Will I have to register, and what will it ask for?
Short answer: yes. If you let residential property in England you will need an entry on the new Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database, and once the requirement is switched on you will not be able to market or let a home without one. The reassuring part is that most of what it asks for is information you already hold. The work is finding it, checking the dates are still current, and keeping it in one place.
Here is what the database is set to cover, and the exact certificate dates worth collecting now so registration takes minutes rather than a lost weekend.
What the PRS database is, and when it lands
The database comes from the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The main tenancy reforms, including the abolition of Section 21 "no fault" evictions, commenced on 1 May 2026 and moved all tenancies to a single periodic type.
The database itself is being built and brought in through secondary legislation, so at the time of writing (1 July 2026) it is not yet open for registration. Treat that gap as free preparation time. Check gov.uk's Renters' Rights Act guidance for the confirmed go-live date and field list before you register.
Two records sit at the centre of it:
- A landlord entry, about you as the person or company letting property.
- A dwelling entry, one record per let home, with its compliance details.
The precise fields are set by regulations rather than the Act, so the final list may shift. What follows is the shape landlords should plan around.
What you'll need to register
About you (the landlord entry)
- Your name, or for a company the registered name and number.
- A correspondence address and contact details.
- Whether a letting agent manages the property for you.
- Any enforcement action a council has recorded against you, such as a banning order or financial penalty. You do not type this in yourself, it is linked to your record, but it is worth knowing it can surface.
About each property (the dwelling entry)
This is where dates matter. Expect to give the address and show that the home meets its safety and energy duties. The documents below are the ones to pull together now.
| Document | Typical renewal cycle | Date to record | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) | Up to 10 years | Issue date, expiry, current band | The EPC register |
| Gas Safety Record (CP12) | 12 months | Issue date | Latest annual certificate |
| Electrical safety report (EICR) | 5 years | Inspection date and next-due date | The report itself |
| Deposit protection | Per tenancy | Date protected, scheme, prescribed-information date | Your deposit scheme account |
| Selective or HMO licence | Set by council, often 5 years | Licence number and expiry | Local council licensing team |
| Right to Rent check | Per tenancy | Date of check | Your tenancy file |
One EPC note to diary now: a minimum band C has been proposed for new tenancies by 2028 and for all tenancies by 2030. If a property sits at band D or below, record that alongside the expiry so you plan the upgrade, not just the renewal.
A worked example: three properties, one diary
Say you hold three lets. Pull each certificate, write down the issue date, and add the renewal cycle to work out the next due date. Here is that maths done for a sample portfolio.
| Property | Certificate | Issued | Next due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds flat | Gas Safety | 14 Mar 2026 | 13 Mar 2027 |
| Leeds flat | EICR | 20 Sep 2023 | 19 Sep 2028 |
| Leeds flat | EPC (band D) | 2 Jun 2019 | 1 Jun 2029 |
| Sheffield terrace | Gas Safety | 5 Nov 2025 | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Sheffield terrace | EICR | 12 Jun 2022 | 11 Jun 2027 |
| Nottingham HMO | Gas Safety | 1 Aug 2025 | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Nottingham HMO | HMO licence | 1 May 2022 | 30 Apr 2027 |
Read down the "next due" column and the order of action is obvious. The Nottingham HMO gas safety expires 31 July 2026, so that is the first booking to make, followed by the Sheffield gas record in November 2026. The Leeds flat is compliant on safety but its band D EPC needs an upgrade plan well before the 2030 all-tenancies deadline, not the 2029 expiry. Ten minutes with the certificates turns a vague worry into three dated jobs.
Why the dates matter more than the documents
Registration is expected to require a valid, active entry, which means an out-of-date certificate could block you from marketing a property or from relying on the entry when you need it. A gas record that lapsed last month is not a paperwork nuisance in that world, it is a locked front door.
That is why the single most useful thing to do before the database opens is build a dated list of every certificate and its expiry, property by property. A portfolio tracker (Padlord holds each certificate's expiry and nudges you before it lapses) does this, and so does a well-kept spreadsheet with a reminder column. The tool matters less than having the dates in one place and in front of you.
Your before-it-opens checklist
- Gather every EPC, Gas Safety Record, EICR and licence for each property.
- Write down the issue date and next-due date for each, using the cycles above.
- Flag any EPC below band C for an upgrade plan, separate from its expiry.
- Confirm your deposit protection dates and prescribed-information dates per tenancy.
- Note your correspondence details and any managing agent, ready for the landlord entry.
- Bookmark gov.uk's Renters' Rights Act guidance and check it for the confirmed launch date and final field list.
Do this once and registration becomes a copy-and-paste exercise. Leave it and you risk hunting for a missing certificate on the day you most want to advertise a void.
This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Dates and requirements can change, so confirm the current position on gov.uk before you act.
