Agents and landlords finally have greater clarity about how and when the new national landlord registration service will be introduced.
The Government’s “Register your rental property” service will launch in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 before being rolled out region by region across England. Landlords will pay £65 per property each year and, once registration becomes mandatory in an area, will have three months to comply.
The registration deadlines are determined by the location of the property, rather than where the landlord lives or the agent is based. The rollout will continue until November 2027, by which point all landlords actively letting property must have registered.
This is a welcome development. A comprehensive and accurate register has the potential to bring much-needed transparency to the private rented sector. It should help tenants make better-informed decisions, enable responsible landlords to demonstrate that they are meeting their obligations and make it harder for rogue operators to hide.
It could also help landlords and agents understand what good compliance looks like, while allowing local authorities to focus their resources on the properties and operators that present the greatest risk.
However, the success of the register will depend on how effectively it is implemented. For agents, the announcement raises some important practical questions. Although legal responsibility for registration remains with the landlord, agents could still carry the commercial and redress risk if the service they provide, or the fee they charge for it, is subsequently disputed.
Room for confusion with the regional rollout
I understand why the Government has chosen a regional rollout and in many ways it is a sensible way to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, but I can already see where confusion could arise, particularly for landlords with properties spread across different parts of England.
This will be particularly relevant for portfolio landlords. A landlord living in London with a property in Birmingham, for example, will need to follow the West Midlands timetable for that property.
Landlords will be able to register properties before the deadline for their region, including registering properties in different regions together from 15 December 2026. For some larger portfolio landlords, doing everything at once may be simpler than working through a series of regional deadlines.
Either way, managing agents will need to understand the timetable and communicate it clearly. They may be managing properties across multiple regions on behalf of hundreds of landlords, with properties subject to different registration dates and deadlines.
Landlords will turn to their agents
Many landlords will inevitably ask their letting or managing agent to help them navigate the process.
The Government has confirmed that the landlord must start and complete the registration process. However, there will be an option for an agent or property manager to provide certain information on the landlord’s behalf, with further guidance promised before the launch. To be notified when new guidance is published, you can sign up to GOV.UK Alerts.
This raises a similar issue to the one I highlighted earlier this year when agents were considering charging landlords for the additional work involved in complying with the Government Information Sheet requirements.
There is nothing inherently unreasonable about an agent charging for genuine additional work, particularly where supporting hundreds of landlords could create a significant administrative burden. However, any fee must be transparent, proportionate and properly explained.
Before offering registration support, agents should check whether the work is covered by their existing terms of business. Landlords should be told exactly what the agent will do, why the work is necessary, how any fee has been calculated and where responsibility lies. Agents should avoid vague charges such as a general “compliance administration fee” and obtain the landlord’s agreement in advance.
From a redress perspective, an agent may ultimately need to demonstrate that the charge was permitted under the agreement, that the landlord was made aware of it and that the fee was reasonable in relation to the work carried out.
Most importantly, landlords must understand that paying an agent to assist does not transfer the legal responsibility. The landlord remains responsible for ensuring that all the required information is provided and is accurate. Otherwise, there is a real risk of each party assuming the other has dealt with a particular property, document or deadline.
In my experience, disputes often begin not because somebody deliberately failed to act, but because both parties assumed the other was dealing with it. That is exactly the kind of ambiguity agents need to remove from the outset.
Ten minutes can quickly become hundreds of hours
On paper, ten minutes to register one property may not sound like much, and that is my understanding of how long a straightforward registration could take if all the information is readily available. However, multiply that across hundreds or thousands of properties and it quickly becomes a substantial operational exercise.
The service will require information about the landlord, property, tenancy, rent and relevant licensing arrangements. Landlords will also need to provide key health and safety information, including gas safety records, electrical reports and Energy Performance Certificates where applicable.
Agents therefore need to consider whether they have the staff, systems and checking procedures necessary to support landlords properly. They must also decide whether this work will be included within their existing management service or incur an additional charge and, if so, what represents a reasonable fee.
This is not something that should be worked out when the first wave of landlords starts calling. Agencies need an agreed process that staff can explain and apply consistently.
Accuracy will be critical
Although this is a landlord and property register, information about an agent may also appear where that agent is managing the property. The required property information includes the name and email address of the property manager.
Those details must be accurate and kept up to date. As a matter of good practice, I would also advise agents to use consistent business and contact details across the register, their redress membership and other compliance records. Inconsistent information can create unnecessary confusion over who is managing the property and where important communications should be directed.
If notifications are sent to an incorrect or outdated address, important information could be missed and a property could inadvertently fall out of compliance.
Agents assisting landlords should therefore build in appropriate checks and maintain a clear record of what information they have provided. They should not assume that registration is complete until the landlord has finished the process and confirmed it.
This is not a one-off exercise
The £65 fee applies to each property and registration must be renewed annually. Agents and landlords therefore need to think beyond the initial rollout and consider how renewals and changes will be monitored.
Initially, registration is required for properties that are already let or become occupied during the rollout period. Under future legislation, unoccupied properties will also need to be registered before they are marketed. Landlords and agents will then have to include the unique landlord and property identifiers in advertisements.
So, it is important to think long-term as registration checks will consequently need to become part of the normal onboarding, marketing and property-management process. When an agent takes on a new landlord or property, it will need to establish whether registration is required, whether it has been completed and whether the information remains current.
Rent increases bring another responsibility
Alongside the register, the Government has announced that HMRC’s Valuation Office will eventually take responsibility for making initial decisions when tenants challenge rent increases. Tenants must continue applying to the First-tier Tribunal until the new service is introduced.
This will also have practical implications for agents. Proposed rent increases will need to be supported by credible market evidence, and agents may have to engage with the Valuation Office as part of a challenge.
A well-advised and properly evidenced increase is less likely to result in a protracted dispute. Agents have an important role to play in ensuring landlords understand what the local market supports and in preventing avoidable cases from progressing further through the tribunal system.
Further operational guidance is still to come, but agents now know enough to begin preparing. They should review their terms of business, decide what registration support they will offer, establish responsibility for each stage and ensure their teams have the capacity and knowledge to deliver it.
The register should ultimately improve transparency and standards across the sector, but it will only do so if the information it contains is accurate and everyone involved understands their role.
My advice to agents is not to wait for the first wave of landlords to start calling. Review your terms of business, decide what support you will offer, make responsibilities clear and ensure your team has the capacity to deliver it.
Sean Hooker is head of redress at Property Redress.
