The New Landlord Register: What You Need to Do and How We Can Help
The new landlord register is coming, and even with a letting agent, you’ll still have a part to play. We explain what you need to do, which tasks your agent can help with and what information to get ready. For landlords in Derby, Alfreton and across Derbyshire, a little preparation now could save a lot of unnecessary stress when registration opens.
Another registration. Another annual fee. Another job on the landlord’s list!
The new Private Rented Sector Database, called “Register your rental property”, is getting closer. We now have more information about what landlords will need to provide and how letting agents can help.
At Cope & Co., we want you to understand the process before it becomes another deadline to worry about.
The main point is simple: you will need to register yourself, start the registration for each property and complete the final checks and payment. Your letting agent can help with certain information and documents along the way.
STEP 1: Register yourself as a landlord
Before registering a property, you will need your own Landlord Registration Number.
This part is free, and you cannot hand it over to your letting agent as part of their usual management service. To register online, you will need a GOV.UK One Login account.
If you are the landlord in your own name, you will need to provide basic details such as your name, date of birth, home address, telephone number and email address. The registration must correctly identify who the landlord is. That could be you, you and another person jointly, or a company.
If you are joint landlords, each person must register separately and obtain their own Landlord Registration Number. The property itself only needs one shared registration. For example, if you and your partner jointly let a house, you will each need a landlord registration, with one property registration between you.
If the landlord is a limited company, the registration needs to be in the company’s name. You will need its details and Companies House number, information about the person completing the registration and a named contact.
Other organisations may need to provide details of their directors, trustees or partners. Trusts will also need to provide the lead trustee’s details. Someone registering under a power of attorney or similar legal authority will need to provide evidence that they are entitled to act.
STEP 2: Register each rental property (LANDLORD ONLY)
Each rental property will need its own Property Registration Number. You will need to start the entry and provide the initial information, including:
🔸 The property’s address.
🔸 The landlord’s name.
🔸 A correspondence address in England or Wales, which cannot be a PO Box, and an email address.
🔸 The type of property, such as a house or flat.
🔸 How it is owned, such as freehold or leasehold.
🔸 Whether tenants currently live there.
You can then authorise your letting agent to help with the parts of the application that can be delegated.
STEP 3: Register property and tenancy details (LANDLORD or DELEGATED AGENT)
Under the process demonstrated so far, you can authorise your letting agent to provide certain information and upload supporting documents, including:
🔹 Who lives in the property: The number of people and households, including children and babies who live there permanently.
🔹 Bedrooms and furnishings: The number of bedrooms and whether the property is furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished. The demonstrated system excludes rooms smaller than 4.64 square metres from the bedroom count.
🔹 Rent and bills: How much rent is charged, how often it is paid and whether it includes bills or services. This should be the normal rental amount, without adding arrears or advance payments.
🔹 Property licences: Whether the property needs a licence and the relevant licence number, where available.
🔹 Gas safety: Whether the property has a gas supply or gas appliances, together with the relevant gas safety record.
🔹 Electrical safety: The electrical inspection report, usually called an EICR, or an appropriate Electrical Installation Certificate.
🔹 Energy performance: Checking the property’s Energy Performance Certificate, usually called an EPC. The system is expected to find the certificate automatically and ask for confirmation that it is the correct one.
🔹 Other relevant contacts: The names and email addresses of the freeholder, any landlord you lease the property from and the property manager, where applicable.
An agent can help prepare the entry, but you will still need to check the information, complete the final submission and pay the registration fee.
There are a few details to watch. The demonstrated system excludes rooms smaller than 4.64 square metres from the bedroom count. The rent figure should reflect the normal charge, including any bills or services covered by it, rather than arrears or advance payments.
The system is also expected to find the property’s EPC automatically and ask you to confirm that it has selected the correct one.
How do you give your agent permission?
You will enter the email address supplied by your agent into the property registration and confirm that you want them to help. Your agent will then receive an invitation to access that property’s entry.
You will need to do this separately for each property. There will not initially be an option for an agent to upload an entire portfolio in one go.
You can also withdraw an agent’s access. Before sending an invitation, speak to us so we can confirm the correct email address and agree the support required.
Agents may charge for registration work. It is very doubtful that it will be included within your current service level as this is a brand new service, so, check what is included in your management service. Sending an invitation does not, by itself, mean the work has been agreed.
You must complete the final step
Once your agent has added the agreed information, the registration comes back to you. You will need to:
🔸 Check that the information is correct.
🔸 Complete the final submission.
🔸 Pay the registration fee.
The published annual fee is £65.00 per property. Once registration is completed, your Property Registration Number should be emailed to you.
Uploading the paperwork is only part of the process. You must finish the application for the property to be registered.
The government has confirmed that landlords remain responsible for starting and finishing registration, even where an agent provides support. Further guidance on the detailed process is still due before launch.
Registration will need to be kept up to date
You will need to update the register when the information changes.
Under the published plans, information and documents must be updated within 28 days of becoming out of date. That includes replacing relevant safety documents and updating details such as the rent or occupancy.
Registration must also be renewed each year. If it is allowed to lapse, the entry becomes inactive.
For landlords with several properties, renewal dates will be brought together. The first property registration sets the renewal date for the others, so think about when you will be available to deal with that annual task.
When will Derbyshire landlords need to register?
For properties in Derby, Alfreton and the wider East Midlands, the published registration window runs from 15th February to 14th May 2027. Your deadline depends on where the property is, rather than where you live. Earlier registration will be possible once the service launches on 15th December 2026.
The initial rollout covers properties that are let, or become let during that period. The requirement to register empty properties before advertising them will follow later. Registration numbers will also need to appear in property advertising once those later rules begin.
Consequences of a missed registration
Failing to register your property by the applicable deadline could result in a financial penalty of up to £7,000. Continued or repeated breaches can lead to penalties of up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution. Persistently failing to register after receiving a financial penalty can also expose you to a rent repayment order, requiring you to repay rent.
You could also be prevented from obtaining a court order to recover your property until the registration problem is resolved, with limited exceptions involving antisocial behaviour.
Using a letting agent does not remove your responsibility to make sure registration is completed. Our advice at Cope & Co. is straightforward: prepare early, complete the final submission and keep your registration up to date.
There will also be a restriction on advertising unregistered properties. Once the later marketing rules begin, both the landlord and the property will need active registrations before the property can be advertised for let, whether privately or through an agent.
The relevant registration numbers will also need to appear in adverts.
That makes it important to check that registration has actually been completed and remains active.
The Cope & Co. view
Landlords already have plenty of paperwork. It is reasonable to expect clear instructions about what this new system requires and who needs to do what.
For properties we manage, we will already hold much of the day to day tenancy and safety information. The practical task will be checking what is needed, identifying anything missing and agreeing how we can support you.
Our advice is to start that conversation early. Leave time for questions, missing documents and your own final checks.
If you own a rental property in Derby, Alfreton or across Derbyshire, speak to the Cope & Co. team about preparing for registration and the support available through your management service. We can help you understand what is needed and what you will need to do yourself.
Information checked on 2 October 2026. Some details of the registration process remain subject to final government guidance.
