Landlord register 2026–27: dates, fee and what to upload

The new landlord register, officially the private rented sector database ("Register your rental property"), opens on 15 December 2026. London properties must be registered between 15 July and 14 October 2027. Each property costs £65 a year. You upload your gas safety record (where there is gas), electrical report and EPC. The rules are in draft regulations laid on 9 September 2026, awaiting Parliament's approval.

This guide covers what to have ready, in the order we would check it. It is part of our landlord safety certificates checklist. The database asks for evidence of the checks you should already have, so the useful work happens now, while there is time to fix a gap. We are EliteShires Property Services in Kenton, and we carry out the gas safety checks, EICRs and EPCs that the service asks for, across Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware. Landlords with several lets can book them together, with the renewal diary held for you.

When do London landlords have to join the register?

Between 15 July and 14 October 2027. Each region has its own three-month window, and the deadline depends on where the property is, not where you live. A landlord in Stanmore with a flat in Birmingham would fall under the West Midlands window for that flat, which opens on 15 December 2026. You can register any property early, from 15 December 2026.

Registration windows by region (GOV.UK Housing Hub, checked October 2026)

Who has to register?

Landlords of properties let on assured or regulated tenancies. Since 1 May 2026, almost every new private tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy, so in practice that means most private landlords. You register yourself and then each property, using a GOV.UK One Login.

Points from the GOV.UK Housing Hub that affect who does what:

• Agents can help, but you start it. A letting agent or property manager can upload some information for you. The landlord must begin the registration and stays responsible for every entry.
• Empty properties. The current rules focus on properties that are let, and a property that becomes let during the roll-out must be registered. GOV.UK says future rules will require registration before a property is marketed, so if you have a void in 2027, register before you advertise if you can.
• The fee is per property. It is £65 per property per year and renewed annually. The figure comes from GOV.UK; the draft regulations leave the fee to the database operator, so it could change. During the roll-out it is pro-rated, so registering early does not cost more.
• Supported exempt accommodation under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 does not need registering.

What information will you need?

Five groups of information: you, the property, the tenancy, the rent, and health and safety. Most of it is in a well-kept tenancy file already. The table lists what the Housing Hub says to have ready.

What the service asks for (GOV.UK Housing Hub, checked October 2026)

If you act for someone else, as an attorney, executor or deputy, you will also need certified evidence of that authority.

Which certificates will you upload, and what if one is out of date?

For a let property you upload up to three documents: the gas safety record if there is a gas supply, the electrical report, and the EPC if you had to give the tenant one. A missing or lapsed one is a compliance problem in its own right, before the database is involved. The table shows what usually goes wrong and how to put it right.

Common certificate problems to fix before you register

Three details are worth knowing:

1. An EIC counts. If the property was rewired or had a new installation, its Electrical Installation Certificate can stand in for an EICR, if it is recent enough to show the five-year inspection duty is met. The service asks for its issue date.
2. An expired EPC in a continuing tenancy. An EPC lasts ten years, and nothing requires a new one while a tenancy simply carries on. The service asks for the tenancy start date in that case, which suggests it is designed to accept it.
3. "Unsatisfactory" without paperwork is the easiest gap to miss. An EICR with C1 or C2 codes, or further investigation required, is only closed when the repairs are done and confirmed in writing. Uploading the original report on its own shows an unresolved fail.

How do you get a property ready, step by step?

Check one property at a time, in five steps: gas record, EICR, EPC, licence, then your One Login and tenancy details. A lapsed certificate is a breach now, so book it straight away rather than waiting for the registration window. Anything else can be put right before London's window opens on 15 July 2027.

1. List every property and its region. Every address in Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware is in London. Properties elsewhere follow their own region's window.
2. Set up a GOV.UK One Login if you do not already have one.
3. Make one folder per property. Put in the latest gas record, the EICR or EIC, the EPC, any exemption, any licence and the tenancy agreement.
4. Read the dates. Note when each gas record and EICR runs out. A gas check done in the two months before it is due keeps its anniversary, so there is no need to renew early just for the database. If they fall due months apart, booking the gas check and EICR on one visit brings the two renewal dates into line.
5. Close any open EICR codes. Book the remedial work and get written confirmation. It must go to each tenant and to the council within 28 days of the work being finished. See our guide to EICR remedial paperwork.
6. Check your licence position. See the next section.
7. Register, or diary the window. You can register from 15 December 2026. Registration is renewed each year. Under the draft regulations, when a certificate is renewed you must update the entry within 28 days.

If you have several properties, we can work through the folder with you and group the visits. Our property maintenance service can take that work on for you.

Do you need licence details for Harrow, Brent or Barnet?

Only if the property needs a licence, and that depends on the ward. The database asks for HMO, additional or selective licence details where they apply. It asks for them alongside your other details, so in our reading it sits on top of council licensing rather than replacing it. Our guide to licensing in Harrow, Brent and Barnet has the full picture.

In our patch that means Harrow's six selectively licensed wards, Brent's Kenton ward and any HMO in Barnet. Harrow's previous additional HMO scheme ended on 5 August 2026, and a new one for three or four sharers starts on 6 January 2027, before London's registration window opens. Edgware addresses can fall in Harrow, Barnet or Brent, so confirm the council first.

What happens if you don't register?

You risk a civil penalty of up to £7,000, and councils can enforce once your region's deadline has passed, which for London is after 14 October 2027. The GOV.UK guide to the Renters' Rights Act (6 November 2025) sets out these penalties:

• Up to £7,000 for letting or advertising a property that is not registered.
• Up to £40,000, or prosecution, for repeated breaches or for giving false information.
• No possession order, in most cases, until you register. Only two grounds, 7A and 14, are excepted.
• Rent repayment orders for providing false information, and for continuing failure to register after a financial penalty.

These sit beside the penalties for the certificates themselves, such as up to £40,000 for an EICR breach. Our guide to landlord fines in England sets them out side by side.

What else is changing around the database?

Section 21 has already gone (1 May 2026), and a landlord ombudsman is expected in 2028; both come from the same Renters' Rights Act 2025 as the database. Our guide to what the Renters' Rights Act changes for safety and repairs covers the rest, with dates and their legal status.

For a booking near you, see our pages on property maintenance in Harrow, landlord maintenance in Kenton, property maintenance in Stanmore and maintenance for Edgware landlords. Our full certificates checklist is the place to start if you are unsure what a property needs, or answer six questions to check which certificates your let needs.