Landlord Details Hidden Until Winter 2027: £65 Register Guide

Landlords handing their home addresses and dates of birth to the government’s new landlord register have been told none of it will be publicly visible before winter 2027. But ministers still will not say which details tenants will eventually be able to see, or whether your home address will be one of them.

The assurance came in a written parliamentary answer from housing minister Matthew Pennycook on 30 October 2026, the day after the government published its step-by-step guidance for the “Register your rental property” service. Registration opens in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and rolls across England region by region.

It affects every private landlord letting homes in England. Here is what stays private, what could go public, what you must hand over and what it costs.

What the minister actually said

Conservative MP Mark Garnier tabled two written questions on 26 October 2026. One asked whether the department plans to keep landlords’ residential addresses off the public side of the Private Rented Sector Database (UIN 38198). The other asked when further guidance on publicly accessible information would appear (UIN 38194).

Both got the same answer on 30 October. Mr Pennycook said information submitted to the service “will not be publicly visible before winter 2027”, and that “future legislation will set out which landlord and property records will be publicly accessible” when the public-facing service launches at a later date.

After that, tenants will be able to see “certain necessary and proportionate information” about landlords and properties, to help them check whether key legal requirements are being met. The government says it will “carefully balance the benefits of transparency with landlords’ privacy rights, safety concerns, and data protection requirements”.

The legal power sits in section 86 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which lets the Secretary of State decide by regulations what information in active landlord and property entries is made public, and in what form. Those regulations have not been laid.

Separately, when the regulations setting up registration were debated in a Commons committee on 28 October, shadow housing minister Gareth Bacon said landlords “have no ability to verify and validate data on a portfolio basis” and “no access controls nor an audit trail for data uploads, changes or deletions”. Mr Pennycook said bulk uploads were not workable but the government was looking at integrating larger landlords’ systems. The committee approved the draft regulations.

What is private now and what could be public later

Right now the gov.uk guidance is blunt: “Currently your landlord and property information will not be shared publicly.” But the same page warns that “in the future, some information about you and your rental property may be viewable to the public”.

Under section 86(2) of the Act, the database operator must give access to councils (local housing authorities), trading standards (local weights and measures authorities), lead enforcement authorities, mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority. Anything else needs regulations, and section 87 makes it a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly disclose restricted information unlawfully.

Bear in mind some ownership details are already public. HM Land Registry lets anyone in England and Wales buy a title register showing who owns a property. And under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 you must already give your tenants an address in England and Wales where notices can be served.

Who must register and your regional deadline

If you are a private landlord renting out a property in England that is occupied by tenants on an assured or regulated tenancy, you must register yourself and the property. That includes companies, charities, trusts and LLPs. The only listed exception is supported exempt accommodation as defined by the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.

Joint owners must each register as landlords. One registers the property and invites the others, and that applies even if you own a share and are not named on the tenancy agreement. An HMO is one registration for the whole building, not one per room.

During the rollout (15 December 2026 to 14 November 2027) you only have to register properties that are let, or become let. Later legislation will require empty properties to be registered before they are marketed.

You can register before your region opens: a landlord with flats in Birmingham and Bristol can do both on 15 December 2026.

Exactly what information you must hand over

You sign up with GOV.UK One Login, with the option of verifying your identity. If you are not online, a paper application is available. The draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 list what goes in.

• Individual landlords: name, date of birth, residential address, phone number and email.
• Organisations: name, entity type, address (not a PO Box), contacts and Companies House or charity number. Without a Companies House number, every director’s or trustee’s name, date of birth and address.
• Each property: address, ownership type, dwelling type, bedrooms, whether it is let, and your name with a correspondence address in England or Wales (not a PO Box) and an email for that property. Plus names and emails of any freeholder, superior landlord or property manager.
• Within 28 days of registering a let property: number of occupants and households, any HMO, additional or selective licence numbers, gas safety record (if there is gas), EICR or EIC, EPC (and any MEES exemption), rent and frequency, bills included, and whether it is furnished.

After that, you must update anything that changes or expires within 28 days. Updates are free.

Using an agent? You must start each property registration and pay. You can then send the agent a link to add tenancy and certificate details, and you get notified of what it submits. But you stay legally responsible for the record being complete.

The £65 fee, penalties and our registration checker

The annual fee is £65 per property, with no VAT. Registering yourself as a landlord is free, and the fee is tax-deductible. Every property you add shares the renewal date of your first one.

During the rollout the first fee is pro-rated so that no-one pays for any day before 15 November 2027. MHCLG’s formula is (£65 ÷ days in the year) × (days to renewal − days before 15 November 2027), rounded down to the penny.

Under section 91 of the Act, the maximum civil penalty is £7,000 for breaching the registration and advertising duties, and £40,000 where a section 92 offence is committed: knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information, carrying on a breach more than 28 days after a penalty, or a further breach within five years. Those offences can instead be prosecuted, with a fine on conviction.

There is more. Section 90 bars a court from making a possession order while a landlord is in breach of the registration duty, except on the antisocial behaviour grounds (Grounds 7A and 14). And from 15 December 2026, once their region’s window opens, tenants can seek rent repayment orders for false information or continuing or repeated breaches.

How to protect your privacy: checklist

You cannot keep your home address from the service if you register as an individual: the draft regulations require it. What you can do is control what else you hand over and be ready when the public rules are published.

• Decide your correspondence address for each property. The draft regulations require one in England or Wales that is not a PO Box; they do not say it must be your home address.
• Make it match the address for service you have given tenants under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, so notices go to one place.
• Use a dedicated email address and phone number for your lettings rather than personal ones.
• Store any agent property links and passwords securely: anyone with both can edit that property’s record, and you cannot reset the password yourself.
• Keep your own log of what you submit and when, with screenshots. The service offers no portfolio audit trail.
• Check every notification of data your agent submits: you are liable for false or misleading information.
• If safety is a concern (for example, you have been harassed or threatened), raise it in writing with MHCLG now, citing the minister’s commitment to weigh “safety concerns”.
• Read MHCLG’s promised privacy notice and its updates, and respond to any consultation on the future public-access legislation.

What to do now: step by step

1. Find your region. Check each property’s council against the regional table above and note the deadline.
2. Set up GOV.UK One Login. Every joint owner needs their own landlord registration.
3. Gather certificates now. Gas safety record, EICR or EIC, EPC, licence numbers, current rent and occupant numbers for each property. Renew anything about to expire.
4. Agree roles with your agent in writing: what they submit, by when, and who checks it.
5. Register early in your window. It leaves time to fix problems before the deadline.
6. Finish each record within 28 days. Incomplete records can be deactivated, which can leave you in breach.
7. Diary your renewal date. All properties renew together, a year after your first registration.

FAQ

Will my home address be public on the landlord database?

Not before winter 2027. After that it depends on future legislation, which has not been published. The minister has not ruled home addresses in or out.

How much does it cost to register a rental property in England?

£65 per property per year, with no VAT. During the rollout your first fee is pro-rated, for example £5.34 per property if you register on 15 December 2026. Registering yourself as a landlord is free.

Can my letting agent register for me?

No. You must start each registration and pay. Your agent can then add tenancy and safety details through a link you send, but you remain responsible.

What is the fine for not registering on the PRS Database?

Up to £7,000 per penalty. Giving false or misleading information, continuing a breach after a penalty or repeating it within five years can lead to a penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution.

Do landlords in Wales or Scotland need to register on this database?

No. The Register your rental property service covers privately let properties in England only.