Registration is coming — and it’s not optional
The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is expected to open in late 2026. Once live, every landlord letting property in England must register themselves, their properties, and their tenancies on it.
The consequence of not registering is severe: you will not be able to serve a valid Section 8 notice or obtain a possession order through the courts until your registration is complete. In a world where Section 8 is your only eviction route, losing access to the courts means losing your safety net entirely.
For the full background, read: The landlord database is coming: what you’ll have to register, and when.
1. Confirm your safety certificates are current and accessible
The database will require evidence of valid:
- Gas Safety Certificate (annual, CP12)
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR, every 5 years)
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC, every 10 years — minimum rating C expected for new tenancies from 2028)
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm compliance
If your certificates are paper-only or buried in an email chain from 2019, dig them out now. You’ll need to upload them or reference them during registration. If anything has lapsed, renew it before the database opens — you won’t be able to register without valid documents.
2. Check your deposit protection is in order
You’ll need to confirm that every tenancy deposit is protected in an authorised scheme and that prescribed information was served within 30 days. If you’ve let this slip on any property, fix it now — the database will expose gaps that currently go unnoticed.
3. Gather your tenancy details
For each property, you’ll likely need to provide:
- Property address and type
- Current rent amount
- Tenancy start date
- Tenant name(s)
- Deposit amount and which scheme holds it
- Your contact details and (likely) a UK correspondence address
If you have multiple properties across Guildford, Woking, or Godalming, compile this into one document now. When the database opens, there will be a rush — landlords who have their information ready will register quickly, those who don’t will scramble.
4. Decide who manages your registration
The database will allow agents to register on behalf of landlords. If you use a managing agent, confirm whether they’ll handle this for you — and whether there’s a charge.
If you self-manage, budget time to do it yourself. First estimates suggest registration will take 20–30 minutes per property for a landlord with documents ready, considerably longer without.
5. Understand what the database makes public
Tenants and prospective tenants will be able to search the database to check:
- Whether a landlord is registered
- Whether the property is registered
- Compliance history (once enforcement data accumulates)
Think of it as a public accountability record. Landlords with clean compliance histories will benefit — it becomes a trust signal. Those with gaps will find them visible in a way they never have been before.
What to do right now
You don’t need to wait for the database to open. The preparation is all about getting your house in order — literally. Certificates current, deposits protected, records accessible, and a decision made about whether you or your agent handles registration.
The landlords who’ll have problems are the ones who ignore this until registration day, discover their gas cert expired in March, and then can’t serve notice on a problem tenant because they’re not registered.
Don’t be that landlord.
For the full picture of what the Renters’ Rights Act changed: The Renters’ Rights Act explained: a landlord’s guide.
