The PRS Database: How Landlord Registration Works

The service opens on **15 December 2026**, but not everyone registers at once. The requirement is introduced region by region across the following twelve months. When your region is called forward, you get a **three-month window** to complete registration.

The published pattern so far runs West Midlands first (opening 15 December 2026, deadline 14 March 2027), then East of England from 15 January 2027, then East Midlands from 15 February 2027, and so on.

The backstop is firm: **every actively let property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027.**

If you let in London, check which month your region is called forward rather than assuming you are at the front or the back of the queue — the window is only three months once it opens, and that is not long if a certificate has lapsed and needs re-inspecting first.

Registering **as a landlord is free**. Registering **each property costs £65 per year**.

For a single property that is a modest annual cost. For a portfolio it is worth putting in the budget now — ten properties is £650 a year, every year, separate from your certificate costs.

You will be asked for:

• **Government-issued photo ID**
• **Proof that you own the property** — Land Registry entry or deeds
• **A current Gas Safety Record (CP12)** — if the property has any gas appliance
• **A current EICR** — carried out within the last five years
• **A valid EPC** — currently band E or above

The three certificates are the part most likely to hold you up. A missing CP12 can be resolved in days; an EICR that comes back unsatisfactory needs remedial work completed before you have the evidence you need, and that can run past your three-month window.

The practical advice is to audit your certificates now rather than when your region opens.

The penalties are meaningful and they escalate:

• **Civil penalties rising to £40,000**
• **A ban on marketing the property** — you cannot legally advertise it to let
• **A block on possession orders** — which, with Section 21 already abolished, matters a great deal

That last point deserves emphasis. Since 1 May 2026, possession runs entirely through the Section 8 grounds. If non-registration also blocks possession orders, an unregistered landlord has no route to recover their property at all.

Registration is an administrative task. The work that takes time is the inspections behind it.

If you are unsure where you stand, the order to check is: gas first (annual, so most likely to have lapsed), then EICR (five-yearly, and the one most likely to need remedial work), then EPC (ten-yearly, and the one most likely to be fine).

We cover all 32 London boroughs and the M25 corridor:

• Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) from £60
• EICR from £77.99
• EPC from £99.99

All prices include VAT, certificates are issued the same day, and booking gas and EICR together in one visit starts at £129 — which also means arranging tenant access once instead of twice.

Book online for an instant price or call 07426 409342.