The PRS Database: What Landlords Must Register Under the Renters' Rights Act

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is the single biggest piece of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 that has not yet arrived. Section 21 abolition, the Form 4A rent process, and the periodic-tenancy conversion all went live on 1 May 2026. The database did not. It is expected late 2026 — but as of this writing there is no commencement date set, and registration is not yet open.

That gap matters. The database will eventually be a hard gate on your ability to market, let, and recover possession of a property. Landlords who understand the requirement now — before the rush — will register cleanly when their region opens. This guide sets out exactly what the database is, who has to register, what it will record, and what the timeline actually says, with every statutory claim cited to the Act itself.

The one-line summary: the PRS Database is a mandatory, government-operated register of private landlords and their let properties. It is created by Part 2 Chapter 3 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (sections 75 to 96). Those sections are on the statute book but not yet in force — the only commencement order made so far (S.I. 2026/421) brings the tenancy-reform provisions into effect, not the database. Government says rollout begins "late 2026." Treat any "register now" prompt you see before then as premature.

Is the PRS Database open yet? (No — and here's how to verify that)

No. The database is not open for registration as of June 2026, and no go-live date has been fixed.

It is easy to assume that because most of the Renters' Rights Act went live on 1 May 2026, the database did too. It did not. The commencement order that switched on Phase 1 — S.I. 2026/421, regulation 2 — brings into force only:

"(a) Chapter 1 of Part 1 (tenancy reform: assured tenancies), except section 25(3); (b) Schedule 1 (changes to grounds for possession); (c) Schedule 2 (amendments relating to Chapter 1 of Part 1)."

The database lives in Part 2, Chapter 3 of the Act — a different Part entirely. It is not mentioned in that commencement order. Until a further commencement statutory instrument brings sections 75 to 96 into force, there is no legal database to register on, no registration portal, and no fee to pay. If you see a third-party site inviting you to "register for the PRS Database" today, it is not the official scheme — the official scheme does not exist yet.

This guide will be updated the moment a commencement SI for the database is published. For the full phase-by-phase picture of what is and isn't live, see our Renters' Rights Act key dates and timeline.

What is the PRS Database?

The PRS Database is a mandatory national register of private landlords and their rented properties in England. It is created by section 75 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which requires a designated "database operator" to:

"establish and operate a database containing—(a) entries in respect of persons who are, or intend to become, residential landlords, (b) entries in respect of dwellings which are, or are intended to be, let under residential tenancies" (RRA 2025 s.75(1)).

So the database holds two kinds of entry:

• a landlord entry — a record about you, the person who is or intends to become a residential landlord; and
• a dwelling entry — a record about each property you let or intend to let.

Section 75(2) confirms that distinction in terms: a "landlord entry" is "an entry in the database in respect of a person," and a "dwelling entry" is "an entry in the database in respect of a dwelling."

The purpose, per the government's implementation roadmap, is to give councils and tenants a single authoritative source of who is letting what, and whether those landlords are meeting their legal obligations. It replaces a patchwork of local licensing schemes with a national baseline — though existing selective and additional licensing schemes are expected to continue alongside it (the Act does not abolish them).

Who runs it?

Section 76 provides for a "database operator" — the body the Secretary of State designates to build and run the register. At the time of writing the operator and the technical platform have not been publicly confirmed; the roadmap describes the database as central-government-delivered digital infrastructure rolled out to councils and landlords from late 2026.

Who must register on the PRS Database?

If you are a private residential landlord in England, you will need to register. The duty is not optional and it is not limited to large portfolios — a single let triggers it.

The structural requirement sits in section 82, which makes an active database entry a precondition for two of the most basic things a landlord does:

1. You cannot market a property to let without an active entry. Section 82(1) provides:

"A person must not market a dwelling for the purpose of creating a residential tenancy unless—(a) there is an active landlord entry in the database in respect of the person who will be the residential landlord if the tenancy is granted, [and] (b) there is an active dwelling entry in the database in respect of the dwelling" (RRA 2025 s.82(1)).

2. You are under a continuing duty to keep your entries active. Section 82(3) imposes a duty on a residential landlord to "ensure that there is an active landlord entry in the database in respect of the person and an active dwelling entry in the database in respect of the dwelling."

In short: both you and each property must have a live entry before the property is advertised, and that status must be maintained for the life of the letting.

Important nuance — the tenancy itself stays valid. A breach of the marketing prohibition or the registration duty does not invalidate the tenancy. Section 82(5) states that "a breach of subsection (1), (2) or (3) does not affect the validity or enforceability of a residential tenancy." So a tenant whose landlord failed to register is not left without a tenancy. The penalties for the landlord fall elsewhere — on the landlord's ability to gain possession, and via financial penalties and offences (below).

If you let through a letting agent, the agent's marketing of your property is caught too — the section 82(1) prohibition bites on the act of marketing, whoever performs it.

What will the PRS Database require landlords to do?

The Act sets the framework; the operational detail (the exact data fields, the portal design, the fee amounts) will come in secondary legislation that has not yet been made. What the Act itself establishes:

Obligation	Statutory source	What it means in practice
Create a landlord entry and a dwelling entry for each let	s.75, s.77	Register yourself once, and register each property
Keep your active entries up to date	s.78	A duty to keep the information current — not "set and forget"
Pay the prescribed fees	s.81	Fees for landlord and dwelling entries (amounts to be set by regulations — not yet published)
Provide prescribed information	s.83(8), s.85	Name plus "such other information as may be prescribed by regulations" — the field list is not yet set
Don't market or let without active entries	s.82(1)-(3)	The hard gate described above

The honest position on the detail: the data fields, the fee levels, and the registration deadlines are not yet known. They depend on regulations the Secretary of State has not yet made. Anyone quoting you a specific fee or a specific list of documents you'll need to upload is guessing. What is fixed is the shape of the obligation — register as a landlord, register each property, keep it current, pay a fee.

The teeth: possession, penalties, and offences

This is what makes the database more than an administrative formality.

Possession depends on registration. Section 90 inserts a new restriction into the Housing Act 1988: the court "may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house while the landlord ... is in breach of section 82(3)(a)" — the duty to maintain an active landlord entry — "unless the ground for possession is Ground 7A in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act or Ground 14 in Part 2 of that Schedule" (RRA 2025 s.90). In plain terms: if you are not registered, you generally cannot evict — the only carve-outs are the serious-antisocial-behaviour grounds (7A and 14). For everything else, no active entry means no possession order. Given that Section 21 is already gone and Section 8 grounds are now the only possession route, an unregistered landlord is effectively locked out of recovering their property through the ordinary grounds.

Financial penalties and criminal offences. The Act provides for financial penalties (s.91) and creates offences (s.92) for breaches such as marketing or letting without a valid active entry, or providing false information. The exact penalty levels and the line between a civil penalty and a prosecution will be set out in regulations and enforcement guidance that have not yet been published.

The takeaway is not to panic — none of this is in force yet — but to recognise that when it does commence, non-registration is not a paperwork slip. It removes your ability to evict and exposes you to penalties.

When does the PRS Database go live? (The honest timeline)

Expected: late 2026. Confirmed go-live date: none.

The government's implementation roadmap states: "We will commence roll out of the Database from late 2026." The roadmap describes a phased rollout, not a single national switch-on — landlord registration and council access first, with wider public access and data-sharing following in a later stage.

What that means for you:

• There is no fixed calendar date you can diarise yet. "Late 2026" is the government's own framing, and even that is a start-of-rollout date, not a "all landlords must be registered by" deadline.
• The rollout is expected to be regional / phased, so different areas may open at different times. The government has not announced the regional sequence.
• A separate commencement statutory instrument will be needed to bring sections 75 to 96 into force. Until that SI is published, the legal duty to register has not started — and we will update this page the moment it appears.

Do not treat any specific month, fee, or "deadline to register by" you see quoted elsewhere as authoritative. As of this writing none of those have been set in law.

For how the database fits alongside the rest of the Act's phased commencement — Phase 1 (live now), Phase 2 (database and Ombudsman), Phase 3 (Decent Homes) — see the full Renters' Rights Act key dates and timeline.

What landlords should do now (before the database opens)

You cannot register yet. But the database will reward landlords whose records are already clean, and penalise those scrambling at the last minute. Three things worth doing before the database opens:

1. Get your compliance documentation in order. The database is expected to surface compliance status (certificates, registration). Gas Safety Certificates, EICRs, EPCs and deposit-protection evidence should all be current and findable. Councils have had expanded investigatory powers in force since 27 December 2025, so this is worth doing regardless of the database. Run the landlord compliance checklist to find any gaps.

2. Build a per-property record now. Each dwelling will need its own entry. A simple internal record per property — address, tenancy type, certificate dates, deposit scheme — means that when registration opens you can complete it in minutes rather than hunting through files. The free RRA Readiness Checker walks you through what to capture.

3. Watch for the commencement SI — don't pre-register anywhere unofficial. The only legitimate registration route will be the government-designated operator's platform, and it does not exist yet. Ignore "early registration" offers. Bookmark the key-dates timeline and check back, or track every RRA deadline with the RRA Deadline Tracker.

When the database does open, registration is likely to be straightforward for a landlord whose paperwork is already in order — and a real headache for one whose isn't. The work to do now is not registration. It's being ready to register.

Frequently asked questions

Can I register on the PRS Database now? No. The database is not open and no commencement date has been set. The sections of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 that create it (ss.75-96) are not yet in force. Any site offering "PRS Database registration" today is not the official scheme.

When will the PRS Database open? The government roadmap says rollout begins "late 2026," phased and regional, with no fixed go-live date. A further commencement statutory instrument is required before the legal duty to register starts.

Do I have to register if I only let one property? Yes — the duty applies to private residential landlords generally, not just portfolio landlords. A single let triggers the marketing prohibition in s.82(1) and the registration duty in s.82(3).

What happens if I don't register once it's live? You generally won't be able to obtain a possession order (s.90, except Grounds 7A and 14), and you may face financial penalties (s.91) or an offence (s.92). The tenancy itself stays valid (s.82(5)) — the consequences fall on the landlord, not the tenant.

How much will it cost to register? The Act provides for fees (s.81) but the amounts will be set by regulations that have not yet been made. No fee has been published.

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This guide applies to England only. Scotland operates a separate Scottish Landlord Register, and Wales operates Rent Smart Wales — neither is affected by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which covers the private rented sector in England. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

RentersActReady's outputs and action lists are general guidance based on the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and accompanying statutory instruments. Selective-licensing schemes vary by local council — RAR does not encode local licensing conditions, so verify with your local authority (and Propertymark, ARLA, or your governing body) for your specific portfolio. Not legal or professional advice.

Statutory provisions verified 2026-06-25 against legislation.gov.uk: RRA 2025 Part 2 Chapter 3 (ss.75-96); commencement scope confirmed against S.I. 2026/421 reg. 2 (which does not commence ss.75-96). Timeline verified against the GOV.UK RRA 2025 implementation roadmap ("rollout from late 2026").

Information is current as of the date shown above. We update this guide as commencement statutory instruments and secondary legislation for the database are published.