Landlords in England will be required to pay an annual fee of £65 for every rental property they own under a new national database.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that the register will launch on December 15 this year, starting in the West Midlands.
The roll-out will proceed region by region across England, with full implementation expected to be completed in mid-November 2027.
Under the new system, every landlord in England will need to register with their local council and list every property they let out.
The database will require landlords to submit property details, rental charges, records of current and past tenants, energy performance certificates, and safety documentation.
A landlord owning ten properties will pay £650 annually under the scheme, while investors with larger portfolios will face bills running into thousands of pounds.
The central register is a key requirement of the Renters' Rights Act, which came into force in May and introduced the most significant expansion of tenant rights in a generation.
Landlord opposition and fee calculations
The annual £65 registration fee has drawn fierce criticism from the National Residential Landlords Association, which labelled the charge a "multi million pound rip off".
With just over five million private rented homes in England, the trade organisation estimated that the database will cost the private rental sector a minimum of £327 million per year.
National Residential Landlords Association chief executive Ben Beadle warned that the requirement to upload documents, such as gas or electrical safety certificates, will create additional administrative costs for property owners.
"What we have on offer is a costly mess," Mr Beadle said. "It expects payment for landlords to provide much the same information as many already give their councils, with no additional benefit to them or their customers."
Existing council licensing and duplicate costs
Much of the information requested for the new database is already submitted by property owners to local authorities through existing licensing frameworks.
Several local councils currently charge landlords a selective licence fee to let out residential properties in designated areas.
These selective licences vary between councils but typically cost £1,000 or more per property and remain valid for up to five years.
The selective licensing system caught out former chancellor Rachel Reeves, who admitted last year that she had let out her London home without obtaining the required licence.
Landlords operating houses in multiple occupation, known as HMOs, are already subject to separate mandatory licensing. HMO licences must be renewed every five years and can cost more than £2,000 per property in some local authority areas.
Ombudsman scheme and upcoming tax increases
The registration database is not the only new requirement being introduced under the Renters' Rights Act.
A new private rented sector Ombudsman scheme is also under development for landlords, which will become compulsory from 2028 and will introduce additional costs.
Landlords also face a tax hike on rental income scheduled to take effect from April 2027.
The tax change will see rental income taxed at 2 percentage points above standard income tax rates.
Basic rate taxpayers will see their rental income tax rate rise from 20 per cent to 22 per cent. Higher rate tax-paying landlords will see rates increase from 40 per cent to 42 per cent, while additional-rate taxpayers will pay 47 per cent, up from 45 per cent currently.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the rental tax increase is estimated to generate £500 million per year for the Treasury starting in the 2028-29 financial year.
Fines and legal penalties for non-compliance
Landlords who attempt to bypass the database to avoid regulatory scrutiny face severe legal and financial consequences.
Those who fail to register will be legally prohibited from letting their properties and will face financial penalties for non-compliance.
Unregistered landlords will also risk losing access to key statutory possession grounds, leaving them unable to evict tenants who accumulate more than three months of rent arrears or in situations where the owner wishes to sell the property.
Persistent non-compliance carries financial penalties of up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution.
Mark Dawson of buy-to-let consultancy AST Assistance warned that initial registration alone is not sufficient.
"The introduction of the private rented sector database is less about the one time registration process and more about establishing a permanent standard of effective record-keeping for landlords," Mr Dawson said. "If landlords simply register, but fail to update their records, they will find themselves non-compliant and may even end up with serious financial penalties."
Mortgage market pressures and advice
The new regulatory costs arrive as mortgage rates have jumped following conflict with Iran, which has driven up inflation expectations and reduced hopes of interest rate cuts.
Property owners needing a new mortgage due to a home purchase or an expiring fixed-rate deal are advised to explore their options as soon as possible.
Borrowers can review available deals using the This is Money best mortgage rates calculator or London & Country Mortgages online Mortgage Finder tool, which searches thousands of mortgage products from more than 90 lenders.
The mortgage comparison service is provided in partnership with London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 143002. The regulator notes that most buy-to-let mortgages are not regulated by the FCA, and properties may be repossessed if borrowers fail to keep up mortgage repayments.
