PRS Database: What UK Landlords Need to Know (2026)

What is the PRS Database?

The PRS Database is a national register of landlords and residential rental properties in England, introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Every landlord letting property in England must register themselves and every rental property they own. The database is administered by a government-appointed registrar and is accessible to tenants, local councils, and the public.

The PRS Database has several distinct purposes:

• Transparency for tenants: Tenants can verify that their landlord is registered and that the property is listed, giving them confidence that the landlord is operating within the regulated framework
• Enforcement tool for councils: Local authorities can cross-reference the database against their own records to identify unregistered landlords and non-compliant properties
• Intelligence on the sector: The government gains a comprehensive picture of the private rented sector — how many properties, where they are, their EPC ratings, their compliance status — which enables more targeted policy and enforcement
• Accountability mechanism: Landlords with enforcement actions, civil penalties, or compliance failures on their record have those recorded against their entry, creating a visible track record that tenants and councils can access

The PRS Database is distinct from local council selective licensing schemes, which charge per-property fees and require local planning permission. The PRS Database is a national scheme and applies uniformly across England, regardless of local authority licensing policies. Existing local licensing schemes continue alongside the PRS Database — they are not replaced by it.

Who must register?

All landlords letting assured tenancies in England must register with the PRS Database, regardless of portfolio size. There is no minimum threshold — a landlord with one property has the same registration obligation as a landlord with 100 properties. Letting agents do not register in place of landlords, though they may assist with registration.

The registration obligation covers:

• Individual landlords letting in their own name
• Landlords letting through a company (where individuals are beneficial owners)
• Portfolio landlords owning multiple properties
• HMO landlords
• Accidental landlords (those who let a property they previously lived in)
• Overseas landlords letting English properties

The following are likely to be outside scope (subject to final regulations):

• Social landlords (housing associations and local councils)
• Commercial landlords (lettings of non-residential property)
• Holiday let operators (where properties are not assured tenancies)
• Resident landlords letting a single room in their own home under a licence

If your letting agent manages the property on your behalf, the agent can assist with registration but cannot register in your place. The registration is your record as the legal landlord. You will need to provide your own details and authorise the listing of your properties.

What information will landlords need to provide?

Landlords are expected to provide: their full name and contact address, the address and tenure details for each rental property, current EPC rating, gas safety certificate status, EICR status, and whether any enforcement action has been taken against them by a local authority in the past five years.

The full list of required information has not been finalised in regulations as of February 2026. The Renters' Rights Act enables the Secretary of State to specify what information must be provided through secondary legislation. Based on the Act's framework and the government's published policy documents, the expected requirements include:

You will not be required to provide tenant names, rent amounts, or bank details. The database is about landlords and properties, not individual tenancy details.

What if your compliance records are not in order?

The PRS Database will prompt landlords to have their compliance documentation current. If your EPC expired two years ago and you have not renewed it, registration will highlight this gap. Similarly for gas safety certificates and EICRs. Use the period before registration to audit your compliance position across your portfolio and renew any expired certificates.

What is publicly visible on the PRS Database?

Tenants will be able to search the PRS Database to confirm that a landlord is registered and that a property is listed. Property addresses and registration status are expected to be publicly visible. Personal landlord home addresses are not expected to be displayed publicly. Enforcement action records will be accessible.

The government's stated policy objective is to give tenants the ability to verify that their landlord is a registered, regulated operator. The public-facing database is expected to show:

• Whether the landlord is registered (search by landlord name or registration number)
• Whether a specific property is registered (search by property address)
• Whether any civil penalties or enforcement action have been recorded against the landlord

The following are not expected to be publicly displayed:

• Landlord home address (only correspondence address, which can be an agent's office)
• Specific compliance certificate dates
• Financial information
• Tenant details
• Rent amounts

Local councils and the PRS Ombudsman will have access to a more detailed view of the database, including compliance documentation and enforcement history, than the general public will see.

What does this mean in practice for tenants?

A tenant considering renting a property will be able to search the address before signing a tenancy agreement. If the property is not listed, they will know the landlord has not registered, which is itself a red flag. If the landlord has enforcement actions on their record, the tenant can factor that into their decision. This represents a significant shift in information asymmetry between landlords and tenants.

How the PRS Database connects to local council enforcement

Local councils use the PRS Database as a primary enforcement tool. They can compare registered properties against known rental properties in their area to identify non-compliant landlords. Councils can investigate, issue compliance notices, and impose civil penalties. The database amplifies their enforcement capacity without requiring the resource-intensive individual inspections that characterised previous enforcement approaches.

Local councils in England have historically struggled to enforce housing standards in the private rented sector because identifying landlords and their properties required significant investigative work. Council tax records, electoral roll data, and planning records all contain partial information, but not a complete picture. The PRS Database changes this fundamentally.

Once the database is live, councils can:

• Search for all registered properties in their area
• Cross-reference with their own records to identify properties that are rented but not registered
• Target inspections and enforcement activity at non-registered landlords
• Record civil penalties and enforcement actions against landlord registrations, creating a visible track record
• Share enforcement intelligence with other councils when a landlord operates across local authority boundaries

For compliant landlords with well-managed properties, this should have no material impact. For landlords operating below standards, the database significantly increases the probability of detection and enforcement.

The Decent Homes Standard and local enforcement

The Renters' Rights Act also extends the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. The Decent Homes Standard sets minimum requirements for the condition and habitability of rental properties. Local councils can inspect properties against this standard and issue improvement notices where properties fail.

The Decent Homes Standard requires properties to:

• Meet the current statutory minimum standard (no Category 1 hazards under HHSRS)
• Be in a reasonable state of repair
• Have reasonably modern facilities and services
• Provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort (adequate heating and insulation)

Landlords receiving improvement notices have a duty to carry out the specified works within the timeframe set by the council. Failure to comply with an improvement notice can result in emergency remedial action by the council, with costs recharged to the landlord, plus a civil penalty.

The PRS Database and the Decent Homes Standard enforcement work together: the database identifies properties, the standard defines what those properties must meet, and councils have the powers to enforce both.

The connection to the PRS Ombudsman

The PRS Ombudsman is a separate body to the PRS Database but they are closely linked. Both are created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Landlords registered on the database must also be members of the Ombudsman. Enforcement actions from Ombudsman decisions are recorded on the database.

The PRS Ombudsman is an independent dispute resolution service for complaints from tenants about their landlord's conduct. Unlike a court, the Ombudsman provides a low-cost, accessible route for tenants to raise concerns about:

• Landlord responsiveness to repairs
• Communication failures
• Deposit disputes
• Rent increase process concerns
• Property condition

Ombudsman decisions are binding on landlords who are registered members. If the Ombudsman upholds a complaint and requires a landlord to pay compensation or carry out repairs, the landlord must comply. Non-compliance with an Ombudsman decision is itself a civil offence.

Ombudsman membership is mandatory from 2028. However, landlords who want to demonstrate professional practice can join early when the scheme opens. See our note on Step 12 of the landlord checklist for more on this.

The link to the PRS Database is important: complaints against a landlord that result in Ombudsman findings are recorded against that landlord's database entry. This creates a cumulative record of conduct that is visible to future tenants and to local councils.

Timeline: when does registration open?

The PRS Database is expected to launch in late 2026. The Renters' Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The Act's main provisions take effect on 1 May 2026, with the database following later in the year. No exact date has been confirmed as of February 2026.

The government will publish secondary regulations setting out the detailed registration requirements, fees, and processes before the database launches. Monitor the DLUHC GOV.UK pages and the landlord associations for announcements.

What landlords should do now to prepare

Registration is not open yet, but landlords should use the time before launch to audit their compliance records, ensure all certificates are current, and maintain good property records so registration can be completed quickly and accurately when the system opens.

Specific preparation steps:

1. Audit your EPC certificates. Every rental property must have a current EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). EPCs are valid for 10 years but can become outdated if significant works have been carried out. Check that you have a current EPC for every property and that it accurately reflects the property's current condition. Note: the government has consulted on raising the minimum EPC requirement to C for rental properties, though the mandatory date for this has been deferred to 2030. Upgrading properties now reduces disruption later.
2. Check gas safety certificates. Gas safety certificates must be renewed annually. Confirm that every gas-equipped property in your portfolio has a current certificate. Keep copies accessible — you will need to record the expiry date at registration.
3. Check EICR certificates. Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) must be renewed at least every five years. Confirm the status of every EICR in your portfolio. If any have expired or are approaching expiry, commission new reports before registration.
4. Consolidate your property records. If your property details are scattered across paper files, email folders, and different agents' systems, now is the time to bring everything together into a single organised record per property. LandlordOS provides a property document storage function that is ideal for this.
5. Check for any local enforcement history. If you have received improvement notices, enforcement notices, or civil penalties from any local authority, you will need to declare these on registration. Gather any relevant correspondence and note the outcome of each case.
6. Update contact details. Ensure you have a current correspondence address that you check regularly. This is where official correspondence from the database administrator and local councils will be sent.

HMO landlords: additional preparation

If you let HMOs, you will already be managing a more complex compliance environment with local licensing. At registration, you will need to provide details of each HMO licence, including the licence number and expiry date. Make sure these are current and that any applications for renewal are in progress well before registration opens.

Consequences of not registering

Failure to register with the PRS Database when it launches is a civil offence under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Civil penalties of up to £5,000 apply for first-time non-compliance. Repeated or serious failures attract higher penalties. Unregistered landlords may also lose the ability to use certain Section 8 possession grounds until they comply.

The enforcement mechanism is local authority-led. Councils will have powers to:

• Investigate suspected non-registration
• Issue compliance notices requiring registration within a specified timeframe
• Impose civil penalties of up to £5,000 for non-registration
• Impose higher penalties for repeat or wilful non-compliance

Beyond the financial penalty, unregistered landlords face a significant procedural disadvantage: the Renters' Rights Act enables regulations to restrict the use of certain Section 8 possession grounds by unregistered landlords. If you need to seek possession of a property through Section 8 and you are not registered on the PRS Database, a court may refuse or delay your claim until you achieve compliance.

This is not a theoretical risk. The government has been explicit that the PRS Database is designed to create accountability, and the restriction on possession claims is a powerful enforcement incentive for a sector that has historically been difficult to regulate.

Comparison to other compliance schemes

The PRS Database sits within a broader compliance framework. Landlords in England are already subject to:

• Deposit protection schemes (mandatory, failure leads to fines of 1-3x deposit)
• Local HMO licensing (mandatory for qualifying HMOs, fines up to £30,000 per property)
• Selective licensing (where councils have obtained designation, fines up to £30,000)
• EPC requirements (mandatory, fines up to £5,000 per property)
• Gas safety requirements (mandatory, criminal offence for failure)
• EICR requirements (mandatory, fines up to £30,000)

The PRS Database adds a further layer but is not the harshest compliance obligation in the sector. Landlords who are already compliant with the above will find PRS Database registration relatively straightforward. Landlords who have been operating informally will face a more significant adjustment.