The Government has published guidance on how its national register of landlords will work once it is introduced in England later this year.

This will be the latest change under the Renters’ Right Act.

The guidance clarifies the responsibilities of landlords and lettings agents.

Registration responsibility

The landlord will be responsible for registering themselves and their properties.

In some good news, the Government has confirmed that the £65 annual fee won’t be subject to VAT and will be tax deductible.

If a property is rented out by more than one landlord, each must be registered and one must register the property and invite all other joint landlords to the property registration.

Landlords will need to register with the service using their GOV.UK One Login.

If you do not have digital access, you can register through a paper-based application.

Registration on a regional basis will begin from 15th December 2026.

There will be a registration number for landlords and each registered property and it will eventually be mandatory for these to be included on listings.

To register a property, landlords will have to provide:

• property details (for example address, number of bedrooms, current rental status)
• a correspondence address in England or Wales
• contact details for any managing agents, superior landlords and freeholders

Lettings agent role

While landlords must start the registration, they can delegate responsibility for providing details such as the number of tenants, licensing info, rent and any included bills as well as compliance certificates to a lettings agent.

The lettings agent is responsible for the accuracy of any property information submitted.

During the regional rollout between December 15th 2026 and November 14th 2027, landlords will only have to register properties that are currently under let, or which become let during this period.

Property information must be provided within 28 days of registration.

In the future, the guidance says they will be required to register unoccupied properties before marketing or advertising them.

The guidance also confirms that landlords will be subject to penalties of up to £7,000 for failing to register themselves and a property on the service.

Both landlords and agents will also be subject to penalties up to £40,000 for knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading to the service or have committed continuing or repeated breaches of certain requirements

Each region, starting with the West Midlands, has a three-month registration period during the roll out. Landlords must register their occupied properties located in each region by the region’s end date.