PRS Database for Landlords: What Registration Means for Your Possession Claim

By Stevie Hayes · Last reviewed: 2 October 2026 — England only

General information only. This article describes the law in England as at the date shown above. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice on your case. For free regulated advice, contact a Law Centre, Citizens Advice or Shelter England. The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, funded by the Legal Aid Agency, gives free early legal advice to anyone at risk of losing their home from the moment they receive written notice, and on-the-day advice and representation at possession hearings, whatever their income. Find a provider at find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.

Status on 2 October 2026: announced, not yet in force. The government has announced that the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database registration service opens on 15 December 2026, with regions called forward in turn, starting with the West Midlands. The duty to register in section 82 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is not yet in force, and the database regulations have only been laid in draft. Nothing in this article is a legal deadline.

What Is the PRS Database?

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is a national register of private rented homes and their landlords in England. The government is calling the service "Register your rental property". It is provided for by Part 2, Chapter 3 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (sections 75 to 96). The government says the aim is greater transparency: councils get information to help them spot rogue landlords, and in future tenants will be able to see whether a landlord has registered.

Two kinds of entry matter. A landlord entry identifies the person letting. A dwelling entry identifies the property. Each is given a unique identifier by the database operator. The duty in section 82(3) says a residential landlord must make sure there is an active landlord entry for them and an active dwelling entry for the property.

It applies to landlords of dwellings in England that are not social housing. The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, but the database duties have not been switched on. The parts that are in force only let the government make regulations.

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The Rollout Schedule: Regional Dates

The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 were laid before Parliament in draft in September 2026. As at 2 October 2026 they have not been made and could still change. The draft would bring registration in region by region, using the council areas listed in the draft regulations. Government guidance adds a three-month window for each region.

Three points about the table:

• The commencement dates are from draft regulations. The deadlines come from government guidance, not from any statute or made instrument. The guidance says that after a region's deadline, councils there will be able to start enforcement.
• Your property's location decides the date, not where you live. A landlord in Kent with a flat in Birmingham follows the West Midlands timetable for that flat.
• 15 September 2027 is not a regional deadline. It is the date on which the draft regulations come into force "for all other purposes". The government has said all landlords actively letting should be registered by 14 November 2027.

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Where the Law Stands Today

Sections 82, 90 and 91 of the Act have been in force since Royal Assent, but only for the purpose of making regulations. Section 92, which creates the offences, is not in force at all. None of the three commencement regulations made so far (SI 2025/1354, SI 2026/421 and SI 2026/638) brings the database duties, the possession bar, the penalties or the offences into force. The draft explanatory memorandum says a separate instrument will do that. As at 2 October 2026 it has not been made.

In plain terms, no landlord is in breach of a statutory duty to register today, no possession claim can fail for non-registration, and no database penalty or offence can yet arise. The registration dates you may have seen are plans, not law.

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What Landlords Will Need to Register

The draft regulations set out the information required. The government's guidance gives the likely fee: an annual £65 per property, adjusted (pro-rated) during the rollout. That figure is guidance only. It is not in the Act, and the draft regulations leave the fee to the database operator.

Landlord entry. An individual landlord gives their name, date of birth, residential address, telephone number and email address. A company or other organisation gives its name, entity type, address, contacts and registration number, with extra details where there is no Companies House number.

Dwelling entry. For every property, the draft asks for the items in the first two bullets below. The rest are needed only for homes that are let:

• the address, the landlord's name with a correspondence address in England and Wales and an email address, the ownership and dwelling type, the number of bedrooms and whether it is let;
• the names and email addresses of any freeholder, superior landlord or property manager;
• the number of occupants and households, and whether a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), additional or selective licence is required, with licence numbers if available;
• if the home has a gas supply, a copy of the gas safety record (if one exists) and its issue date;
• a copy of the electrical installation condition report (EICR), if one exists, or an appropriate electrical installation certificate (EIC), and the EICR expiry date or the EIC issue date;
• whether you were required to give the current tenant a valid energy performance certificate (EPC) and, if so, a copy of the most recent EPC; if that EPC is no longer valid, the date the current tenancy started; and, if the rating is below the minimum level, whether a registered exemption applies and its type;
• the rent, how often it is paid, whether utilities are included, and whether the home is furnished.

If the draft regulations are made as they stand, a let dwelling's tenancy and health-and-safety details may follow within 28 days of the entry; if they are not provided in time, the dwelling entry becomes inactive. Changes must be updated within 28 days.

Most of that is paperwork a careful landlord already holds. It is also evidence you may want in the compliance section of a possession bundle, so the work does two jobs.

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Why It Matters in a Possession Claim

Section 90 of the Act amends section 7 of the Housing Act 1988. When it is in force, new section 7(5ZC) will read:

"The court may not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house while the landlord (or, in the case of joint landlords, any of the joint landlords) is in breach of section 82(3)(a) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 in relation to the dwelling-house, 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."

Four things follow from that wording.

Landlord with a missing or inactive entry
├── Section 8 notice (Form 3A) ...... can still be served
└── Possession order ................ barred while the breach continues
                                      (unless the ground is 7A or 14)

1. It bars the order, not the notice. Section 90 does not amend section 8, which governs notices, and it adds no notice requirement. A landlord who is not registered is not stopped from serving a Section 8 notice on Form 3A. The notice still has to meet the usual rules. What the landlord cannot get, while the breach continues, is the possession order.

2. It is tested when the order is made. The words are "while the landlord … is in breach". A landlord whose landlord entry and dwelling entry are both active by the time the court makes the order is no longer caught by the bar.

3. Only two grounds are exempt. Ground 7A (serious anti-social behaviour) and Ground 14 (nuisance or annoyance) sit outside the bar. Every other ground is caught, including Ground 8 for rent arrears and Ground 1A for sale.

4. Both entries count. Section 82(3)(a) needs an active landlord entry and an active dwelling entry. If there are joint landlords, a breach by any one of them is enough.

The bar applies only to assured tenancies under the Housing Act 1988. Tenancies of social housing are outside the section 82 duty (section 63(1)), so the bar cannot bite on them. The Act also lets the Secretary of State change, by regulations, whose breach triggers the bar and in what circumstances (section 90(2)), so the scope may not stay as drafted.

It sits next to the deposit bar. Where a deposit was taken, section 215 of the Housing Act 2004 has barred possession orders since 1 May 2026 unless the deposit is protected, the scheme's initial requirements are met and the prescribed information has been given, subject to the exceptions in section 215(5). The two bars work the same way: they act on the order, and Grounds 7A and 14 are exempt from both. Once the database duty is in force, you may need to clear both before an order on any other ground. Our guide to deposit protection and Section 8 after 1 May 2026 covers the deposit side.

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Where This Fits on the Journey Map

On the Housing Possession & Tenant Debt journey map, the registration bar would bite at the Possession hearing stop, where the court decides whether it may make an order. Registration status is also relevant earlier, when you gather your evidence at the Pre-action checklist stop.

The map does not yet show a separate registration step, because the duty is not in force. The same bar would apply on either landlord route, unless the ground is 7A or 14, so both hearing stops are linked here: Possession hearing, combined claim and Possession hearing, possession only.

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If You Are the Landlord: What to Put in the Bundle

Once the bar is in force, a possession bundle that relies on any ground other than 7A or 14 should show the court that the landlord is registered. A bundle designed to help you do that would include:

1. Your landlord identifier and the dwelling identifier issued by the database operator.
2. Proof that both entries were active on the relevant dates, for example the confirmation message or a screenshot of the entries with the date visible.
3. The renewal date and evidence that renewal was made on or before it. Under the draft regulations an entry becomes inactive the day after its renewal date unless it is renewed in time, and a dwelling entry cannot be renewed unless the fee is paid.
4. Evidence for each joint landlord, if there is more than one, because a breach by any of them is enough.
5. The deposit evidence that section 215 already requires, set out alongside it.

Keep the renewal date in your diary. A lapsed entry would stop an otherwise careful landlord getting an order on most grounds until the entry is active again. For how to assemble the rest of the file, see building a possession claim bundle.

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What Tenants Need to Know

This section is a short note for tenants reading a landlord-facing guide. Once section 7(5ZC) is in force, the bar is something the court must apply. A tenant defending a claim on a ground other than 7A or 14 can ask the court to consider whether the landlord is in breach of the duty to register when the court decides whether to make the order. Section 82(5) says non-registration does not affect the validity or enforceability of the tenancy under the rules on illegality, so it gives no reason to stop paying rent. The tenant-side picture is in our guide to what the Renters' Rights Act 2025 means for tenants.

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Penalties Once the Duty Is in Force

The Act sets up two routes, and neither is available yet.

• Civil penalties. A local housing authority that is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a person has breached section 82(1), (2) or (3) may impose a penalty of up to £7,000 (section 91(2)(a)). Further penalties are possible if the breach continues for more than 28 days after a penalty (section 91(3)).
• Offences. Section 92 creates offences such as knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information to the database operator, and repeating breaches after a penalty. A person convicted is liable on summary conviction to a fine; the section states no maximum. A council may instead impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for those offences (section 91(2)(b)), but not once criminal proceedings for the same conduct have been brought (section 91(5)).

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What to Do Now

1. Find your region. Check which council area each property is in against the regions listed in Schedule 1 to the draft regulations, then find that region's dates in the table above, remembering that they are provisional.
2. Gather your documents. Pull together the gas safety record, EICR, EPC and any HMO licence for each property.
3. Keep identifiers in one place. When registration opens, store both the landlord and dwelling identifiers with the tenancy file.
4. Diary the dates. Note the date your region's draft regulations commence and the guidance deadline, and recheck them before relying on either.
5. Remember that registration does not affect serving a notice. Once in force, the bar is on the order, so if a claim may reach a hearing after the duty and the bar are in force, both entries will need to be active when the court makes the order.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PRS Database?

It is the register of private rented homes and landlords in England, provided for by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It is announced to open on 15 December 2026, with the West Midlands called forward first, but the duty to register is not yet in force.

Do all landlords have to register?

Not yet, because the duty is not in force. Once it is, it will fall on landlords of assured or regulated tenancies of homes in England that are not social housing. The draft regulations could still change.

Is landlord registration compulsory yet?

No. Registration on the PRS Database is announced but not yet a legal requirement. The provisions in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 that create the duty are not yet in force, and the database regulations are in draft.

When does registration open in my area?

Government guidance says you can register from 15 December 2026 wherever the property is, but each region has its own deadline. The draft regulations would come into force for the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, then for the other English regions from January to August 2027. These dates are provisional until the regulations are made.

How much will PRS database registration cost?

Government guidance says an annual fee of £65 per property, adjusted (pro-rated) during the initial rollout. This is guidance only. The fee is not set in the Act, and the draft regulations leave it to the database operator.

Can a landlord serve a Section 8 notice if they are not registered?

Yes. Section 90 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 acts on the court's power to make a possession order, not on serving a notice. Once the bar is in force, an unregistered landlord cannot get an order on most grounds.

Which possession grounds are exempt from the registration bar?

Ground 7A (serious anti-social behaviour) and Ground 14 (nuisance or annoyance). Section 7(5ZC) of the Housing Act 1988, once in force, will not stop an order on those grounds, even where the landlord is unregistered.

What happens if my landlord is not registered?

Once the duty and the possession bar are in force, and if you have an assured tenancy, a court cannot make a possession order against you on most grounds while your landlord is in breach. Your landlord could also face a civil penalty of up to £7,000. The tenancy stays valid, and you still owe rent.

How will landlords register?

Government guidance says landlords will register online with a GOV.UK One Login, with offline routes for those who need them. The guidance says early registration will be possible from 15 December 2026, wherever the property is.

Does a landlord's failure to register make the tenancy void?

No. Section 82(5) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 says a breach of the database duty does not affect the validity or enforceability of the tenancy because of any rule of law about illegality.

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Authoritative Sources

• Renters' Rights Act 2025, Part 2, Chapter 3: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/contents
• Housing Act 1988, section 7: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/section/7
• Draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026: legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2026/9780348286861
• GOV.UK Housing Hub, get ready to register: housinghub.campaign.gov.uk/renting-is-changing/get-ready-to-register

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BundleCreator's Housing Possession & Tenant Debt subsite at /housing-possession-debt maps the route from Form 3A to enforcement and links the templates you draft yourself. Create your bundle today with a 7-day trial.

Nothing in this article is legal advice or a substitute for it. It describes the law in England as at the date shown. For free regulated advice, contact Citizens Advice, Shelter England or your local Law Centre. The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, funded by the Legal Aid Agency, gives free early legal advice to anyone at risk of losing their home from the moment they receive written notice, and on-the-day advice and representation at possession hearings, whatever their income. Find a provider at find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.

Document History

• 1 October 2026: First version, reflecting the draft database regulations and government guidance before the Renters' Rights Act 2025 database provisions are in force.
• 2 October 2026: Release-day check against legislation.gov.uk, the UK Parliament statutory instruments tracker, GOV.UK and the Housing Hub. The draft regulations have not been made or approved, the database provisions are still not in force, and the government guidance is unchanged. Status dates updated.