On 9 September 2026 the government confirmed the start date for England's new landlord register. The online service is called Register your rental property. In the Renters' Rights Act 2025 it's the Private Rented Sector Database. It opens on 15 December 2026, about seven weeks from now, starting with the West Midlands. One more region follows each month, and every landlord who is actively letting must be registered by 14 November 2027.

If you let a home in England, including from abroad, this is what you need to know.

Who has to register

If your property is let on an assured or regulated tenancy, you have to register yourself as a landlord and then each property separately. For now, the rule covers properties that are let, or that become let during the rollout. Later legislation will also require you to register empty properties before you advertise them. Supported exempt accommodation is excluded. The details are on the government's Get ready to register page.

The register covers England only. Wales and Scotland already run their own landlord registration schemes.

Your deadline depends on where the property is

Your deadline is set by the property's region, not by where you live. If you live in London or Budapest and let a flat in Birmingham, you work to the West Midlands deadline. Each region gets three months from its opening date:

Region Opens Deadline
West Midlands 15 Dec 2026 14 Mar 2027
East of England 15 Jan 2027 14 Apr 2027
East Midlands 15 Feb 2027 14 May 2027
South East 15 Mar 2027 14 Jun 2027
Yorkshire and the Humber 15 Apr 2027 14 Jul 2027
North West 15 May 2027 14 Aug 2027
North East 15 Jun 2027 14 Sep 2027
London 15 Jul 2027 14 Oct 2027
South West 15 Aug 2027 14 Nov 2027

You can register early. From 15 December 2026, you can register a property in any region. That helps if you own homes in more than one region and would rather do them all in one go than keep track of several windows.

The fee: £65 per property, every year

Registering yourself as a landlord is free. Each property costs £65 a year, so a landlord with three flats pays £195. You have to renew every year and keep the details up to date. According to the official guidance, the fee is pro-rated during the rollout. The service will work out exactly what you owe when you register.

How registration works

You sign in with GOV.UK One Login. If you don't have an account, set one up well before your deadline. That matters most if you live abroad, because you don't want to find out about a sign-in or identity problem in the last week. The government says there will also be offline routes for landlords who need them.

The registration is your responsibility, even if you use a letting agent. You have to start and finish the process yourself. Your agent or property manager can upload some of the information, but you remain responsible for making sure everything required is there.

You'll upload three safety and energy documents for each property:

  • the gas safety record, if the property has gas;
  • the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) or electrical certificate;
  • the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

If any of these has expired or you can't find it, sort it out now. Gas engineers and electricians tend to be booked up in December.

What happens if you don't register

The GOV.UK Guide to the Renters' Rights Act sets out the penalties. Councils can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first breach, such as letting or advertising a property that isn't registered. For continuing or repeated breaches, it's up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution. An unregistered landlord also can't get a possession order, except on the anti-social behaviour grounds (7A and 14). The government also says registration numbers will have to appear in adverts. Councils can start enforcing once a region's three-month window has closed.

What isn't happening yet

Some older guides mix these up, so to be clear:

  • The landlord ombudsman doesn't start in December. The government's implementation roadmap expects compulsory membership in 2028. You don't need to join anything now.
  • Awaab's Law doesn't apply to private rentals yet. These are the strict deadlines for dealing with hazards such as damp and mould. They currently apply only to social housing. The government opened a consultation on extending them to private landlords in October 2026, and it closes on 18 December 2026. The start date and timescales haven't been decided.

Checklist: what to have ready

  • ☐ A GOV.UK One Login account
  • ☐ Your full name, date of birth, address and contact details
  • ☐ If you let through a company: Companies House number and directors' details
  • ☐ If you act for someone else (attorney, trustee, personal representative): proof of authority
  • ☐ Each property's address, ownership type and type of dwelling
  • ☐ Number of bedrooms, occupants and households
  • ☐ Rent amount and how often it's paid, and whether the property is furnished
  • ☐ HMO licensing details, if relevant
  • ☐ Current gas safety record, EICR and EPC as files you can upload
  • ☐ A payment card for £65 per property
  • ☐ Your property's region and deadline, noted in your calendar

It helps to keep these certificates and tenancy details in one place for each property. In LeasingTrack, for example, they sit alongside the property's lease and documents, so they're easy to find again when you renew next year.

The rules are new and individual cases vary, for example jointly owned homes, company ownership or unusual tenancies. If you're unsure, check the official guidance or ask a lettings solicitor.