Landlord register in England: when your area opens, what it costs and what you need

In England, landlords of properties let on an assured or regulated tenancy must register themselves and each rental property on the Register your rental property service. GOV.UK, in guidance published on 29 October 2026, says registration opens region by region from 15 December 2026. The annual fee is £65 per property. It is not subject to VAT, and it is reduced while the rollout is under way. This is general information, not legal advice.

When does registration open in my area?

Each region has a three-month registration period. You must register occupied properties in that region by the end date. You can register a property before its region's start date. You must not register it after the region's end date. GOV.UK says to use the property's postcode and its list of regions and councils if you are unsure which row applies. The end date is before midnight.

• West Midlands: 15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027
• East of England: 15 January 2027 to 14 April 2027
• East Midlands: 15 February 2027 to 14 May 2027
• South East: 15 March 2027 to 14 June 2027
• Yorkshire and Humberside: 15 April 2027 to 14 July 2027
• North West: 15 May 2027 to 14 August 2027
• North East: 15 June 2027 to 14 September 2027
• London: 15 July 2027 to 14 October 2027
• South West: 15 August 2027 to 14 November 2027

Two November 2027 dates do different jobs, and both are on the GOV.UK page. The South West window ends before midnight on 14 November 2027. Separately, the fee calculation disregards days before 15 November 2027, which GOV.UK calls the date from which all landlords will be required to be registered.

During the rollout, from 15 December 2026 to 14 November 2027, you only have to register properties that are currently let, or that become let in that period. Later, unoccupied properties will have to be registered before they are marketed. Including landlord and property numbers in adverts is also described as a future requirement. GOV.UK says it will update the guidance before that requirement starts. You can include the numbers before then.

Who has to register?

The duty covers private landlords in England, including organisations, who rent out a property occupied on an assured or regulated tenancy. You do not have to register a tenancy that falls within supported exempt accommodation under section 12 of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

An individual landlord is someone letting alone, as a sole trader, or in a partnership. If more than one person is a landlord, each landlord registers. One of them registers the property and invites the others. That includes someone who owns part of the property and is entitled to possession, even if they are not named on the tenancy. Companies, charities, trusts, limited liability partnerships and Scottish partnerships register as organisations. Members of an English business partnership register as individuals and follow the joint-landlord steps.

You register with GOV.UK One Login, and you can choose to verify your identity. If you cannot use the online service, GOV.UK says you can use a paper application. For an HMO with a licence, you make one registration for the whole property, not one per room.

You must start the registration. The legal duty stays with you even if an agent manages the property. Once the property has a registration number and is occupied, you can ask a letting or managing agent to add tenancy and health-and-safety information. A third party may register in limited cases, such as where the landlord has died or is incapacitated, or where a mortgage lender is taking possession under a court order of an unregistered property. Unless that third party has become the legal landlord, you remain responsible.

How much does it cost?

The annual fee is £65 per property, with no VAT. You pay it when you register each property, and then each year to keep the property on the service. There is no fee for registering yourself as a landlord, and no fee for updating a landlord or property record. GOV.UK says the fee is tax-deductible and points landlords to HMRC guidance. This article does not calculate the tax relief.

Every property you register shares one renewal date: one year after you registered your first property. A second property registered two months later renews on the same day as the first.

The only worked examples GOV.UK gives

During the rollout the fee is pro-rated because some landlords register earlier than others. Days before 15 November 2027 are treated as free days. GOV.UK's formula is (fee / year length) times (remaining days minus free days), and any third decimal place is rounded down. This article does not invent other examples.

• Register on 15 December 2026 and the first renewal is 15 December 2027. GOV.UK's figures are a £65 fee, a 365-day year and 335 free days, which comes to £5.34.
• Register on 25 June 2027 and the first renewal is 25 June 2028. GOV.UK's figures are a £65 fee, a 366-day year and 143 free days, which comes to £39.60.

What documents will I need?

To register a property, GOV.UK says you provide the address and details such as the number of bedrooms and whether it is currently let, a correspondence address in England or Wales, and contact details for any managing agent, superior landlord and freeholder. You then pay and receive a rental property number.

You are also asked for evidence of a gas safety certificate if the property has gas, an electrical safety certificate, an Energy Performance Certificate, tenancy information including the rent, and any licences such as an HMO licence. You can send those with the property details, or within 28 days. If the outstanding information is still missing after 28 days, the property registration may be deactivated. If you have no active properties, your landlord registration is deactivated as well. You must update anything that changes or expires within 28 days, including safety certificates and whether the property is occupied.

What happens if you do not register?

GOV.UK says you may face a penalty of up to £7,000 for failing to register yourself and your property, and up to £40,000 for knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information, or for continuing or repeated breaches of certain requirements. The local authority can enforce the rules. Landlords with a live banning order may not be allowed to register, depending on the order.

From 15 December 2026, tenants can apply for a rent repayment order where a landlord has knowingly or recklessly given false or misleading information, or has committed continuing or repeated breaches of certain requirements. An order is only available once the registration period for the area the property is in has opened. GOV.UK points to section 98 of the Renters' Rights Act for the detail. The First-tier Tribunal considers applications.

Can tenants check if a landlord is registered?

Not at the moment. GOV.UK says landlord and property information will not currently be shared publicly. It also says that in future some information may be viewable by the public, and that a privacy notice will be updated before any change in how data is used or shared. No date is given for a public search.

A 10-minute checklist before your region opens

• Match the property's council to the region table above. If you have homes in more than one region, you can register them together, as long as none is registered after its own end date.
• List which homes are actually let. During the rollout, empty homes are not yet in scope.
• Gather the gas, electrical and EPC evidence, the tenancy and rent details, and any HMO or other licence. You have 28 days after registration to fill gaps, but a deactivated record can put you in breach.
• Decide who will press submit. An agent can help with the tenancy and safety information after you have started. They do not take the legal duty off you.
• Read the Renters' Rights changes that are already in force, then use the deadline diary if you want a reminder before 15 December 2026.

What we do not know yet

• When unoccupied properties must be registered before marketing, and when advert numbers become mandatory. GOV.UK says both are future rules and that the guidance will be updated first.
• When, if ever, tenants will be able to search the register. The page says the data is not public now and gives no date.
• The exact paper-form process. GOV.UK says paper applications will be available when the service is live.
• Anything about Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. This guidance applies to England.