Landlord Database:
£65 a Property, Regional Deadlines and Penalties
07 October 2026
Every private landlord in England with an assured or regulated tenancy must register themselves and each rental home on the government's new landlord database, the Register your rental property service, from 15 December 2026. The fee is £65 per property per year, deadlines run region by region until 14 November 2027, and an unregistered landlord cannot obtain most possession orders. Mortgage One is a whole of market mortgage adviser arranging buy-to-let, limited company and expat landlord mortgages on properties across England.
For a free initial consultation on how the new register sits alongside your buy-to-let borrowing, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.
What the landlord database is and who has to register
The landlord database is England's national register of private landlords and rented homes, created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and run online as the Register your rental property service. Every landlord letting under an assured or regulated tenancy must hold an active landlord entry plus a separate entry for each property, renewed every year.
The Private Rented Sector Database, or PRS database, is the legal name. Register your rental property is the GOV.UK service landlords log into using a GOV.UK One Login, with offline routes for anyone who cannot register online. Each landlord and each property is given a unique identifier.
If you are asking whether you need to register as a landlord in England, the answer for almost every buy-to-let owner is yes. Registration follows the property, not the landlord, so a landlord living in London with a flat in Birmingham works to the West Midlands deadline for that flat. Supported exempt accommodation falls outside the service, and properties that are currently empty do not need registering yet.
The government plans to require registration before an empty property is marketed, with the landlord and property identifiers shown on every advert. That rule needs further legislation and has no start date yet.
When will the landlord database start in your region?
The landlord database starts in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, then opens in a new English region on the 15th of each month until the South West on 15 August 2027. Each region gets a three-month window to register, so the final deadline falls on 14 November 2027.
The rollout dates and registration deadlines published by the government are:
· West Midlands: starts 15 December 2026, register by 14 March 2027
· East of England: starts 15 January 2027, register by 14 April 2027
· East Midlands: starts 15 February 2027, register by 14 May 2027
· South East: starts 15 March 2027, register by 14 June 2027
· Yorkshire and Humber: starts 15 April 2027, register by 14 July 2027
· North West: starts 15 May 2027, register by 14 August 2027
· North East: starts 15 June 2027, register by 14 September 2027
· London: starts 15 July 2027, register by 14 October 2027
· South West: starts 15 August 2027, register by 14 November 2027
Landlords with properties in more than one region can register the whole portfolio at once from 15 December 2026, provided each property is on the database before its own deadline. Once a region's window closes, councils there can begin enforcement.
How much is the landlord database fee per property?
The landlord database fee is £65 per property per year, charged on each home you register rather than per landlord or per room. A portfolio of ten flats therefore costs £650 a year to register. During the rollout the fee is pro-rated, so landlords who sign up early do not pay more.
At £65 a property the annual cost scales directly with portfolio size:
· One property: £65 a year
· Three properties: £195 a year
· Five properties: £325 a year
· Ten properties: £650 a year
· Twenty properties: £1,300 a year
The fee does not change how much a buy-to-let lender will lend. Rental stress tests compare the rent with the mortgage interest at a stressed rate and leave running costs such as this fee out, which the rental stress test calculator shows for any rent you enter. The real effect is on net yield, alongside the property income tax rates of 22%, 42% and 47% that apply to rent received in personal names from 6 April 2027. That combination is one reason more landlords are comparing personal ownership with limited company buy-to-let before their next purchase.
The government says the fee pays for running the service and funds councils to tackle non-compliance. It is separate from any HMO, additional or selective licence a council already charges for, and separate from the annual membership fee expected for the new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman.
What you must upload: certificates, rent and ownership details
Registration asks for your identity and contact details, the property's address, type, bedrooms and occupants, the rent and how often it is paid, and copies of the gas safety record, electrical installation condition report and energy performance certificate. Entries must be kept current, with changes generally recorded within 28 days.
Individual landlords give their name, date of birth, residential address, telephone number and email address. Companies give their legal entity type, Companies House number and a nominated contact, and must list every director where no Companies House number applies.
For each property the service asks for:
· ownership type, dwelling type and number of bedrooms
· number of occupants and households, and whether the home is let furnished
· any HMO, additional or selective licence numbers
· the rent charged, how often it is paid and whether bills are included
· the gas safety record and its issue date, the electrical report and its expiry date, and the energy performance certificate with any registered minimum energy efficiency exemption
Two details catch landlords who live abroad. Each property needs a correspondence address in England and Wales that is not a PO box, so a landlord based in Dubai or Singapore must arrange one before registering. The entry also asks for the freeholder and any property manager, which takes time to gather on leasehold flats. Landlords holding through an expat limited company buy-to-let structure register the company and its nominated contact.
A letting agent can upload some information on a landlord's behalf, but the landlord starts the registration, ends it and stays legally responsible for every entry.
Penalties and the possession lockout for unregistered landlords
A landlord who lets or advertises a property without registering faces a council civil penalty of up to £7,000. Repeated breaches or false information can bring a penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution. More damaging in practice, a court will not grant possession while the database duty is breached, except on antisocial behaviour grounds.
The possession restriction is the real sting. Under the new tenancy rules every possession claim needs a ground, and an unregistered landlord cannot use any of them other than Ground 7A or Ground 14. A landlord selling with vacant possession, recovering a home for family or acting on serious rent arrears is stuck until the entry is fixed.
The government has said landlords will always be able to put things right, so the block lifts once the entries are active. Tenants can also seek rent repayment orders where a landlord gives false information to the database or keeps failing to register after a penalty.
If your fixed rate ends or a sale is planned before your region's deadline, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.
What the landlord database means for buy-to-let mortgages
The landlord database does not change buy-to-let lending criteria, and the £65 fee sits outside the rental stress test. Its mortgage relevance is timing: a property that cannot be recovered through the courts is harder to sell with vacant possession, and the register expressly lets a mortgage lender or its receiver make entries for a property.
For most landlords the database is administration rather than a lending issue. Where it bites is at the moments that matter. A remortgage, a sale or a transfer into a company often coincides with a tenancy change, and an inactive entry at that point blocks the possession route a buyer or lender may be relying on.
Portfolio landlords carry the heaviest load. Lenders already ask for a full property schedule with rents and mortgage balances under the portfolio landlord rules, and much of the same data now has to be kept current on the database for every property. One record that serves both saves duplicated work at every remortgage.
HMO owners pay £65 per HMO regardless of the number of rooms and record their licence numbers on the entry. The HMO mortgages guide covers how licensing already feeds into lender underwriting.
How to prepare before your registration window opens
Start by listing every rented property by region and noting its deadline, then gather the gas safety record, electrical report and energy performance certificate for each one. Set up a GOV.UK One Login, confirm the rent and occupancy details, and budget £65 for every property you will register in the next twelve months.
· Map each property to its region using the property's postcode, not your home address.
· Check every certificate is in date, because a renewed gas record or electrical report means updating the entry.
· Collect licence numbers for any HMO, additional or selective licence.
· For a company, have the Companies House number and a nominated contact ready.
· Agree with your letting agent what they will upload and who checks it.
· Diary the annual renewal for each property and keep a note of the 28-day update window.
When your registration is in hand and you want the next remortgage, purchase or company restructure searched across the whole market, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.
The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal or regulated financial advice. If you'd like to understand what these moves could mean for you, speak to Mortgage One. We can explain your options and timings based on your specific circumstances.
FAQs
1. Do landlords have to register on the landlord database?
Yes. Every landlord of an assured or regulated tenancy in England must register themselves and each let property by the deadline for the region the property sits in. Supported exempt accommodation is excluded, and empty properties do not need registering yet.
2. How much will the landlord database cost?
The fee is £65 per property per year, so ten properties cost £650. It is charged per property, not per landlord or per room, and it is pro-rated during the rollout so early registrants do not pay more.
3. When does the landlord database start?
It starts in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and reaches the South West on 15 August 2027. London opens on 15 July 2027 with a deadline of 14 October 2027. Each region has three months to register.
4. Can tenants find out who the landlord of a property is?
Not yet. The database starts as a register used by landlords and councils. The government plans a public element that will show tenants whether a landlord meets key legal requirements, balanced against landlords' privacy, and the list of public information is still to be published.
5. Can my letting agent register my properties for me?
Partly. An agent or property manager can upload some information on your behalf, but you must start and end the registration yourself and you remain responsible for every entry being complete and accurate.
6. Does the landlord database apply in Wales and Scotland?
No. It covers England only. Wales runs Rent Smart Wales and Scotland runs the Scottish Landlord Register, each with its own rules and fees.
7. Will the landlord database affect my buy-to-let mortgage or remortgage?
It does not change lender criteria and the fee is not part of the rental stress test. It matters if you need vacant possession for a sale or refinance, because a court will not grant most possession orders while an entry is missing. Mortgage One can plan a remortgage or purchase around your registration deadline and search the whole market for options that fit.