Renters’ Rights: Landlord database is a multi-million pound rip-off

Controversial plans for a private rented sector database are set to cost more than £325 million, whilst providing an extremely limited service to tenants and landlords.

Regional rollout of the database will mark the introduction of phase two of the Renters’ Rights Act, with the £65 fee, per property, per year, almost seven times the figure ministers laid out in their Impact Assessment of the changes.

With just over five million private rented sector dwellings in England, this means the database will cost the sector a minimum of £327 million per year – a cost that will ultimately be covered by renters.

Licensing duplication

Another frustration is that much of the information required by the Government for the new database replicates what you are already required to give to councils in areas where licensing schemes are in force.

Such schemes can cost as much as £2,300 per property, which you will still need to pay in addition to the fee to register yourself and your properties on the database.

Administrative burden

There is also the administrative burden. At present there are no plans by the Government to digitise gas and electrical safety certificates in the same way as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).

These certificates will instead need to be manually scanned and uploaded onto the database, something which will only add to the administrative costs of compliance.

This will be particularly burdensome for those of you with larger portfolios, and build-to-rent providers managing hundreds or thousands of properties.

Civil penalties

Inclusion on the database is mandatory, and failure to register yourself and your properties could land you with a civil penalty of up to £7,000 – increasing to £40,000 for repeat offences.

Under the new plans, once registered, you will also be responsible for updating any details which may change over the course of a tenancy – for example should you move house, or increase the rent. If you fail to do this within 28 days of the change taking place you could also be fined up to £7,000.

This creates a significant risk, particularly for those of you managing multiple properties. This could, ultimately require extra staff to manage these new compliance obligations – again adding to the total cost.

At the same time we are still waiting to find out how much it will cost to join the new private rented sector Ombudsman scheme, something which most expect to be significantly more expensive, and are preparing for a two percentage point tax hike on rental income from 2027.

A costly mess

Our chief executive, Ben Beadle said: “A well-designed database should make it easy for landlords to demonstrate compliance with their obligations; empower tenants; and be truly digital in every way. This looks likely to fail on every count.

“What we have on offer is a costly mess. 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. 

“The mind boggles that landlords are to be forced to pay more to manually upload documents to a website than mechanics are permitted to charge to carry out an MOT check, which (at just over £54) includes a comprehensive, hands-on examination of a car’s roadworthiness.

“Frankly, landlords and tenants are being ripped off in the name of consumer protection.

“The hundreds of millions the sector will be expected to pour into this thin gruel of a database would be far better spent helping landlords meet the Government’s energy efficiency targets.”  As the first rollout data approaches in December we will continue to raise your concerns with Government and will continue to question ministers on who will be able to access your personal details via the new portal.

More information

• To read our latest guidance - up to date with the details in the Private Rented Sector Database Regulation 2026 and the government's official statements click here. 
• You can also use our new checker tool find out when you will be affected be the regional rollout by clicking here. 
• To visit our Renters' Rights Hub, packed with information and resources to help you manage the transition, click here.      
• The NRLA's award-winning training academy runs a comprehensive Renters' Rights Act training offer. Click here to book your place. 
• You can listen to the latest epsiode of our podcast Listen Up Landlords where we discuss the new database and how it will work below: