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PRS Database readinessfree, in seconds
Check whether you hold everything the Private Rented Sector Database will ask for before your region opens. Certificates, deposit protection, licensing and landlord details, with the penalty exposure if you are not registered.
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Not legal or tax advice
What you already hold
- The database is not open yet. Registration rolls out from late 2026, phased by region.
- The annual fee has not been confirmed, so this tool does not estimate one.
- England only. Wales (Rent Smart Wales) and Scotland already run their own registers.
Ready to register when your region opens
You hold the evidence the published scope asks for. Keep the renewal dates tracked, because the register is a live record: a certificate that lapses after you register still puts you out of compliance.
What non-registration costs
- Civil penalty, many breaches
- up to £7,000
- Serious or repeat breaches
- up to £40,000
- Criminal prosecution route
- unlimited fine
- Possession grounds while unregistered
- unavailable
The part landlords under-rate
The fine is not the worst outcome. An unregistered landlord loses access to the possession grounds, so you can be left with a tenant you cannot lawfully remove until you have registered and the position is put right. Sort the evidence before your region opens, not after something goes wrong.
- Scope and penalties are set by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and its regulations.
- Confirm the live detail on GOV.UK before you rely on it — rollout dates are still being announced.
- This is guidance, not legal advice.
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See how it works
A screen tour of the whole let, end to end. No sign-up, no sales call. Just press play.
- Add a property and watch the 0–100 compliance score appear
- Track rent and arrears, and draft a Section 8 notice
- Open the passwordless tenant portal and prepare SA105 tax
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LetCompliance is all-in-one UK landlord software — advertise, take applications, collect rent, track compliance (0–100 score) and prepare tax, instead of juggling spreadsheets and separate tools. Gas Safety, EICR, EPC, deposits, Right to Rent and court-ready evidence included. From £14.99 a month · 14-day free trial
What the PRS Database will ask for, and why to check now
The Private Rented Sector Database is the landlord register created by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Registration rolls out from late 2026, phased by region, and becomes mandatory nationally during 2027. Every private landlord in England will have to register themselves and each rental property, supply compliance information, and pay an annual fee once the amount is confirmed. Nobody can register yet, which is exactly why this is the moment to check what you hold: the expensive failure is not the registration, it is discovering on the day that a certificate lapsed two months ago.
The register is not a form you fill in from memory. The published scope covers your identity and a UK address for service of notices, the property address and type, details of any managing agent, tenancy and rent information, deposit protection details, and the safety certificates: Gas Safety, EICR and EPC. Where the property needs a selective or HMO licence, that goes on too. Anything you cannot evidence at the point of registration is a gap you have to close first, and certificates take weeks to arrange when engineers are busy.
The penalty structure has two tiers and most landlords only hear about the first. Many breaches attract a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Serious or repeated breaches rise to £40,000, or criminal prosecution with an unlimited fine. Those are the numbers that get quoted in headlines, and they are real. But they are not the part that should worry you most.
The consequence landlords consistently under-rate is possession. An unregistered landlord loses access to the possession grounds. Since Section 21 was abolished in May 2026, possession already runs entirely through Section 8, so if registration lapses you are left holding a tenancy you cannot lawfully bring to an end until the position is put right. A fine is a cost. Being unable to regain your own property, while arrears build, is a different order of problem.
Treat the register as a live record rather than a one-off form. A certificate that expires after you register still puts you out of compliance, and the whole point of a central database is that a council can see the position without visiting. Landlords who already track renewal dates properly will find registration close to administrative. Landlords who keep certificates in an email folder will find it is the moment everything gets audited at once.
How to check whether you are ready for the PRS Database
Check whether you already hold the evidence the England landlord register will ask for, before registration opens in your region.
- 1
Confirm your landlord details
You need your name, contact details and a UK address for service of notices under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. If you use a managing agent, their details are recorded too.
- 2
Check the safety certificates are in date
Gas Safety renews annually where there is a gas supply. An EICR lasts five years, or less if the report says so. The EPC must be valid and at least band E today, with band C proposed for new tenancies from 2030.
- 3
Check the deposit position
The deposit must be protected in DPS, TDS or mydeposits within 30 days of receipt, and the prescribed information served on the tenant. Protection without prescribed information is still a breach.
- 4
Check licensing
If the property sits in a selective licensing area, or is a licensable HMO, you need the licence before you let, not before you register. Apply now if you do not hold one.
- 5
Close the gaps before your region opens
Anything the checker flags is something you would have to fix under time pressure later. Engineers get booked up, and councils take weeks to process licence applications.
Frequently asked questions
When does the PRS Database open?
Registration rolls out from late 2026 in phases by region, and becomes mandatory nationally during 2027. Exact regional dates are announced by government, so confirm the position for your area on GOV.UK rather than assuming a national switch-on date.
How much does it cost to register?
The annual fee had not been confirmed at the time of writing, which is why this tool does not estimate one. Treat any specific figure you see quoted elsewhere with caution until it appears on GOV.UK.
What happens if I do not register?
Two things. There is a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for many breaches, rising to £40,000 or criminal prosecution for serious or repeated ones. Separately, and more damagingly, an unregistered landlord loses access to the possession grounds, so you cannot lawfully end the tenancy until you have put it right.
Do I register once, or once per property?
Both. The scheme registers the landlord and each rental property, with compliance information attached to the property record. A portfolio landlord registers once as a landlord and then adds each property.
Does this replace selective licensing?
No. The database sits alongside council licensing schemes rather than replacing them. If your property needs a selective or HMO licence you still need it, and the licence details form part of what you register.
Does the database apply in Wales or Scotland?
No. It is an England scheme under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Wales already has Rent Smart Wales, which requires registration and a licence to let or manage, and Scotland has its own mandatory landlord register.
Same logic, every property
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