The PRS database: every English landlord must register (2026–28)

What the PRS database is

The database is a national register run by central government, replacing the patchwork of local landlord registers. Each landlord gets an entry, and each rental property gets its own registration linked to that landlord. Councils and tenants can check it; enforcement teams will use it as their master list of who lets what.

Registration will carry an annual or periodic fee per property (final fee levels are set by regulation), and entries must be kept current — a change of address, ownership or letting status has to be reflected.

When you must register

The government confirmed a staged, region-by-region rollout beginning in late 2026, reaching full mandatory coverage of England during 2027–28. Each region gets a switch-on date, after which letting or advertising an unregistered property in that region is a breach.

The practical trap: landlords who miss their region’s date because they were not watching for it. The safe posture is to have your documents and property details ready now, and register in the first window your region opens.

Penalties for not registering

The enforcement design is deliberately harsh, because the database only works if it is complete:

• •Letting or advertising an unregistered property — civil penalties up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for continuing or repeat breaches
• •Knowingly or repeatedly failing to register can be prosecuted as a criminal offence
• •Courts will refuse most possession claims on unregistered properties — no registration, no eviction
• •Rent repayment orders become available against unregistered landlords

What you will need to register

Exact requirements are set by regulation, but the working list from government materials is: your identity and contact details, the address of each rental property, and confirmation of core compliance items — think gas safety certificate, EICR and EPC. Landlords whose paperwork is already in order will register in minutes; landlords with gaps will be forced to fix them first.

That is the real point of the database: it turns every compliance gap into a registration blocker.

How this connects to your other obligations

Registration is downstream of everything else. An expired gas certificate or missing EICR does not just risk its own fine any more — it can block your registration, which blocks lawful letting and possession. From 2027 the compliance chain is: certificates in order → database registration current → tenancy enforceable.

Treat late 2026 as the deadline to have your certificates, licensing and Renters’ Rights paperwork straight, so registration is a formality rather than a scramble.

How LetClerk handles it

LetClerk registers you and each property on the PRS database when your region goes live, keeps the entries updated, and — because we already track your certificates — makes sure nothing blocks the registration. Done-for-you registration is £49 per property, and it is included in the Compliance Managed subscription.

If you want to know exactly what would block your registration today, the £99 Full Compliance Audit maps every gap on your property.

Common questions

Do I have to register if I only let one property?

Yes. The database covers every private landlord in England, whether you let one flat or a hundred. Single-property “accidental” landlords are exactly who enforcement teams expect to catch out.

When exactly do I need to register?

It depends on your region: the rollout starts regionally in late 2026 and becomes mandatory across England during 2027–28. Each region gets its own switch-on date — we track them so our clients register in the first window.

What happens if I don’t register?

Civil penalties from £7,000 up to £40,000, possible criminal prosecution for persistent breaches, rent repayment orders — and courts will refuse possession claims on unregistered properties, so you cannot evict a non-paying tenant.

Is the PRS database the same as a landlord licence?

No — they stack. The database is a national register of who lets what; licensing (mandatory HMO, additional, selective) is a separate permission regime, partly set per council. You can need both a database registration and a licence for the same property.

How much will registration cost?

Fee levels are set by regulation and expected to be a modest annual per-property charge. LetClerk’s done-for-you registration is £49 per property on top of whatever the government fee turns out to be — or included in the subscription.