BREAKING: Landlord register to launch in December

Landlords in England will be required to sign up to a new national registration service under the next phase of the Renters’ Rights Act.

The register launches on 15 December this year, staring in the West Midlands before rolling out to other regions in the following year.

All landlords actively letting property must be registered by 14 November 2027.

Registration will be a legal requirement, with landlords facing a fine if they fail to complete it.

When an area is called forward, landlords in that region will have a three-month window to sign up.

The requirements initially only apply to landlords with properties under let, or which become occupied during the rollout.

Unoccupied properties

Under future legislation, landlords will also be required to register unoccupied properties before marketing them.

Both letting agents and landlords will need to include registration numbers on adverts.

At the same time, HMRC will take over responsibility for decisions on challenges to rent increases in England.

While the reforms are developed, tenants seeking to challenge an increase must still apply to the First-tier Tribunal. They will not have to pay the higher rent until a final decision is made.

We will ensure that challenges to proposed rent increases are determined faster and pressure on the tribunal system is reduced.”

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said:  “By transferring responsibility for making initial rent determinations to HMRC’s Valuation Office, we will ensure that challenges to proposed rent increases are determined faster and pressure on the tribunal system is reduced, giving tenants and landlords confidence that rent disputes will continue to be resolved efficiently and effectively.

“Rollout of a national landlord registration service is an important first step toward establishing our new innovative database of private rented sector properties which will empower tenants, support responsible landlords.”

Industry reaction

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “Letting agents have a crucial role in supporting landlords through the registration process. They can signpost clients to the service and, in time, will need to ensure registration numbers are included in property listings. Where agreed with the landlord, agents will also be able to upload health and safety information and certificates on their behalf.

“While it is helpful to have the rollout dates in advance, the UK Government’s decision to limit active registration to landlords does not reflect the management arrangements used across the sector. Requiring each landlord to make a separate entry could create unnecessary delays and discourage timely action.

“Letting agents will be central to making the service work in practice. We need clear guidance, as soon as possible, on what agents can and cannot do to support their landlord clients.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), says: “While the timetable provides some much-needed certainty, we remain concerned that the private rented sector database will become little more than a national directory for councils, missing a major opportunity to deliver a system that will help raise standards across the market.

“Rather than just a list of local landlords, the database should be a genuine compliance tool that helps tenants and councils check that homes meet required standards, while enabling responsible landlords to demonstrate that they are meeting their obligations.

“Instead of simply requiring landlords to upload documents, the database should make intelligent use of existing data to verify compliance and ownership. Done properly, it could give tenants confidence, help councils target enforcement and make landlord compliance easier to verify.

“In rushing to launch a stripped-back minimum viable product, the Government risks building the database quickly rather than building it properly.

“There is also a real risk of duplication. In many parts of the country landlords already pay for local licensing schemes which collect much of the same information. The Government needs to explain how these systems will work together – compliant landlords should not have to pay twice to provide the same information.”

These hefty penalties may well drive more and more small private landlords out of the market

Scott Goldstein, Property Disputes Partner of Payne Hicks Beach, says: “The scheme will run parallel with existing registration schemes such as selective licensing (where they apply), making it theoretically possible for the landlord to be liable for multiple fines of up to £7,000 each for a single property if he or she fails to register for more than one scheme.

“These hefty penalties may well drive more and more small private landlords out of the market. This drop in rental stock is likely to result in further upward pressure on rents in the short term – presumably the opposite outcome intended by the Government.

“The changes make it all the more important that landlords are properly protected by their managing agents, which makes it disappointing that the proposals to better regulate managing agents are far from being finalised, let alone implemented.”

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