PRS Database
The Private Rented Sector Database created by the Renters' Rights Act: a national register that landlords in England will be legally required to join when it launches. Launch date still to be confirmed.
The Private Rented Sector Database is one of the two major Renters' Rights Act institutions still to launch, alongside the landlord ombudsman. Together they extend the Act's reach beyond tenancy rules into ongoing regulation of landlords themselves.
What it will do
Landlords in England will need to register themselves and their properties on the national database before marketing or letting. The database is intended to give tenants and councils visibility of who owns what, and to give enforcement teams a single view of compliance history. Registration is expected to carry a fee.
The ombudsman
Private landlords will also be required to join a government-approved redress scheme, giving tenants a free route to complain about service failures without going to court. Decisions will bind member landlords.
What to do now
Neither requirement is in force yet and commencement dates have not been confirmed, so there is nothing to register today. The sensible preparation is the same housekeeping the rest of the Act rewards: accurate records for every property, compliance documents in order, and a tenancy file that would stand inspection. Watch GOV.UK for commencement announcements rather than relying on third-party rumours.