Government launches private rental registration service

The government has given outline details of a new national landlord registration service.

In a statement today it says the database will “gradually roll out region by region from December” and will give councils access to information “to help them spot rogue landlords and take quicker action.”

 In the future, prospective landlords will also need to register, and tenants will be able to see whether their landlord or prospective landlord has signed up.

In addition, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Valuation Office will become responsible for decisions on challenges to rent increases in England, helping people resolve rent disputes more quickly.  

While the government develops these reforms, renters who want to challenge a rent increase must still apply to the First-tier Tribunal. 

If they do, they will not have to pay the higher rent until the Tribunal has made its final decision.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook says:  “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 and help councils enforce our transformative Renters’ Rights Act.”

And the government says this is what landlords need to know:

• Landlords in each region across England will be gradually asked to sign up to the new register. It will be a legal requirement and risks a fine if not completed;

• These requirements initially only apply to landlords with properties under let, or which become occupied during rollout. Under future legislation, as the government rolls out the public interface, 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;

• It will launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and onto other areas over 12 months;

• When an area is called forward to register, landlords with properties in the region will have a three-month period to sign up.  All landlords actively letting property will need to have registered by 14 November 2027.

This article is taken from Landlord Today