Registering Your Rental Property: The Landlord Guide

Every landlord in England is about to face a new legal duty: registering yourself and each of your rental properties on the government's new 'Register your rental property' service. Registration opens from 15 December 2026 and rolls out region by region, with a £65 annual fee per property and fines for landlords who miss their deadline.

Here is what the new rules mean, what you will need, and when your properties must be registered.

The 'Register your rental property' service is the second phase of the Renters' Rights Act rollout. Landlords must record themselves and every let property on a national database, and renew that registration each year.

The database is designed to do three things: let compliant landlords prove they are meeting their obligations, give councils a proper enforcement tool to identify poor practice, and — in time — allow tenants to check whether a landlord is complying with key legal requirements before they rent.

You must register if you are a landlord of an assured or regulated tenancy. That covers the vast majority of private rentals in England.

You do not need to register if you are a landlord of supported exempt accommodation as set out in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

For now, you are only required to register properties that are currently let, or that become let during the rollout period. Under future legislation you will also need to register unoccupied properties before you or your agent market them for let, and your unique landlord and property identifiers will need to appear on adverts. The government has said further guidance will follow before that requirement begins.

The fee is £65 per property, per year. It is charged for each property you register, so a portfolio of five properties means five fees, renewed annually. During the rollout the fee will be pro-rated so that landlords registering first are not out of pocket.

If you do not register your properties, you risk being fined. Offline registration routes will be available for landlords who need them.

The service rolls out on a regional basis to avoid everyone registering at once. Crucially, your deadline is set by where the property is, not where you live — if you live in London but let a property in Birmingham, you follow the West Midlands deadline.

Once the regulations commence in your region, you have a three-month window to register. After that, councils in that region can begin enforcement action.

• West Midlands — commences 15 December 2026, deadline 14 March 2027
• East of England — commences 15 January 2027, deadline 14 April 2027
• East Midlands — commences 15 February 2027, deadline 14 May 2027
• South East — commences 15 March 2027, deadline 14 June 2027
• Yorkshire and the Humber — commences 15 April 2027, deadline 14 July 2027
• North West — commences 15 May 2027, deadline 14 August 2027
• North East — commences 15 June 2027, deadline 14 September 2027
• London — commences 15 July 2027, deadline 14 October 2027
• South West — commences 15 August 2027, deadline 14 November 2027

You can register earlier than your deadline if you wish. If you hold property across several regions, you can register the whole portfolio in one go from 15 December 2026 rather than waiting for each region's date.

You will need a GOV.UK One Login to use the service. Have the following ready before you start.

Individual landlords: name, date of birth, residential address, telephone number and email address.

Organisational landlords: organisation name, type of legal entity, address (not a PO Box), telephone and email, the details of the individual making the entry, a nominated contact, and your Companies House or charity number where applicable. Where no Companies House number is provided, details of all directors, trustees, partners or governing body members are required. Trusts must give lead trustee details.

Acting on someone else's behalf? If you are registering as an attorney, personal representative, court-appointed deputy, guardian, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, liquidator, administrator or mortgagee, you must say so and supply certified evidence of your authority — for example the power of attorney, grant of probate, deed of appointment, mortgage deed or court order.

Property details: address, ownership type, dwelling type, number of bedrooms, whether it is currently let, and the name and email of the freeholder, any superior landlord and the property manager.

Tenancy details: number of occupants, number of households, whether an HMO, additional or selective licence is required (and the licence numbers), and whether the property is let furnished, part furnished or unfurnished.

Rent details: the rent charged, how often it is paid, and whether it includes utilities and which ones.

Health and safety documents: a copy of the gas safety record and its issue date where there is a gas supply; the EICR (or Electrical Installation Certificate) and its expiry date; and the most recent EPC where one was required to be given to the current tenant. If the EPC is no longer valid you will need the tenancy start date, and if it is rated below the minimum energy efficiency standard you will need to confirm whether a MEES exemption is registered and which type.

Yes. Even where an agent manages the property, the landlord must start the registration process themselves. There will be an option for your agent or property manager to upload certain information on your behalf, and the government has said it will publish guidance for agents ahead of the rollout.

If your property is in Leicester, Loughborough, Derby, Nottingham or anywhere else in the East Midlands, the regulations commence on 15 February 2027 and your registration deadline is 14 May 2027.

If you also let in Birmingham, Coventry or the wider West Midlands, that deadline comes first: 14 March 2027.

The practical work is not the registration form itself — it is having current gas, electrical and energy certificates, correct licence numbers and accurate rent and occupancy records ready to upload. Landlords with gaps in their paperwork are the ones who will struggle.

For our managed landlords we already hold gas safety records, EICRs, EPCs and tenancy details in one place, and we keep certificates in date as part of the management service. As the rollout approaches we will help our landlords pull together everything the service asks for, and share the agent guidance as soon as the government publishes it.

If you self-manage and would rather not track nine regional deadlines and an annual renewal per property, now is a sensible moment to talk to us about full management.

Source: the government's Housing Hub guidance, 'Get ready: Register your rental property' service. Details may be updated by the government before rollout.