Landlords will be required by law to sign up to a new rental property register or face fines.
The government has announced the new landlord registration service as part of the next phase of the Renters’ Rights Act reforms.
The rollout will be launched on 15 December and will require current landlords to register as a legal requirement – with those that don’t at risk of being fined up to £7,000.
Initially this will only apply to landlords with properties under let, or which become occupied during rollout.
However, under future legislation, landlords will also be required to register any unoccupied properties before marketing them for let.
Letting agents and landlords will need to include registration numbers on adverts.
Meanwhile prospective landlords will also need to register in the future, and tenants will be able to see who has signed up.
The new initiative aims to “create a fairer market for landlords” by helping good property owners demonstrate strong standards, while stopping rogue landlords from undercutting them.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said: “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 and help councils enforce our transformative Renters’ Rights Act.”
Rollout will begin in the West Midlands and onto other areas over the next 12 months.
When an area becomes eligible to register, landlords with properties in that region will have a three-month period to sign up. All landlords actively letting property will need to have registered by 14 November 2027.
Commenting on the announcement, property dispute partner at Payne Hicks Beach law firm, Scott Goldstein, noted the challenges this service poses to landlords and the renters market.
He said: “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.”
