In this guide
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a mandatory register of every private landlord and rental property in England. Registration is not optional, not limited to large portfolios, and not handled by your letting agent on your behalf. This guide covers exactly what the PRS Database requires, when it opens, and what happens if you miss it.
What Is the PRS Database?
A government-mandated register of every private landlord and rental property in England
The Private Rented Sector Database is a new national register created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It will record every private landlord and every rented property in England. Rollout is expected late 2026, with a 6-month registration window before enforcement begins.
The database will be partially public. Landlord names and home addresses will not be published, but prospective tenants will be able to verify that a landlord is registered before signing a tenancy agreement. Letting portals including Rightmove, Zoopla and SpareRoom will be required to show only registered landlords' properties.
Not the same as HMO licensing
The PRS Database applies to all private landlords — including those with single, standard assured tenancies. HMO licensing continues separately and is not replaced by this register.
Who Must Register?
No threshold, no exceptions for small portfolios
Every private landlord with rented residential property in England must register — regardless of portfolio size. There is no minimum number of properties. There are no exemptions for landlords who use letting agents.
This includes:
- Accidental landlords (inherited a property, moved abroad, etc.)
- Landlords who let through a letting agent — the landlord registers, not the agent
- Non-resident UK landlords letting property in England
- Landlords with a single property let on a standard assured tenancy
- Landlords of properties that are currently vacant but previously let
What Information Is Required?
Per landlord and per property — plus annual renewal
Registration is not a one-time event. You must provide detailed information for yourself and for each property, and renew it annually.
Landlord details
- Full legal name
- Correspondence address
- Phone number
- Email address
Property details (per property)
- Full address
- Property type (house, flat, HMO, etc.)
- Year built
- Number of bedrooms
Safety certificates (per property)
- Gas safety certificate — certificate number and expiry date
- EICR — date of inspection and result
- EPC — rating and expiry date
Tenancy status
- Current status: let or vacant
- General tenancy details (start date, tenancy type)
Annual renewal required: Registration must be renewed every 12 months. If your certificate data changes — a new gas cert, updated EICR — you must update the register. This is not a one-time exercise.
The Registration Timeline
Government implementation roadmap published October 2025
The current advice from industry bodies is clear: use the time before registration opens to ensure all your certificates are current, stored, and readily accessible. Landlords who scramble to renew expired gas certs or EICRs during the registration window will face delays.
The Fines for Non-Registration
Civil penalties up to £40,000 — plus Rent Repayment Order risk
Initial non-registration
Civil penalty of up to £7,000 for landlords who fail to register within the required window.
Non-registration after penalty notice
Landlords who continue to let without registering after receiving a penalty notice face a significantly higher civil penalty.
Rent Repayment Order
Courts may allow tenants to claim back up to 12 months' rent from unregistered landlords — similar to the RRO mechanism for unlicensed HMOs.
Who Else Is Liable?
Letting agents and property portals share liability
Non-compliance liability does not sit with the landlord alone. The legislation creates shared responsibility across the rental supply chain:
In practice, this means letting agents will pressure landlords to register promptly — their own compliance depends on it. But the registration obligation remains the landlord's alone.
What Landlords Should Do Now
The registration window is months away — but preparation starts today
Gather all safety certificates for every property
Gas safety certificate (CP12), EICR and EPC for each property. Note certificate numbers, inspection dates and expiry dates — these are required fields on registration.
Identify and renew any expired certificates
Any lapsed certificate will need to be renewed before you can complete registration. Don't leave this until the registration window opens — qualified engineers are in high demand.
Confirm your letting agent's position
If you use a letting agent: confirm whether they will support you through registration or whether you'll need to handle it directly. The obligation is yours regardless.
Keep contact details current for all properties
The database requires a current correspondence address, phone number and email. Ensure these are up to date and that you'll receive notifications sent to them.
How LandlordAssist Pre-Populates Your Registration
Document vault + per-property certificate records + auto-export for PRS registration
LandlordAssist holds your certificate data — gas safety, EICR, EPC — per property, tracked continuously with expiry alerts. When the PRS Database opens for registration, we'll pre-populate your application with all the data we already track. Registration should take minutes, not hours.
Document vault
Upload and store gas safety certificates, EICRs and EPCs per property. Accessible any time, from any device.
Per-property certificate records
Certificate numbers, inspection dates and expiry dates tracked per property. Automatic alerts before expiry — no spreadsheet required.
Auto-export for PRS registration
When registration opens, LandlordAssist will export a pre-populated data package — every required field, per property, ready to submit.
Be ready the day the database opens.
LandlordAssist tracks every certificate per property today — so your PRS Database registration is pre-populated when the window opens.
Get early access — free