The landlord database: a 90-day readiness plan, and who does what

England's landlord database, the Private Rented Sector Database, opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, then in a new region each month. Landlords register through a GOV.UK service called "Register your rental property". Each region gets three months.

The legal duty is the landlord's. But the information the database asks for (tenancy details, gas safety records, electrical reports, energy certificates) is often held by a letting agent. This guide sets out what the rules require, what an agent can and can't do on a landlord's behalf, and a 90-day plan for getting ready. It is based on the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the draft regulations laid on 9 September 2026 and the government's own guidance.

Is the database law yet?

Partly. The framework is in the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Part 2, Chapter 3 (sections 75 to 96). The detail, including who can make entries, what they must contain and the regional start dates, is in the draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026. These were laid before Parliament on 9 September 2026 under the draft affirmative procedure, so each House has to approve them before they are made. At the time of writing (October 2026) they had been considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments but not yet approved.

Part	Status (October 2026)
Duty to register, marketing restrictions, penalties, possession bar	In the Act; switched on by separate commencement regulations, not yet made
Who registers, what information, renewals, regional dates	Draft regulations, awaiting approval
The £65 fee	Announced by government; set by the database operator, not the regulations
What tenants will be able to see	A later statutory instrument
Registering empty properties before marketing; identifiers on adverts	Future legislation, guidance promised

The dates and details below come from the draft regulations and the government's guidance. Check the final version before your region opens.

When does your region have to register?

The deadline depends on where the property is, not where the landlord lives. Once a region starts, landlords have a three-month window. After the deadline, councils in that region can begin enforcement.

Region	Starts	Deadline to register
West Midlands	15 December 2026	14 March 2027
East of England	15 January 2027	14 April 2027
East Midlands	15 February 2027	14 May 2027
South East	15 March 2027	14 June 2027
Yorkshire and Humber	15 April 2027	14 July 2027
North West	15 May 2027	14 August 2027
North East	15 June 2027	14 September 2027
London	15 July 2027	14 October 2027
South West	15 August 2027	14 November 2027

You can register earlier than your region's date. The government says a landlord with properties in several regions can register them all at once from 15 December 2026.

For now, the duty covers properties that are let, or become let during the rollout. Empty properties don't need registering yet.

What will you have to provide?

There are two kinds of entry: a landlord entry (one per landlord) and a dwelling entry (one per property).

The landlord entry. An individual gives their name, date of birth, residential address, phone number and email. A company or other organisation gives its details, a nominated contact and its Companies House or charity number. If it has no Companies House number, it also gives the names, dates of birth and addresses of its directors, trustees or partners. Joint landlords each make their own landlord entry and share one dwelling entry.

The dwelling entry has two parts:

Part 1: the property	Part 2: the tenancy and safety
Address	Number of occupants and households
Landlord's correspondence address (not a PO box) and email	Whether an HMO, additional or selective licence is needed, and the licence numbers
Ownership type and dwelling type	Gas: a copy of the gas safety record and its issue date, if there is a gas supply
Number of bedrooms	Electrical: a copy of the EICR (or an appropriate EIC) and the EICR expiry date
Whether it is currently let	EPC: whether one had to be given to the current tenant, and a copy of the most recent
Name and email of any freeholder, superior landlord or property manager	If the EPC has expired, the date the current tenancy started; if it is below band E, any registered exemption
	Rent, how often it's paid, whether bills are included, and whether it's furnished

Two timing rules matter. For a property that is already let, the entry can be made without Part 2, but Part 2 must be added within 28 days or the entry becomes inactive (draft regulations 6(2) and 11(2)(a)). After that, any information that goes out of date, such as a renewed gas record, must be updated within 28 days (regulations 8 and 9(4)).

What does it cost?

The government says £65 per property per year. The fee is paid when a dwelling entry is made and each time it is renewed, every 12 months. During the rollout it will be pro-rated so that people who register early don't pay more. A landlord with several properties gets one renewal date for all of them (regulation 10(4)).

The figure isn't in the regulations. Regulation 14 leaves the fee to the database operator, set by reference to its costs, so it can change.

What can a letting agent do, and what can't they?

This is where most of the questions are. The draft regulations draw a clear line:

• Only the landlord can make the entries. A landlord entry or dwelling entry may only be made by the landlord, or by someone acting in a legal capacity: an attorney, a deputy, a personal representative, a receiver, a mortgagee in possession and similar (regulation 4(2) and Schedule 2, paragraph 17). A letting agent is not on that list.
• An agent can supply Part 2. A letting agent or property manager the landlord has appointed can provide the tenancy, safety and rent information and documents (regulation 4(5)).
• An agent can keep it up to date. The same agent can update Part 2, and whether the property is currently let, on the landlord's behalf (regulation 7(2)).
• Responsibility stays with the landlord. The government's guidance says landlords "remain responsible for providing all required information", and that they must start the registration themselves.

The government has said it will publish guidance for letting agents and property managers before the service launches. Check it before agreeing any arrangement that goes further than the regulations describe.

One rule will reach agents directly later on. The Act says "a person" must not market a property without an active landlord entry and dwelling entry, and written adverts must carry both unique identifiers (section 82(1) and (2)). Councils can fine "a person" for a breach (section 91). The government says this part will come in under future legislation, with guidance first. When it does, it applies to whoever writes the advert.

Who does what?

The regulations don't decide who does the work, only who is allowed to. That gap is what landlord and agent need to fill in writing. A simple split that fits the rules:

Task	Who the rules allow	What to agree
Create the landlord entry and GOV.UK One Login	Landlord only	When the landlord will do it, so the agent's work isn't held up
Create each dwelling entry (Part 1) and pay the fee	Landlord only	Who pays: the landlord directly, or reimbursed through the agent
Upload Part 2 within 28 days	Landlord, or appointed agent	Who uploads, and by what date after the dwelling entry is made
Update certificates when renewed (within 28 days)	Landlord, or appointed agent	Who renews each certificate, and who updates the entry
Annual renewal and fee	Landlord	Who diarises it; the renewal date is shared across properties
Lapsed or missing certificate found	Landlord's duty	Whether the agent books the work straight away, up to what cost
Advert identifiers (when required)	Whoever advertises	Agent includes them on every listing

For a fully managed property, the natural split is: the landlord creates the entries and pays; the agent uploads and maintains Part 2. For let-only or self-managed lets, the landlord usually does everything. Whichever it is, write it down: a short addendum to the management agreement, or an email both sides confirm.

What does the 90-day plan look like?

Count back 90 days from your region's start date. For the East of England (15 January 2027) that means starting in mid-October; for London (15 July 2027), mid-April. In the West Midlands, where the start is 15 December 2026, run the plan inside the three-month window itself, which ends on 14 March 2027.

Days 1 to 30: agree the roles.

• List every let property by region, with who owns it (individual, joint, company) and whether it is managed, let-only or self-managed.
• Agree the who-does-what split for each landlord, in writing.
• Make sure each landlord can set up a GOV.UK One Login, and has the details their entry needs. Company landlords need their Companies House number and a nominated contact.

Days 31 to 60: find the gaps.

• For each property, find the current gas safety record (checks are due at intervals of no more than 12 months), the EICR (at least every five years, or sooner if the last report says so) and the EPC (valid for 10 years).
• Note expiry dates, any EICR remedial work that was never signed off, any EPC below band E, and whether an HMO, additional or selective licence applies.
• Collect the rent, payment frequency, bills included, furnishing, occupants and households, and the freeholder or managing agent's details for flats.

Days 61 to 90: fix and file.

• Book inspections for anything missing, expired or due within the next three months.
• Store each document as a PDF in one place, named by property and type, with its issue and expiry dates recorded.
• Set reminders for every expiry date, so the 28-day update rule doesn't catch anyone out after registration.

In the window: register. The landlord makes the landlord entry and the dwelling entries. Whoever has agreed to do it uploads Part 2 within 28 days. Keep a record of the date each entry went live and its unique identifier.

What happens if a landlord doesn't register?

Councils can act once a region's deadline has passed. These sanctions are in the Act and take effect as its database provisions are brought into force:

• Up to £7,000 civil penalty for breaching the duty to register, or (once it applies) the marketing rules (section 91).
• Up to £40,000 or prosecution for continuing a breach after a penalty, a further breach within five years, or knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information to the database (sections 91 and 92).
• No possession order while the landlord is in breach of the duty to register, unless the ground is 7A or 14, the anti-social behaviour grounds (section 90).

Accuracy matters as much as registering. Uploading a certificate that is wrong, and knowing it or not caring, is an offence in itself.

How does this connect to the PRS Landlord Ombudsman?

They are separate. The PRS Landlord Ombudsman will handle tenants' complaints about landlords, and all private landlords with assured or regulated tenancies will have to join, including those who use a managing agent. The rules for approving a scheme came into force in September 2026, but the government's roadmap expects mandatory sign-up in 2028, after the database. The roadmap also says the government is exploring sharing information between the two so landlords don't enter it twice. Agents keep their existing redress schemes.

Wales and Scotland already have their own landlord registers, with different rules; this guide covers England only.

What should you do now?

1. Find your region's dates in the table above, for every property you let or manage.
2. Agree, in writing, who does what for each landlord: entries and fee, Part 2 uploads, updates, renewals.
3. Check every gas record, EICR and EPC now, while there is time to book work.
4. Keep the documents in one place with expiry dates and reminders, so uploads take minutes and the 28-day update rule is easy to meet.
5. Watch for the final regulations and the agent guidance before your window opens, and check with a solicitor if your arrangement is unusual, such as a company landlord, a trust or a superior landlord structure.