Register Your Rental Property: What Landlords Need to Know

The Renters' Rights Act 2024 creates a new national registration system for private landlords and rental properties in England. The service — Register Your Rental Property — is being rolled out in phases across English regions. This article explains what the scheme involves, who must register, what the current requirements are, and what landlords should do now.

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What we know so far

The rollout timetable has been announced and the confirmed dates are set out below. However, a number of operational details — including fee arrangements, the precise information landlords will need to provide, and the enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance — will continue to be confirmed through secondary legislation and further government guidance as the scheme is implemented.

*Information correct as at 23 September 2026. We will update this guide as further official details are published.*

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What Is Register Your Rental Property?

Register Your Rental Property is the new national database of private landlords and their rental properties in England, established under the Renters' Rights Act 2024. It is being introduced in a phased regional rollout. Once fully operational, it will require all private landlords letting residential property in England to register themselves and each property they let.

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Who Must Register?

The registration requirement applies to private landlords letting residential property in England. This includes:

- Individual landlords (whether letting one property or many)

- Companies and other corporate landlords

- Landlords letting through agents

During the initial rollout, the requirement applies to properties that are already let or that become occupied during the rollout period in the relevant region.

The Government has confirmed that the requirement to register an unoccupied property before marketing it, and the requirement to include a registration number in rental advertisements, will be introduced as the public-facing interface and further secondary legislation are rolled out. Those requirements are not yet in force.

Some categories of property may be exempt or subject to different rules. Check GOV.UK for the current position on exemptions as the scheme is rolled out.

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Regional Rollout

The scheme is being introduced in phases, region by region. The confirmed rollout begins with the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, with further regions called forward over the following 12 months.

The Government has confirmed that all landlords actively letting property in England must have registered by 14 November 2027.

The precise order and dates for each region after the West Midlands are subject to confirmation. Check GOV.UK for the current rollout schedule as it is updated.

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The Three-Month Registration Window

When the scheme goes live in your region, you will have three months from your region's start date to register. Landlords with properties already let at the start date must register within this window.

Landlords who let a property for the first time after their region's start date must register before the tenancy begins — but only once the pre-letting registration requirement is in force for their region (see above). Check GOV.UK for the current position.

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Registration: Ongoing Requirements

The Renters' Rights Act provides for registration to be subject to renewal. Further details about renewal periods, fee arrangements and the process for keeping registration up to date are expected to be confirmed through secondary legislation and GOV.UK guidance as the scheme is rolled out. Further details, including any registration fee arrangements, should be checked against the latest GOV.UK guidance as the service is rolled out.

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What Information Will Be Required?

The scheme is expected to require landlords to provide:

- Landlord name and contact details

- Property address and description

- Number of bedrooms

- Type of tenancy

- Whether the property is subject to any licensing scheme

- Details of any managing agent

- Confirmation of compliance with key legal obligations (such as gas safety, electrical safety and deposit protection)

The precise information requirements will be set out in secondary legislation. Check GOV.UK for the current position as the scheme is rolled out.

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Useful Compliance Documents to Gather Now

Whether or not your region has gone live yet, it is worth getting your compliance records in order now. The registration process is likely to require confirmation of:

- Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) — must be in date and renewed annually

- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) — must be in date (typically every five years)

- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — must be valid (minimum Band E; Band C from 2030 if confirmed)

- Deposit protection details — scheme name, certificate reference, date protected

- Tenancy agreement — current assured periodic tenancy agreement

Use the Landlord Handbook Compliance Tracker to keep all certificate renewal dates in one place.

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Consequences of Non-Compliance

The Renters' Rights Act contains provisions for enforcement against landlords who fail to comply with the registration requirement. These include powers for local authorities to issue civil penalties, and provisions that may allow tenants to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order. The Act also contains provisions that may affect an unregistered landlord's ability to rely on certain possession grounds.

Important: These are legislative provisions whose operational detail — including penalty amounts, the precise conditions for rent repayment orders, and the mechanism for any possession restrictions — depends on secondary legislation that had not been made as at 23 September 2026. None of these enforcement measures should be treated as currently operational in their final form. Check GOV.UK for the current position as secondary legislation is made and the scheme goes live in each region.

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What Should I Do Now?

- Check GOV.UK for the current rollout schedule and confirm when your region's registration window opens.

- Note that the West Midlands is the first region to go live, on 15 December 2026, and that all actively letting landlords must have registered by 14 November 2027.

- Gather your compliance documents now — gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, deposit protection details.

- Set up a compliance tracker so you know when each certificate is due for renewal.

- If you use a managing agent, confirm who will be responsible for registration — you or the agent.

- Monitor GOV.UK for updates on the pre-letting registration requirement and the requirement to include registration numbers in advertisements — these are not yet in force.

- Check GOV.UK for the current position on exemptions, fee arrangements and penalty amounts as secondary legislation is made.

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*Information correct as at 23 September 2026. The registration scheme is subject to secondary legislation and GOV.UK guidance that may change. Always check the current GOV.UK position before acting.*