The PRS Database: How to Check Your Landlord (When It Launches)

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is a new national register of all private landlords and their rental properties in England. It was established by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and will be the first compulsory national landlord register in England.

Every private landlord will be required to register each of their rental properties on the database before letting them to tenants. The database will be operated by a government body and will create a single, searchable source of truth about who owns and manages rental properties.

This is fundamentally different from existing voluntary landlord registers or local council licensing schemes. The PRS Database is national, compulsory, and carries significant penalties for non-compliance. Think of it as the rental equivalent of the Land Registry, but focused on landlord compliance rather than property ownership.

Until the PRS Database launches, you can use our landlord check tool to verify your landlord's compliance with existing requirements such as EPC certificates, gas safety, and deposit protection.

The PRS Database will hold detailed information about both the landlord and the property:

Landlord information:

Property information:

The government has said tenants will be able to search the database by property address to check if a landlord is registered and compliant. This will help tenants make informed decisions before signing a tenancy agreement.

The government has indicated a regional rollout starting in late 2026, with national coverage following in stages. An exact launch date has not been confirmed yet.

The rollout is expected to work like this:

1. Pilot phase (late 2026): Selected regions will be the first to require landlord registration

2. Expansion phase (2027): Additional regions added

3. National coverage: All private landlords in England required to register

Landlords will be given a notice period to register once their region goes live. The registration process will be online and is expected to cost a modest annual fee (the exact amount has not been confirmed, but the government has said it will be affordable).

We will update our PRS Database page as soon as the launch date is confirmed and the system is accessible. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when it goes live.

Landlords who fail to register on the PRS Database face serious consequences:

• Civil penalties: Local councils will be able to impose fines on unregistered landlords
• Cannot serve Section 8 notices: An unregistered landlord will not be able to use Section 8 to recover possession of the property
• Rent repayment orders: Tenants can apply for a rent repayment order of up to 24 months' rent if their landlord has failed to register
• Cannot increase rent: An unregistered landlord will not be able to serve a valid Section 13 rent increase notice

This creates a strong incentive for compliance. A landlord who does not register essentially loses all their enforcement tools while remaining liable to pay back up to two years of rent.

If you discover your landlord is not registered once the database is live, report it to your local council and consider applying for a rent repayment order. Our landlord check tool will integrate with the PRS Database as soon as it is available.

The PRS Database is designed to empower tenants with information. You will be able to:

• Search by address: Enter any rental property address to check if it is registered
• Verify landlord identity: Confirm that the person claiming to be the landlord is actually registered as the landlord of that property
• Check compliance: See whether the property has a valid EPC, gas safety certificate, and other required documentation
• View enforcement history: Check if the landlord has any banning orders, civil penalties, or rent repayment orders against them

This will be particularly useful when choosing a new rental. Before signing a tenancy agreement, you can verify that the landlord is registered and compliant. It will also help identify rental scams, since a scammer will not be listed as the registered landlord of the property.

Combine the PRS Database with our property check to get a comprehensive picture of both the property and the landlord before committing to a tenancy.

For local councils, the PRS Database is a powerful enforcement tool:

• Identify non-compliant landlords without relying on tenant complaints
• Proactive inspections targeted at properties flagged as high-risk
• Cross-reference with council tax, HMO licensing, and planning records to find unlicensed HMOs and unregistered landlords
• Track repeat offenders nationally rather than just within a single local authority area

The government has committed £18.2 million in enforcement funding for 2025/26 to help councils prepare for the new regime. This includes hiring enforcement officers, upgrading IT systems, and building capacity for the PRS Database rollout.

Councils with existing selective licensing schemes will be able to integrate their data with the national database, reducing duplication for landlords who are already licensed locally.