England’s rental property register is moving towards a phased launch after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government issued detailed guidance for landlords and letting agents on 29 October 2026. The first registration period is scheduled to start in the West Midlands on 15 December, with other English regions following through 2027.
The new instructions explain a crucial division of responsibility. Landlords will have to register themselves, begin each property’s registration and pay the fee. Letting agents and property managers will be able to provide certain tenancy and safety details through a property-specific link, but delegating information does not transfer the landlord’s legal obligations.
For anyone operating houses in multiple occupation, the proposal also connects HMO licensing, occupancy, rent and safety certificates to a single property record. It is a substantial administrative change, but not a grant of planning permission or a substitute for licensing. The underlying detailed regulations remain published as a draft, so their legal status must be distinguished from the government’s proposed timetable.
When does the rental property register begin?
The new landlord guidance sets out nine regional registration periods. The West Midlands is first, from 15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027. The East of England follows from 15 January to 14 April, the East Midlands from 15 February to 14 May, and the South East from 15 March to 14 June 2027.
Yorkshire and Humber is scheduled from 15 April to 14 July 2027, the North West from 15 May to 14 August, and the North East from 15 June to 14 September. London follows from 15 July to 14 October, with the South West last, from 15 August to 14 November. A landlord with properties across regions should check each property’s location rather than assume one deadline covers the whole portfolio.
The rental property register timetable applies to England. The draft instrument extends to England and Wales in the technical legislative sense, but its specified regions and substantive registration scheme concern English rental properties. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own distinct housing legislation and registration arrangements; these English deadlines should not be transplanted into those systems.
Who must register, and can an agent do it?
During the initial rollout, the government’s guidance says the requirement concerns properties let on an assured or regulated tenancy at the relevant regional deadline, or which become let afterwards. Properties that are empty and not let are not currently subject to the proposed initial registration requirement simply because the owner hopes to let them. A later phase would require registration before marketing empty homes for rent.
The landlord must initiate the property entry, arrange an active landlord record and pay. Joint landlords have their own registration responsibilities, but the dwelling itself normally has one property record. Certain exceptional third parties can act where, for example, the landlord has died or someone holds relevant legal authority. Ordinary letting agents are not given a general right to replace the landlord at initial registration.
The separate guidance for agents says an owner may nominate an agency email address. The service then sends a unique property link, allowing the agent to supply and maintain specified details. Agents should agree with clients who will be responsible for each step, protect those access links and remember that an agency cannot reset the password without the landlord cancelling and issuing a fresh link.
HMO records and the rental property register
For HMO landlords, the rental property register will collect information about the number of tenants and households and whether the property needs a mandatory HMO licence, an additional licence or a selective licence. The guidance explains that a licensed HMO is normally registered once for the whole property, not once for every bedroom or tenancy agreement. Landlords should check how their particular arrangements are legally classified.
Agents can also be asked to provide the property’s rental amount, whether bills are included and whether it is furnished, together with gas safety records, electrical installation evidence and energy performance information where required. The draft Schedule 3 lists the proposed tenancy and health and safety particulars. That is a record-keeping duty, not a new power to approve a property’s use.
Planning control remains separate from both licensing and database registration. A property may be licensable as an HMO without having the necessary planning permission for its use, particularly where an Article 4 Direction restricts the relevant permitted development rights. Our HMO planning permission guide explains that distinction. A registration number should never be treated as evidence that a C4 or larger HMO is lawful in planning terms.
Fees, updates and the 28-day deadline
The government says the annual charge will be £65 per property, with no VAT on that fee and no charge simply to create a landlord account. The landlord guidance also explains that the initial charge will be adjusted proportionately during rollout, rather than demanding the full annual sum from every owner on day one. Later renewals are linked to the landlord’s first property’s registration anniversary.
When registering an occupied home, a landlord may initially omit some tenancy and compliance information, but the guidance requires it to be completed within 28 days. Information must also be updated within 28 days of a relevant change, such as new occupancy figures or a replacement safety certificate. A missing entry can lead to the property registration becoming inactive, creating a compliance problem even where the initial payment was made.
The rental property register is therefore not just a one-off form. Owners will need a process to keep certificates, tenancy details and licence references current. Guidance warns of possible civil penalties up to £7,000 for some breaches and up to £40,000 for certain serious or repeated breaches. Those are potential statutory consequences, not automatic fines for every clerical mistake.
The regulations are still at draft stage
The operative detail is set out in the draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026, laid in September. As checked on 29 October, legislation.gov.uk still identifies this instrument as draft legislation, not a made statutory instrument. The timetable is the government’s stated rollout plan, and implementation remains dependent on necessary parliamentary and commencement steps.
The House of Lords Grand Committee considered the draft on 28 October. In that debate, Housing Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage explained that landlords may obtain assistance with information while retaining responsibility, adding: “They will, however, remain legally responsible for registration, payment, renewal and compliance.” The official Hansard record makes clear that the regulations were being considered, rather than already operating nationally.
There is also a future phase that landlords should not confuse with the December launch. The government intends eventually to require registration of properties before they are advertised, and for adverts to show landlord and property registration numbers. Its October guidance gives proposed number formats but does not establish that the advertising requirement applies from 15 December. Further regulations and guidance are expected.
What landlords and agents should prepare now
The practical preparation is to identify every rented property, its correct English region, all owners who must register and the managing agent’s contact details. Safety records, licence references, tenancy and rent information should be checked against what is actually current. It would be sensible to resolve discrepancies before the relevant regional window starts, rather than discovering them while a registration is incomplete.
For a landlord with several HMOs, checking the rental property register data against HMO licences is only half the job. It is worth separately confirming the lawful planning use, applicable Article 4 controls and the scope of any existing certificates of lawfulness. The certificate of lawfulness guide explains how evidence of an established use may matter when planning status is uncertain.
The important news on 29 October is that the government has now described how landlords and agents are expected to use the rental property register, with specific regional dates and information requirements. Nobody should suggest that merely reading the guidance fulfils a legal duty, or that the proposed database itself is already live. The position to watch next is final approval and making of the regulations, followed by the actual opening of registration.
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