PRS database registration: a landlord-agent handover checklist

For England's PRS database, which GOV.UK calls the Register your rental property service, the landlord starts registration and pays the property fee. A letting or managing agent can help supply specified tenancy, licensing and safety information, but the landlord remains responsible for completing the registration. The agent is responsible for the accuracy of information they submit.

Those roles come from government guidance published on 29 October 2026. Agree who will supply each record before the service opens, then record who will check the submission and chase anything missing.

England only. Sources checked 4 November 2026. Regional registration begins on 15 December 2026, and the guidance did not describe the service as live when we checked. This is a preparation guide based on that guidance. It does not interpret the legislation or regulations behind it, it is not legal advice, and it cannot confirm that a particular tenancy complies.

Agree who does what

Do not assume an existing management contract covers this new task; check it. The agent feature is voluntary, so ask whether the agent will use it and what information they will maintain. The landlord guidance describes delegating once the landlord has the property registration number and the property is occupied. The landlord will need an email address for the agency to send the property link to.

• Landlord registration: the landlord registers. The agent can explain what records to prepare, but do not substitute shared login credentials.
• Starting a property registration: the landlord starts it and provides property and contact details. The agent can supply verified property information for the landlord to use.
• Paying the registration fee: the landlord pays. Agree any administrative support without assuming the agent takes over responsibility.
• Tenancy and licensing details: the landlord remains responsible for these reaching the record. The agent can provide the permitted fields through the property-specific link.
• Safety-certificate information: the landlord remains responsible for a complete record. The agent can supply the relevant certificates and their dates.
• Changes and expiry: the landlord must keep information up to date. The agent can update the delegated sections and tell the landlord what changed.

The agent guidance says landlords receive a notification of data an agent submits. Use that notification as a prompt to check the record, rather than assuming that an upload resolves every outstanding item.

Joint ownership and organisational landlords need a separate check. The landlord guidance says each joint landlord must register, with one registering the property and inviting the others. Members of English business partnerships register as individuals and follow the joint-landlord route; limited liability partnerships and Scottish partnerships register as organisations. A part-owner entitled to possession must register as a joint landlord even if not named on the tenancy agreement. Confirm the right route before creating records, and seek advice if ownership, authority or tenancy status is unclear.

Find the property's regional registration window

Use the property's location, not the landlord's home or the agent's office. GOV.UK says to use the property's postcode to check the relevant council, and links to a list of councils by region.

These dates reproduce the table in the landlord guidance. Each period ends before midnight on the end date.

• 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

The landlord guidance says properties can be registered before their region's start date, so a landlord with properties in several regions can register them together, provided none is registered after its region's end date. That only helps once the service is available to you.

Check which properties are in scope

The two official pages do not word the rollout scope identically. The landlord page refers to properties occupied by tenants on an assured or regulated tenancy, and says that during the rollout you only have to register properties currently under let, or which become let during that period. The agent page refers to properties let under an assured periodic or regulated tenancy at the region's registration deadline, or which become let after it.

Both pages exclude tenancies within the statutory meaning of supported exempt accommodation. We have not tried to reconcile the remaining differences. If a property is empty, changes between occupied and unoccupied around a deadline, or has an unusual occupancy arrangement, record the dates and ask the service or a housing-law adviser rather than relying on the regional end date or on this article. These dates do not apply to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Prepare one property handover record

Use the record below as an internal working list. It combines information the service asks for with practical handover controls. It is not an official application form or an exhaustive statement of legal duties.

Keep personal details and document files in an access-controlled location. In the working record, note a reference to the evidence rather than copying identity documents or credentials into a widely shared spreadsheet.

• Landlord identity and capacity (landlord): correct individual, joint-landlord or organisation details. Check who must register and who has authority to act.
• Property identity (landlord, with agent support): address, bedrooms and current rental status. Check it identifies the correct property or unit.
• Contact details (landlord): correspondence address in England or Wales, plus any managing agent, superior landlord and freeholder contacts. Check they are current.
• Tenancy information (agent if agreed): tenant and household counts, furnishing status, rent and included bills. Check the figures match the current letting rather than an old listing.
• Licensing (named owner): relevant HMO, additional or selective licence details. Check the evidence is current and for this property, and flag unresolved applicability.
• Gas safety (named document holder): certificate if the property has a gas supply. Check the property, readability and dates.
• Electrical safety (named document holder): EICR or EIC as requested by the service. Check the document and dates, and flag unresolved issues.
• Energy performance (named document holder): EPC. Check it is the correct property and a current record.
• Payment and registration (landlord): receipt, property number and registration date. Record the completion deadline and outstanding fields.
• Final confirmation (landlord; agent confirms their entries): submitted record and notifications. Check required information is complete, discrepancies are resolved and evidence is retained.

A database submission does not replace separate safety, repair or licensing duties.

Keep missing and disputed items in an exception log

Do not mark an item complete because someone says they have the document. Record whether they have supplied it and whether the named checker has accepted the information.

For each gap, log the property reference, who holds the item, when it was last checked, what is missing or disputed, the next action and its owner, the due date, and the evidence reference or date that closes it.

If landlord and agent disagree about a figure, preserve the question and its sources. Ask the appropriate person to resolve it before submission. Do not guess a licence status or certificate date to remove an outstanding task.

Keep the two 28-day clocks separate

The landlord guidance describes two different requirements:

• Completing outstanding information: provide what remains within 28 days of registering the property.
• Updating changed or expired information: update within 28 days of the change or expiry itself.

The first clock does not start when your agent next checks their inbox. The landlord remains responsible for completing the record within 28 days of registering, even after delegating information entry.

The official pages describe the consequence differently. The landlord page says a property registration may be deactivated if outstanding information is not provided within 28 days, which may breach the requirement to have an active registration. The agent page says the registration will become inactive and that the landlord may breach their legal duties. Plan on the stricter reading: treat day 28 as a hard deadline, and do not treat a property number as confirmation that the task is finished.

For the update clock, record the actual change or expiry date. An internal handover delay does not create a fresh period. Set a team deadline before the official one so someone has time to resolve rejected or incomplete information.

An information-update period is not permission to leave a safety problem unresolved. Deal with the underlying issue under the applicable safety obligations and professional advice, as well as updating the record.

The landlord guidance also lists penalties of up to £7,000 for failing to register, and up to £40,000 for knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information or for continuing or repeated breaches of certain requirements. Local authorities may take enforcement action, and the guidance says tenants may be able to apply for Rent Repayment Orders on the false-information and repeated-breach grounds once the registration period for their area opens. These are further reasons to record who checked what, and to ask for advice on a specific case.

Budget for the fee without assuming a full launch-year charge

The landlord guidance states an annual fee of £65 per property, not subject to VAT. It says landlord registration and record updates carry no charge.

During the rollout, the fee is pro-rated to disregard any days before 15 November 2027. The guidance also says all properties you register share a renewal date, one year from when you registered your first property. Do not multiply the headline annual fee by the number of properties and present that as a confirmed initial bill.

Use the official calculation and the service's payment details for the actual registration dates. Save the receipt, renewal date and the name of the person responsible for the next payment. This checklist does not calculate a fee or give tax advice.

Protect the agent's property access links

The agent receives a unique link for each property and sets a password on first use. The agent guidance says anyone in the agency with the link and password can update that property's record.

Agree who may use that access and where the agency will store it. Keep links and passwords out of general email chains and the handover record. Do not share the landlord's GOV.UK One Login credentials as a substitute for the delegated route.

The guidance says agents cannot reset these passwords themselves. For a new password, the landlord must cancel the access link and send a new one. Include that procedure in your response to staff departures, suspected exposure or a change of managing agent.

Keep future advertising requirements separate

As at 4 November 2026, the official pages describe registering unoccupied properties before marketing, and including landlord and rental-property numbers in adverts, as future requirements. The landlord page says government will update the guidance before the number requirement takes effect.

Prepare a place for those identifiers in your records, but do not tell colleagues that all current adverts already require them. Recheck the official guidance before changing advertising procedures.

Your next handover meeting

• Confirm the property's region, tenancy status and registration route.
• Agree whether the agent will provide information and maintain updates.
• Name a supplier and checker for each evidence item.
• Give missing items an owner and a due date.
• Record the registration date, update triggers and renewal arrangements separately.
• Recheck official guidance before registration and get professional advice for unresolved cases.