bring the Act's database provisions into force, and we could not find that instrument as made. The government's dates match the draft's commencement dates, but we have not seen the instrument that makes the deadlines enforceable.

Everything below about what an entry contains comes from the draft and could change.

The dates

These are the government's published dates. The government says registration is required by the deadline for the region where the property is.

RegionRegulations commenceDeadline to register
West Midlands15 December 202614 March 2027
East of England15 January 202714 April 2027
East Midlands15 February 202714 May 2027
South East15 March 202714 June 2027
Yorkshire and Humber15 April 202714 July 2027
North West15 May 202714 August 2027
North East15 June 202714 September 2027
London15 July 202714 October 2027
South West15 August 202714 November 2027

Regions are defined by local authority area. Schedule 1 of the draft regulations lists the councils in each. If you let in several regions, the government says you can register everything at once from 15 December 2026, but each property has its own region's deadline. After a region's deadline, the government says councils there can begin enforcement activity.

For now, the government says you only need to register properties that are let, or become let during the rollout. Unoccupied properties can wait for further guidance.

The fee

The government says the annual fee is £65 per property, and it applies each time you register a different property. You renew each year. During rollout the fee is pro-rated so that those registering first do not pay more. We have not seen how pro-rating is calculated. The draft regulations leave the fee to the database operator, and we have not seen the instrument that sets £65.

What you will be asked for

The government's list matches the draft regulations.

About you (the landlord entry)

For an individual: name, date of birth, residential address, telephone number and email address. For a company, trust or other organisation, more: the organisation's name and type, an address that is not a PO box, a nominated contact, the person making the entry, and a Companies House or charity number where there is one. Without a Companies House number, it asks for the names, dates of birth and addresses of directors, trustees, partners or governing body members.

About each property (dwelling entry, Part 1)

  • the address
  • the landlord's name, a correspondence address in England and Wales, and an email address
  • ownership type
  • dwelling type, such as detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat
  • number of bedrooms
  • whether the property is currently let
  • the name and email address of the freeholder, any other superior landlord, or the property manager

About the tenancy and safety records (dwelling entry, Part 2)

  • the number of occupants and the number of households
  • whether the property needs an HMO licence, additional licence or selective licence, and the licence number if available
  • if the property has a gas supply, a copy of the gas safety record (if one exists) and its issue date
  • a copy of the electrical installation condition report (EICR), if one exists, or an appropriate electrical installation certificate, with the EICR expiry date or the certificate issue date
  • whether you were required to give the current tenant a valid energy performance certificate (EPC) and, if so, a copy of the most recent one, if one exists
  • if the most recent EPC is no longer valid, the date the current tenancy started
  • if the most recent EPC rating is below the minimum level, whether there is a registered exemption and what type
  • the rent, how often it is paid, and whether it includes utilities
  • whether the property is furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished

The government says you upload gas, electrical and energy performance certificates. The draft says only "if one exists" and does not say what happens where none does.

The clocks in the draft

If the draft is made as written:

  • 28 days to complete a let property's record. An entry for a property that is already let can be made without the Part 2 information. That information must follow within 28 days, starting with the day the entry was made, or the entry becomes inactive. Different rules apply where an entry is made by certain representatives, for example someone acting under a power of attorney.
  • 28 days to update. When information in an active entry goes out of date, the entry must be updated within 28 days, starting with the day it went out of date.
  • 12 months to renew. Entries must be renewed every 12 months or they become inactive. A fee must be paid to make a dwelling entry and to renew it, and in some cases to reactivate one.

The draft does not say whether a renewed certificate counts as the earlier one "going out of date".

Who does the registering

You need a GOV.UK One Login. The government says offline routes will be available for landlords who need them. If you use a letting agent, you still start the registration yourself. Your agent or property manager can upload certain information on your behalf, but "you as a landlord will remain responsible for providing all required information". The government has said it will publish guidance for agents before launch.

What is not yet confirmed

  • What will be public. The government will publish the list of information tenants can see at a later stage.
  • Advert identifiers. The Act says written adverts must include the unique identifiers the database operator allocates to the landlord and the dwelling (sections 82 and 84). The government says this requirement comes later, under future legislation, with further guidance.

What the Act says about enforcement

If the database provisions are in force, the Act gives local housing authorities enforcement powers. A council may impose a financial penalty if it is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a person has:

  • breached the marketing, advertising or landlord duties in section 82, with a maximum penalty of £7,000, or
  • committed an offence under section 92, which includes knowingly or recklessly giving materially false or misleading information in purported compliance with the regulations, with a maximum penalty of £40,000

These are maximums. The amount is for the authority.

The Act also provides that a court may not make an order for possession under section 7 of the Housing Act 1988 while the landlord is in breach of the duty to have active entries, with exceptions for two grounds named in the Act.

These provisions depend on commencement, which we have not confirmed.

How to prepare now

This checklist is practical advice, not a legal requirement. It does not describe your existing safety obligations, which are separate and not covered here.

  1. Build one record per property. Address, ownership type, dwelling type, bedrooms, whether let, and the freeholder, any superior landlord and any property manager.
  2. Record your own details once, accurately. Individual or company. If a company, who its directors are and what its registration number is.
  3. Collect the current documents. The latest gas safety record (if the property has gas), the EICR or electrical installation certificate, the EPC, and any licence numbers.
  4. Write the dates alongside each document. Gas safety record issue date. EICR expiry date or certificate issue date. EPC validity. Tenancy start date.
  5. Note tenancy facts. Occupants, households, rent, payment frequency, whether utilities are included, furnishing.
  6. Mark what is missing. If a document does not exist or you cannot find it, record that now rather than discovering it during registration.
  7. Find each property's region and deadline. Use the table above and Schedule 1 of the draft.
  8. Set up a way to keep it current. The draft asks for updates within 28 days.
  9. Set up your GOV.UK One Login and agree with any agent what they will provide.

Where PropertyCertify fits

The gas, electrical and energy performance documents the draft asks about, and their dates, are the ones PropertyCertify is designed to handle. If they sit across spreadsheets, inboxes and folders, finding the current version for each property can take time.

PropertyCertify helps centralise landlord compliance documentation. It can extract key information from uploaded compliance documents and classify them. It helps track expiry dates and helps identify missing or incomplete records, with property-level and portfolio-level visibility.

It does not register landlords on the Database, tell you what the Database requires of you, or certify that you are compliant. Registration itself is completed through the government service. PropertyCertify helps you organise and understand your own records.

If you would like to see how centralised tracking works, see how PropertyCertify helps landlords organise their compliance records.

Check the sources

This article reflects the position on 2 October 2026. Dates, fees and requirements may change. If you are unsure how any of this applies to your property, take advice from a qualified professional.