England's new landlord register: who must sign up, and by when

From 15 December 2026 the national landlord and property register starts opening region by region. Here is what it asks for, what it costs, and what happens to landlords who ignore it.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a single national register of private landlords and the properties they let in England. It opens on 15 December 2026, but not everywhere at once: the service is being switched on region by region, and the deadline that applies to a property depends on where that property is, not on where its owner lives or runs the business.

The short version

• Registration opens from 15 December 2026, one region at a time, with a three-month window for each.
• Every landlord registers themselves and then each property they let, at £65 per property per year.
• Councils can fine landlords who do not register, with the most serious penalties reaching £40,000.
• A landlord who has not registered can be prevented from getting a possession order on most grounds.

What the register requires

During the initial rollout the duty covers properties that are already let, or that become let while the scheme is being phased in. For each one the landlord must create a property entry, pay the annual fee, renew every year, and supply information about themselves, the property, the tenancy, the rent, and the compliance documents that go with a let: the gas safety record, the electrical installation report and the energy performance certificate.

The Government has said the fee will be adjusted during the rollout so that landlords in the early regions are not charged more over the first year than those who come later. The register covers England only. Wales keeps its own registration and licensing scheme through Rent Smart Wales, which has been running for several years.

Regional deadlines and multi-region portfolios

Each region gets a three-month window in which its landlords must register. If you let properties in more than one region you do not have to wait for each window to open: from 15 December 2026 you can register properties anywhere in England, which lets a portfolio be dealt with in one go rather than in instalments spread across the year.

Empty properties do not need to be registered during the first phase. The Government intends to add a later requirement that a property is registered before it is marketed, so that gap will close in time.

Who has to register

The duty falls on private landlords of assured and regulated tenancies in England. Supported exempt accommodation is outside the initial scheme. Some arrangements that sit outside the assured tenancy regime may also be outside the register, but it would be a mistake to assume that an arrangement is exempt because it has been labelled a licence, a company let or something else out of the ordinary. The label on the paperwork has never decided what a tenancy is, and it will not decide this either.

Where a property is jointly owned, each owner needs their own landlord entry, though the property itself is registered once. Companies, trusts and charities register the organisation and the individual acting on its behalf.

The information you will need

• The landlord's name and contact details, and who the legal owner is.
• The property's address, ownership type, property type and size.
• The number of occupants and households.
• The rent and how often it is paid.
• Details of any property licence.
• Gas safety information, the electrical installation condition report, and the EPC and energy-efficiency details.

Under the draft regulations this information has to be kept current. A rent increase, a change of occupants or a new safety certificate will each need the register updated, so this is a continuing obligation rather than a form filled in once.

Can your letting agent do it for you?

An agent can help, and can be authorised to supply particular pieces of information, but the responsibility stays with the landlord. The landlord has to start and complete the registration, and the landlord answers for its accuracy. Agents and their clients should agree now who gathers the documents, who uploads them, who watches for changes and who handles the annual renewal, and should check that the terms of business say the same thing.

Advertising

The Government intends to require landlord and property registration numbers in rental adverts. That will arrive with the public-facing part of the service, later than 15 December 2026, and will need its own guidance and legislation. When it does, agents and portals will need a way to confirm that an entry is active before a property goes to market.

What happens if a landlord does not register

This is not an administrative formality. Local authorities will be able to impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a breach, rising to £40,000 or prosecution for serious or repeated offending, or for knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information.

The sanction that will matter most to many landlords is the effect on possession. A landlord in breach can be barred from obtaining a possession order on most statutory grounds until the required entries are active. The only exceptions concern serious criminal or anti-social behaviour. In practice that means an unregistered landlord with a tenant in arrears may find the court will not help them until the register has been put right.

What to do now

• Sort your properties by region and note the window that applies to each.
• Confirm who the legal owner of each property is.
• Pick out the jointly owned, company-owned and trust-owned properties, which need extra entries.
• Check that gas, electrical, EPC and licensing records are complete and in date.
• Agree with your agent who gathers and uploads what.
• Budget for £65 per property per year.
• Set up a reminder system for changes and for annual renewals.

The register is not open yet, but the preparation can start today. Landlords whose records are patchy or whose ownership arrangements are unclear often find that registration brings wider compliance problems to the surface, and it is far better to find those now than in the middle of a possession claim.