Private Rented Sector Database: What Landlords Must Register (Including Your EPC)

A mandatory national database of every private landlord and rented property in England is coming, and when it launches, you'll be required to prove your EPC is valid and compliant.

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database is one of the most significant administrative changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It rolls out in late 2026 as part of Phase 2 of the Act's implementation. Once live, you cannot legally let a property without being registered, and your Energy Performance Certificate is one of the mandatory compliance documents you'll need to provide.

This article explains exactly what the database is, what landlords must register, how it changes EPC enforcement, and what you should be doing right now to prepare.

What Is the Private Rented Sector Database?

The PRS Database is a new national register of all private landlords and rental properties in England, created under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

It has three core purposes:

1. For tenants: Allows prospective tenants to check a landlord's registration, compliance history, and whether a property meets legal standards before signing a tenancy.
2. For local councils: Gives enforcement officers a complete, real-time picture of every rental property in their area, enabling targeted enforcement instead of reactive complaint-handling.
3. For landlords: A single digital platform where you manage your compliance records, renew certificates, and demonstrate you're operating lawfully.

The database replaces the existing Rogue Landlords Database (previously only visible to local authorities in most of England) with a far more comprehensive national system, some parts of which will be publicly visible.

Every property registered on the database will receive a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), a digital identity for the property that links all compliance records together. From the moment the database goes live, every rental advert must display this UPRN, allowing tenants and councils to cross-reference compliance instantly.

When Does the PRS Database Launch?

The government's implementation roadmap indicated that the PRS Database would begin rolling out in late 2026, as Phase 2 of the phased Renters' Rights Act implementation.

Phase 1 of the Act brought in the new tenancy system, ending section 21 and moving assured tenancies to periodic terms. Phase 2, including the PRS Database and the mandatory PRS Ombudsman scheme, follows, with the full schedule to be set by secondary legislation.

The government has stated it will publish the specific required information categories and registration fees in new regulations before the database goes live. Registration fees are expected to be annual, per property, exact amounts have not yet been confirmed.

Bottom line: the runway is short. That is enough time to get your documentation in order, but only if you start now.

What Information Must Landlords Register?

Based on government statements and the Act itself, landlords will be required to register both themselves and each rental property they let. The expected information categories include:

Landlord details

• Legal name and proof of identity
• Contact address
• Letting agent details (if applicable)
• Confirmation of membership of the PRS Ombudsman scheme

Property details

• Full property address
• Property type (house, flat, HMO, etc.)
• Number of units or rooms
• UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number)

Compliance documentation

This is where your EPC comes in. Required compliance documents are expected to include:

• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), rating and expiry date
• Gas Safety Certificate (annual)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR, every 5 years)
• Deposit protection details
• HMO licence number (where applicable)

The compliance status section of the database will indicate whether each required certificate is valid. An expired or missing EPC will result in a non-compliant flag against your property record.

Why Your EPC Matters for the PRS Database

The PRS Database transforms EPC enforcement from a reactive system (council investigates after a complaint) into a proactive, digitally integrated compliance check.

Here's what this means in practice:

Today's enforcement model

Currently, local councils only know about EPC non-compliance when a tenant complains, a letting agent flags it, or a council officer specifically targets a street or area for inspection. The system is fragmented and complaint-driven. Many non-compliant landlords slip through because enforcement resources are limited.

The database model (from late 2026)

Once the PRS Database is live, every property's EPC status is visible to enforcement officers at the click of a button. Councils will be able to filter their entire local rental market by EPC rating, instantly identifying every F and G property, which is where the breach line sits today. Bands D and E remain legal to let under the current standard. If the government's proposed band C standard becomes law, the same filter would pick out D and E properties too.

That is the mechanism that would make a band C standard enforceable at scale. Instead of individual councils running manual enforcement campaigns, the database gives them a complete, live picture of non-compliance in their patch.

Council-led MEES enforcement campaigns today are notable precisely because identifying non-compliant properties eats significant officer time. After the PRS Database launches, that same identification takes minutes.

The proposed 2030 compliance cliff

The government has proposed an EPC C standard from 1 October 2030. It is not law yet: it needs primary powers and then a statutory instrument amending the 2015 Regulations. If it is enacted, landlords renewing their PRS Database registration would need to show an EPC C or above, or a valid registered exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register, and properties at D, E, F or G would be flagged as non-compliant. Until then, only F and G properties without a registered exemption are in breach.

This is a hard enforcement gateway. You cannot legally let a property without being registered. You cannot register (or remain registered) without a compliant EPC. The database effectively closes the gap between rule and enforcement.

What Happens If Your EPC Is Non-Compliant at Registration?

If your property's EPC is expired, missing, or below the minimum standard when you try to register, you have two options:

1. Get a new EPC, book an assessment, carry out any required improvements, and obtain a compliant certificate before or during registration. Use our guide to choosing a reliable EPC assessor to find a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor.

2. Register a formal exemption, if your property genuinely cannot reach the minimum standard within the cost cap, which is £3,500 including VAT today and which the government has proposed raising to £10,000 alongside the band C standard, or if third-party consent (from a freeholder or tenant) has been refused, you can register an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. This must be done before the database registration deadline, not after a non-compliance flag is issued.

Important: Exemptions do not transfer to a new owner if you sell. If you purchase a tenanted property with a registered exemption, you cannot assume that exemption continues in your name, you must re-register it with appropriate documentation.

Penalties for Not Registering

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 sets out significant consequences for landlords who fail to register on the PRS Database:

The possession order restriction is the sharpest penalty in practice. If you haven't registered and a tenant stops paying rent, you cannot apply to court to recover possession of your property. The only exception is if the tenant has committed anti-social behaviour.

This means that unlike the current £5,000 MEES fine, which some landlords have historically risk-assessed and absorbed, non-registration under the PRS Database creates an ongoing operational paralysis that makes non-compliance commercially unviable.

5 Things to Do Now to Prepare

The database isn't live yet, but preparation starts now:

1. Check your EPC rating and expiry date. Log into the EPC Register and confirm every property has a valid EPC (within 10 years). Note any that expire before late 2027.

2. Plan your EPC upgrade path. If any property is currently F or G, you're already in breach of MEES, and registration will flag it. If you're D or E you are compliant today, but start planning for the proposed 2030 band C standard. Use our EPC D to C upgrade guide to map out your options and costs.

3. Organise your compliance documents. Gather current Gas Safety Certificates, EICRs, and EPCs for every property into a central folder. The database will require digital uploads of these documents.

4. Book any EPC reassessments needed. As the NRLA has warned, assessor demand is rising ahead of the proposed 2030 standard. Booking now beats a late crunch.

5. Track the regulations. The government will publish the specific registration requirements via secondary legislation before the database launches. Sign up for NRLA or Landlord Zone updates so you get early notice of the exact requirements and fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly does the PRS Database launch? The government's implementation roadmap points to late 2026 for rollout. The precise date will be set by commencement regulations, which have not yet been published.

Does registration replace an HMO licence? No. HMO licensing continues in parallel. If your property requires a Mandatory or Additional HMO licence, you'll need both the licence AND the PRS Database registration. The database will check your HMO licence number as part of the compliance record.

Will the database be publicly searchable? Partially. Some information, such as the property's UPRN, registration status, and offence/enforcement history, is expected to be publicly viewable. Landlord contact details and full compliance records will be visible to local authorities but may be restricted for public view. The government will confirm the public/private split in the regulations.

What if I sell the property after registering? Registration is per property per landlord. If you sell, the registration does not transfer, the buyer must register in their own name. Exemptions also do not transfer. The database effectively creates a compliance audit trail on every property transaction.

Will the PRS Database apply to all types of rental property? The database applies to all assured and regulated tenancies in England. This covers the vast majority of private lettings. Some short-term lets (governed by different regulatory frameworks) may be treated differently, the government will clarify this in the regulations.

The Bottom Line

The PRS Database is the Renters' Rights Act's enforcement backbone, and EPC compliance is one of its core data fields. From late 2026, your ability to legally let a property will depend on a valid EPC being on record.

If your EPC is F or G you are in breach today, and the database turns that into a hard operational block. D and E are legal to let now, but they are the bands the proposed band C standard would catch, so the time to plan your EPC work is now, not when the registration deadline arrives.

For more on what's required, see our guides to the EPC C deadline, EPC exemptions, and the full Renters' Rights Act Phase 2 timeline.