Landlords: Your Registration Date Is Set
Join our investor community and get your portfolio ready for the new national landlord register before your deadline arrives.
The Seasoned Investor is a quarterly publication written by a landlord for landlords. Our Autumn edition focuses on the latest Phase 2 announcements surrounding the Renters’ Rights Act and what they mean for your property investments.
To accompany this edition, The Robinson Jackson Group has added a new video to its investor series. Click to watch now or read on to discover what landlords need to know about the next phase of legislation.
If you missed the Autumn edition of The Seasoned Investor, we've republished it below. To receive future editions straight to your inbox, join our investor community today.
The Seasoned Investor – Renters’ Rights Edition
If you own a rental property, I can now share the key registration dates, what it will cost and what you’ll need to prepare ahead of registration in London and the South East.
Five months ago, the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in decades became reality. Despite some gloomy predictions, the sky hasn’t fallen in. Phase 1 is increasingly becoming part of everyday letting and, from where I sit as both a landlord and investor, that’s a useful perspective as attention now turns to what comes next.
The Government has released important details about Phase 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act, including the rollout of the new ‘Register your rental property’ service. Crucially for our Investor Community, properties in the South East won’t need to be registered until spring 2027, with London following in the summer, giving us valuable time to prepare.
But don’t put the dates in your diary and stop reading this newsletter. There are still important details I’m sure you’ll want clarified, so I’ve asked the lettings experts at The Robinson Jackson Group to help us separate what we know from what we don’t know yet, before setting out the practical steps worth taking now.
Change is easier to manage when you’re prepared for it. So, as always, read the Seasoned Investor as it’s intended: one landlord sharing the information that matters, so you can Invest Smarter to Live Better.
Andy – Your Seasoned Investor
Did You Know?
Phase 2: What We Know
Back in Spring, point 9 of our Did You Know? section explained that Phase 2 would introduce a national landlord and property database. We now know considerably more.
1. Registration becomes a legal requirement
The Government is introducing a national Register your rental property service. Landlords of assured or regulated tenancies will need to register themselves and each qualifying privately rented property they own.
Initially, properties need to be registered if they are already let or become let during the rollout period. Future legislation will extend this to unoccupied properties before they are marketed for let, with unique landlord and property identifiers eventually required on adverts.
2. Registration will cost £65 per property, every year
The initial registration fee has been confirmed at £65 for each property, renewed annually. Failure to register may result in a financial penalty.
3. The rollout begins on 15 December 2026
Rather than every landlord registering simultaneously, the system will be introduced region by region, with landlords given a three-month window before enforcement can begin.
|
Region |
Date regulations commence |
Deadline to register |
|
West Midlands |
15 December 2026 |
14 March 2027 |
|
East of England |
15 January 2027 |
14 April 2027 |
|
East Midlands |
15 February 2027 |
14 May 2027 |
|
South East |
15 March 2027 |
14 June 2027 |
|
Yorkshire and Humber |
15 April 2027 |
14 July 2027 |
|
North West |
15 May 2027 |
14 August 2027 |
|
North East |
15 June 2027 |
14 September 2027 |
|
London |
15 July 2027 |
14 October 2027 |
|
South West |
15 August 2027 |
14 November 2027 |
The deadline is determined by where the property is located, not where the landlord lives. Landlords can, however, choose to register earlier from 15 December 2026. This could be particularly useful if you own properties across several regions and want to register your portfolio together.
For most landlords within our Investor Community, the dates to remember are therefore 15 March 2027 for Kent and the South East, and 15 July 2027 for London.
4. You’ll need detailed information about each property
Registration will require a GOV.UK One Login and information about both you and your rental property. This includes the address and ownership type, property type, bedrooms, occupants and households, whether it is furnished, rent charged and payment frequency, and relevant HMO, additional or selective licensing details.
Compliance information is also required, including Gas Safety records where applicable, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) or appropriate Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) information.
5. Your agent can help, but you remain responsible
Landlords must start and finish the registration process themselves. However, the Government is creating a facility allowing an agreed letting agent or property manager to provide certain information on the landlord’s behalf. Further guidance explaining exactly how this will work will be published before launch.
6. Registration will eventually become visible to tenants
The database isn’t simply an administrative exercise. In future, tenants will be able to use the service to establish whether a landlord is complying with key legal requirements, while councils will use it to help identify and tackle poor practice.
Exactly what information the public will be able to see has not yet been confirmed. The Government says this will balance transparency for tenants with landlords’ privacy.
Landlord Registration: What You Need to Know
Get Ready for Phase 2 – Watch Now
What We Don’t Know – Yet
The Government has filled in many of the blanks surrounding registration, but not all of them. Here are the areas we’re still watching.
1. Exactly how agents will be able to help
We know landlords must start and finish their own registration, while agents and property managers can be authorised to provide certain information. What they can complete and exactly how that process will operate is still to be published.
2. What tenants and the public will see
The Government intends to create a public interface allowing tenants to check key compliance information, but exactly which landlord and property information will be publicly accessible has not yet been confirmed.
3. How registration before marketing will work
Future legislation will require unoccupied properties to be registered before they can be marketed for let and unique identifiers to appear on adverts. For now, the Government specifically advises landlords with unoccupied properties to wait for further guidance.
4. The final details of the Landlord Ombudsman
The Landlord Ombudsman remains part of Phase 2, but mandatory landlord membership is currently scheduled for 2028. Further detail about its operation will follow.
The important message is therefore don’t second-guess what hasn’t been published. There is plenty landlords can prepare today without worrying about unanswered questions. We’ll continue monitoring developments and update our Investor Community as further guidance appears.
What Landlords Should Do Now
1. Know your registration date
Identify the region for each property in your portfolio and make a note of its opening date and deadline. Remember, you can register from 15 December if you’d prefer to deal with properties in different regions together.
2. Get your property information together
Check the information you hold for each investment, including ownership, bedrooms, occupants, rent, furnishing and licensing details. Portfolio landlords may find it useful to keep this information together rather than gathering it property by property when registration arrives.
3. Audit your certificates
Make sure your Gas Safety Record where applicable, electrical safety documentation and EPC information are complete and current. Check expiry dates too, so anything likely to require renewal can be dealt with in good time.
4. Don’t rush
Registration opening in December doesn’t mean landlords with properties in Kent or London need to race to complete it. There is time. Use it to get your records in order and allow the Government to publish the remaining guidance before your deadline arrives.
5. Decide how hands-on you want to be
Five months into the Renters’ Rights Act, being a landlord certainly hasn’t become impossible. It has, however, become more structured and administration continues to grow.
Perhaps that’s why we’re seeing more and more landlords choosing Fully Managed services, with over 60% now opting to let our teams handle the day-to-day management of their investment. For many, it’s increasingly a decision about time, expertise and peace of mind rather than simply the management fee.
GO FULLY MANAGED
Let us handle the growing day-to-day requirements of being a landlord while you concentrate on your investment.
Looking Ahead – Phase 3
The Renters’ Rights Act is being introduced in three phases: Phase 1 arrived in May 2026, Phase 2 begins from late 2026 and Phase 3 will focus on property standards, including the new Decent Homes Standard from 2035.
2035 may sound a long way off, but significant improvements can require significant investment. My advice is to use that time wisely: understand what your properties may need and consider putting money aside gradually, rather than facing a large bill as the deadline approaches.
In the meantime, the experts across The Robinson Jackson Group already have a good understanding of what’s likely to be coming and would be pleased to work with you on a plan for your investments. As further details of Phase 3 are confirmed, I’ll share what we know in future editions of The Seasoned Investor.
Until next time, my fellow landlords, stay informed, stay prepared and continue to Invest Smarter to Live Better.
Warm regards,
Andy
Landlord and Editor of The Seasoned Investor
On behalf of The Robinson Jackson Group
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