The Landlord Database and Ombudsman: What to Register, When and What It Costs
The private rented sector database created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and reaching every region of England by August 2027. Every private landlord and every rented home must be on it, and the published fee is £65 per property a year. Once your region is called forward you have three months to register; after that a council can fine you up to £7,000 and no court can grant possession except for anti-social behaviour. The landlord ombudsman follows, with compulsory membership expected in 2028, a fee still to be set and the power to award a tenant up to £25,000.
In this guide
The database and ombudsman in one table Who must register on the landlord database What goes on the database When: the regional rollout from 15 December 2026 What PRS database registration costs Penalties for not registering The landlord ombudsman What tenants will be able to see Preparation checklist Frequently asked questions SourcesThe database and ombudsman in one table
The Act's tenancy reforms have applied since 1 May 2026 and are priced in the Renters' Rights Act cost guide. The database and the ombudsman are the second phase.
| Requirement | Date | Cost | Penalty if ignored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Register yourself and every let property | From 15 December 2026, region by region; every letting landlord by 14 November 2027 | £65 per property a year, pro-rated in year one | Up to £7,000, no possession order, rent repayment order for repeat offences |
| Keep the entry current and upload certificates as they renew | Continuous once registered | Included | Up to £7,000; up to £40,000 for false information |
| Registration numbers on adverts; empty homes registered before marketing | Later regulations, date not set | £0 | Up to £7,000 |
| Join the landlord ombudsman | Expected 2028 | Fee not set; expected to be a small annual charge per property | Up to £7,000, up to £40,000 for offences, rent repayment order |
Dates from the GOV.UK announcement of 9 September 2026 and the implementation roadmap; penalties from sections 66, 91 and 103 of the Act; fee from the government's Register your rental property page, September 2026.
Who must register on the landlord database
Every landlord of an assured or regulated tenancy in England needs a landlord entry, and every dwelling let on one needs a dwelling entry, whether you own one buy-to-let or a portfolio through a company. Joint landlords all go on the entry. An agent can supply information, but the landlord starts and ends the registration and answers for everything on it. The only published exemption is supported exempt accommodation under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.
During the rollout the duty covers properties that are let, or become let, while your region's window is open. Later regulations will switch on the rules already in section 82: empty properties registered before marketing, and the landlord and dwelling identifiers on every advert, so a portal will not list an unregistered home.
Registration also gates possession. Under section 90 a court may not make a possession order while the landlord, or any joint landlord, is in breach of the duty to register, except on the anti-social behaviour grounds 7A and 14. Arrears, selling and moving in all wait until the entry is active, so if you may need possession in 2027, register the week your region opens. The Renters' Rights Act checker lists the grounds.
What goes on the database
The Act leaves the content to regulations, and the government's Register your rental property page now lists it. Individual landlords give name, date of birth, home address, phone and email; company, charity and trust landlords give the organisation's details, its Companies House or charity number and a named individual; anyone acting for a landlord uploads certified evidence of authority. Each dwelling then gets a property, tenancy and rent record, with the certificates uploaded as documents.
| Item | What is recorded | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Property | Full address, ownership and dwelling type, number of bedrooms, whether let, freeholder, superior landlord and manager | Title and lease |
| Tenancy | Number of occupants and households, furnished or not, start date where the EPC has lapsed | Written statement of terms |
| Rent | Rent, payment frequency, whether utilities are included | Section 13 notice or tenancy |
| Licensing | Whether HMO, additional or selective licensing applies, and the licence numbers | HMO licence cost guide |
| Gas safety record | Copy and issue date where there is a gas supply; renewed every 12 months | Gas safety certificate cost |
| Electrical report | EICR with its expiry date, or an EIC for a new installation, or a declaration that none exists; valid 5 years | EICR cost |
| EPC | Current certificate, or a MEES exemption if the rating is below the minimum | EPC cost |
| Enforcement history | Councils must record banning orders, banning order offences and financial penalties against a landlord | Section 83 of the Act |
Information list from the government's Register your rental property page and the implementation roadmap, September 2026. The roadmap calls this the minimum; regulations can add items.
The database turns the certificates from documents a council might ask for into documents you cannot let without: an EICR that lapsed in 2025 is visible the day you register. Book the gaps through the certificate cost calculator and put expiry dates in the compliance calendar. And because section 83 makes councils record banning orders and civil penalties against a landlord's name, an enforcement history follows you from property to property.
When: the regional rollout from 15 December 2026
The service opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and calls a new region forward on the 15th of each following month. Each region has a three-month window, after which its councils can enforce; the final deadline for every letting landlord is 14 November 2027.
| Region | Registration opens | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 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 the 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 |
Regional dates from the government's Register your rental property page, published 9 September 2026. The region is the property's, not the landlord's; early registration is allowed and an offline route will exist.
What PRS database registration costs
The fee is £65 per property per year, pro-rated during the rollout so an early registrant does not pay for a full year before the duty applies. No separate fee for the landlord entry has been published, and section 81 lets the Secretary of State change the fee by regulations, so treat £65 as this year's price. One property is £65 a year; three, £195; ten, £650. It is deductible and sits in the yield calculator as a fixed annual charge. Wales and Scotland have run registers for years, and the English fee is higher than both once spread over the renewal cycle.
| Scheme | Landlord fee | Per property | Cycle | Per year, one property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England: private rented sector database | None published | £65 | Annual | £65 |
| Wales: Rent Smart Wales registration | £60 online, £102 by post; renewal £48 or £87 | £0 | 5 years | £12 |
| Wales: Rent Smart Wales licence (self-managing) | £254 online, £327 by post; renewal £230 or £302 | £0 | 5 years | £51 |
| Scotland: landlord registration | £85 per council (£42.50 for each extra council online) | £20 | 3 years | £35 |
Rent Smart Wales fees from rentsmart.gov.wales and Scottish fees from landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk, checked September 2026. Scotland charges a £170 late fee; Wales requires a licence, or a licensed agent, on top of registration. Per-year figures are the fee divided by the cycle, rounded.
A self-managing Welsh landlord pays about £63 a year for registration and licence together; a Scottish landlord with one property about £35, each extra property adding under £7 a year. The English landlord pays £65 for one property and the gap widens with each one, because the fee is per dwelling and annual, before the ombudsman fee arrives in 2028.
Penalties for not registering
Enforcement is by the council, using the civil penalty regime that started on 1 May 2026, with prosecution for the serious cases. Section 91 sets the amounts.
| Breach | Section | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing or letting without active entries, or advertising without the identifiers | 82(1) and (2) | £7,000 civil penalty |
| Failing to register, or to keep the entry current | 82(3) | £7,000 civil penalty, and no possession order except grounds 7A and 14 |
| Knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information | 92(1) | £40,000 civil penalty or a fine on conviction |
| Continuing the breach more than 28 days after a penalty, or a further breach within 5 years | 92(2) to (4) | £40,000 civil penalty or prosecution, plus a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent |
| Not joining the ombudsman once membership is compulsory | 64 and 66 | £7,000; £40,000 for the offences in section 67, plus a rent repayment order |
Amounts from sections 66, 91 and 103 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025; the Secretary of State can uprate them for inflation. A further penalty for the same conduct needs the breach to continue more than 28 days after the notice, or after an appeal fails.
Three of these bite harder than the headline figure: the possession bar leaves a landlord with a tenant in arrears no route to the property until the entry is made; the rent repayment order, extended by section 103 from 12 months to 2 years of rent and to the new offences, is claimed by the tenant at the tribunal; and every civil penalty goes on the database under section 83, visible to the next tenant and council.
The landlord ombudsman
The Act's second institution is a redress scheme for private landlords, usually called the landlord ombudsman. Membership will be compulsory for every private landlord in England with an assured or regulated tenancy, including those who use an agent, because the agent's scheme covers the agent's conduct, not the landlord's. The roadmap expects membership in 2028, with the administrator chosen 12 to 18 months before. The draft Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, debated in the Lords on 30 June 2026, set the framework; further legislation will make membership mandatory. The Housing Ombudsman Service is expected to run it, as reported by The Negotiator.
It will take complaints from prospective, current and former tenants about a landlord's conduct against approved codes of practice: repairs not done, damp left to worsen, poor communication, problems at the start or end of a tenancy. It is free for tenants. It can compel a landlord to apologise, provide information, take remedial action and pay compensation, capped by the draft regulations at £25,000, the same ceiling as the agent schemes; under section 68 a decision can be enforced as a court order.
The fee has not been set. The roadmap promises a fair and proportionate charging model confirmed closer to launch, and the GOV.UK guide expects a small annual fee per property, so plan for a second annual charge in the same order as the database fee. Failing to join carries the same £7,000 and £40,000 ceilings under sections 66 and 67, plus a rent repayment order for the offences.
What tenants will be able to see
The Act separates what the database holds from what it shows; councils and the operator see everything. The 9 September 2026 announcement says tenants will be able to check whether a landlord has signed up and, in future, whether the landlord is compliant with key legal requirements, with the list of public information to be published later. The GOV.UK guide adds property standards and details of landlord offences. The likely public view is therefore registration status and identifiers, whether the gas, electrical and energy certificates are in date, and any banning orders or penalties; home addresses, dates of birth and rent are not expected to be public. For a compliant landlord that is an advantage: a tenant comparing two flats can see that yours has current certificates and a clean record.
Preparation checklist
Nothing is due before 15 December 2026, and only West Midlands properties by 14 March 2027, but everything the database asks for is something you should hold anyway.
- Certificates in date. A gas record under 12 months old, an EICR under 5 years old with no open C1 or C2 items (see the failed EICR guide) and an unexpired EPC. Price the missing ones with the certificate cost calculator.
- Dates in a calendar. Certificate expiries, your region's window and the fee anniversary go in the compliance calendar, which exports to your phone.
- The written statement of terms. Every tenancy needed one by 31 May 2026, and it holds the start date, occupant numbers and rent the database asks for.
- A repairs log. Date received, what was reported, what you did, when it was finished: the evidence the ombudsman will want from 2028 and what Awaab's Law will require (see the damp survey guide).
- Contact details that work. A phone number and email a council can reach you on; a dead address is a breach of the duty to keep the entry current.
- The EPC C plan. The database records a MEES exemption where the rating is below the minimum, which rises to C on 1 October 2030. The EPC C planner and the cost guide are worth an hour now.
- Budget. £65 per property from your region's start date, an ombudsman fee from 2028 and the certificates; the running-cost guide shows where they sit.
Frequently asked questions
When does the landlord database open?
15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, then one region a month through to the South West on 15 August 2027. Each region has three months to register, and every letting landlord must be on it by 14 November 2027.
How much does PRS database registration cost?
£65 per property per year, pro-rated in the first year, so three properties cost £195 a year. The fee is set by regulations under section 81 and can change; the ombudsman will carry a separate fee from 2028.
What happens if I do not register?
A civil penalty of up to £7,000, no possession order on any ground except 7A and 14 until the entry is active, and for a breach continuing 28 days after a penalty, or a repeat within 5 years, up to £40,000 or prosecution plus a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent.
Do I have to be registered to evict a tenant?
Yes, once your region's window has closed. Section 90 stops the court making a possession order while the landlord is in breach of the duty to register, except on grounds 7A and 14. For the West Midlands that applies from 15 March 2027; for the South West from 15 November 2027.
When does the landlord ombudsman start?
The government expects landlords to be required to join in 2028. The framework regulations were debated on 30 June 2026 and the administrator is to be appointed 12 to 18 months before membership becomes compulsory. The fee has not been set.
How much can the ombudsman make me pay?
Up to £25,000 in compensation under the draft 2026 regulations, plus an order to apologise, provide information or do remedial work. Not joining when required carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for the offences in section 67.
Sources
Renters' Rights Act 2025 (sections 64 to 74 on redress schemes, 75 to 92 on the database, 103 on rent repayment orders); GOV.UK guide to the Act; implementation roadmap; GOV.UK announcement of 9 September 2026; Register your rental property: get ready to register; draft Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026; The Negotiator on the redress framework; Rent Smart Wales registration and licence fees; Scottish Landlord Register fees. See the methodology.