The Government’s new mandatory landlord registration service will begin rolling out on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands, with all landlords in England required to register by 14 November 2027.
The service is being introduced under the Renters’ Rights Act and will be rolled out region by region over 12 months. Landlords will have three months to register once their area is called forward. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says landlords will pay £65 per property each year to register.
Landlords of homes occupied under assured or regulated tenancies will need to register, including existing tenancies and those signed during the rollout. Letting agents cannot register properties on a landlord’s behalf.
Matthew Pennycook, Housing Minister, said: "By transferring responsibility for making initial rent determinations to HMRC’s Valuation Office, we will ensure that challenges to proposed rent increases are determined faster and pressure on the tribunal system is reduced, giving tenants and landlords confidence that rent disputes will continue to be resolved efficiently and effectively.
"Rollout of a national landlord registration service is an important first step toward establishing our new innovative database of private rented sector properties which will empower tenants, support responsible landlords and help councils enforce our transformative Renters’ Rights Act."
The NRLA expects landlords to provide information including the property address, ownership and property type, licensing status, occupancy and HMO status, rent details and relevant safety certificates. The Government has not yet confirmed the final data requirements.
Failure to register could result in civil penalties of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for multiple or continued breaches.
Empty properties being marketed for let will not initially need to be registered. However, under future legislation, landlords will need to register unoccupied properties before advertising them, with registration numbers included on property adverts.
The Government says the registration service is the first step towards a national database of private rented sector properties, giving councils better information to identify rogue landlords and eventually allowing tenants to check whether a landlord is registered.
The Government also plans to transfer responsibility for initial decisions on challenges to Section 13 rent increases from the First-tier Tribunal to HMRC’s Valuation Office, although the change is expected to take two years to introduce.
