Propertymark supports a national system—but it must be workable
We have long supported the principle of a national landlord and property register to help professional agents and responsible landlords demonstrate compliance and support councils to focus their resources on cases that present the greatest risk.
It should be centrally developed and operated, while allowing local authorities to access information and carry out enforcement. We have also called for registration numbers to be required before advertising and for the system to connect with the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents.
However, the database must not simply duplicate information already submitted through local licensing schemes or held on other government-approved systems, as this risks increasing workload and fees without necessarily improving standards. The interaction between the database, unique identifiers, property advertising, and the new Landlord Ombudsman must be clearly understood, and the legislation and supporting technology must be workable and based on evidence from those who will use it
The database must also support, rather than replace, effective local enforcement. Landlords who deliberately operate outside the law may not register at all or could submit false documents. Councils will still need sufficient staff, resources and investigatory capacity to identify them. At the same time, enforcement should help landlords and agents who are actively trying to comply and correct genuine mistakes, while stronger penalties can be issued against deliberate and repeated breaches.
What is currently known
All landlords of assured and regulated tenancies will be required to register themselves and their properties. Registration will be mandatory, and landlords will pay an annual fee. The amount has not yet been confirmed.
Subject to regulations and parliamentary approval, the UK Government expects the database to include, as a minimum:
- contact details for the landlord and any joint landlords
- the full property address and information such as the property type, number of bedrooms and occupation status
- gas safety, electrical safety and Energy Performance Certificate information.
The UK Government plans to enable public access and wider data sharing after the landlord registration has launched. It is still deciding exactly which information tenants and other users will be able to see.
The database is intended to provide landlords with a single place to access guidance and demonstrate compliance. Tenants should be able to check relevant information before renting, while local authorities should gain a more consistent data source to support enforcement.
Registration will become a pre-marketing requirement
Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, a person must not market a property unless there is an active entry for both the landlord and the property. Written advertisements will also need to include the unique identifiers allocated to the landlord and dwelling. This means database status is likely to become a core part of an agent’s instruction and property-listing process.
An agent or landlord who advertises or lets an unregistered property could receive a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Repeated breaches or serious offences, including providing fraudulent information, could result in a penalty of up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution. Registration will also affect a landlord’s ability to obtain a possession order, except where specified anti-social behaviour grounds apply.
Although registration is primarily a landlord responsibility, agents will not be able to treat it solely as a matter for their client. The legal restriction applies to the person marketing the property, creating a direct compliance risk for any agent who proceeds without checking that the necessary entries are active.
What could this mean in practice?
New onboarding checks
Agents are likely to need evidence that both the landlord and property are registered before accepting or activating an instruction. Processes may need to record the registration identifiers, the date the status was checked and who carried out the check.
It will be important for the system to make clear what happens when an entry expires, is suspended or contains information that is being corrected. Agents will need a reliable way to confirm that an entry remains active, rather than relying on a registration number supplied at the start of the relationship.
More information before marketing
Agents may need to collect and verify more information at an earlier stage. This could include details of all joint owners, company or trust structures, property occupation and current safety documentation.
Where information is missing or inconsistent, marketing may have to be delayed. Clear rules will therefore be needed on the minimum information required before advertising and what can reasonably be added later.
Changes to property advertising
Unique landlord and property identifiers to appear in written advertisements. Agency websites, customer relationship management systems, property portals and other advertising feeds will need suitable fields to hold and transfer them.
The system will also need to deal with properties marketed by more than one agent. The agent instructed to advertise the property may not be the agent who secures the tenant or manages the eventual tenancy.
Ongoing record management
The regulations will establish requirements for making and updating entries, meaning registration is unlikely to be a one-off exercise. Changes of ownership, managing agent, contact details, property status and safety documentation may all need to be reflected on the database.
Agents will need clarity on who is responsible for each update, how quickly it must be completed and what happens where the landlord does not respond.
Authority to act for landlords
Propertymark is part of the Lettings Industry Council (LIC), which has called for authorised agents to be able to enter information and upload documents on behalf of landlords without repeated approval requirements. It also says the system must accommodate different agency structures, staff permissions and multi-agent instructions. More than half of private rented properties in England are let or managed through an agent, so effective delegated access will be essential.
This will be particularly important for overseas landlords and others who rely on a managing agent to meet their day-to-day obligations.
Technology and additional costs
Many agents already hold relevant information in their existing systems. Requiring staff to enter the same data manually into a separate database would increase costs and the risk of errors.
The LIC has recommended connections between agency systems and the database via application programming interfaces, alongside bulk uploading through CSV files. It has also called for a minimum six-month implementation period for each regional rollout, allowing time for data checks, staff training and changes to business processes.
Agents will also need to decide whether helping landlords register will form part of their existing service or be offered separately. Terms of business may eventually need to explain the extent of the agent’s authority, the information the landlord must provide and responsibility for inaccurate or late information.
Tell us what the database would mean for your business
We want members to help us demonstrate the practical impact before the detailed regulations and system design are finalised and are keen to hear:
- how much information your agency already holds and where duplication is likely
- how long a manual audit and upload would take across your portfolio
- how delegated access and staff permissions should work
- the challenges created by joint, company, trust and overseas ownership
- how the system should deal with multi-agent instructions and changes of managing agent
- which connections with CRM systems, property portals and existing registers are essential
- where the database could overlap with local licensing requirements
- how much notice, guidance and training your business would need before registration becomes mandatory.
Quantified evidence, including estimated staff hours, system costs and the number of properties affected, will strengthen our engagement with the UK Government.
Members can share their concerns and practical examples with our Policy and Campaigns team at [email protected].
