Renters' Rights Act 2025: what the latest government announcement means for you

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025) came into force on 1 May 2026, and brought some of the biggest changes to renting in a generation. It strengthened tenants' rights and introduced important new obligations for landlords.

On 9 September 2026, the Government announced the next phase of changes under the RRA 2025. The two headline announcements are: (1) a confirmed launch date for the new Private Rented Sector Database (PRS Database), and (2) that the HMRC Valuation Office will take over responsibility for handling challenges to proposed rent increases, replacing the current Tribunal-based process.

The PRS database: a national register for rental properties

If you are a landlord of an assured or regulated tenancy, the PRS Database (or the landlord registration service) will launch on 15 December 2026 . The Government is rolling the service out region by region to avoid bottlenecks — starting with the West Midlands. Each of your rental properties will need to be registered.

Your registration deadline will depend on where your property is located. The Government guidance sets out the roll-out dates and deadlines for each region, but the good news is landlords have 3 months from the date the scheme goes live in each region to register. The overall target is for all landlords to be registered by 14 November 2027.

For now, you only need to register properties that are currently let or will be let during the national roll-out period. However, in the future unoccupied properties will also need to be registered before you can market them for let.

You will need a GOV.UK One Login to register. There's an annual fee of £65 per rental property, and you will need to renew each year — so it's worth building this into your annual budgeting.

When you register, you will need to provide the following information:

• Individual Landlords: your name, address, date of birth, and contact details.
• Organisational landlords: the organisation name, type of legal entity, Companies House or Charity registration number, contact details, and details of the individual making the application.
• Property details: the address, dwelling type, and number of bedrooms.
• Tenancy details: the number of occupants, whether it's let furnished or partly furnished, and whether an HMO, additional, or selective licence is required.
• Rent details: the amount and frequency of rent, and whether it includes utilities.
• Health and safety: evidence of a gas safety record (if applicable), electrical safety information, and the most recent Energy Performance Certificate.

The idea behind the database is to give tenants greater transparency, making it easier for them to check a landlord's compliance and a property's condition before signing up. It also gives local authorities better tools to identify and take action against landlords who are not complying with the rules.

This is not optional – registration is a legal requirement, and landlords who do not comply risk being fined.

There are also financial consequences for getting this wrong. A landlord may be made subject to a Rent Repayment Order for providing false or misleading information to the database, or for continued failure to keep landlord and property entries active on the database.

Perhaps most significantly, if you do not have an active landlord entry and an active dwelling entry on the database, the Court will not be able to make a possession order in your favour — unless you are relying on Ground 7A (serious or criminal anti-social behaviour) or Ground 14 (anti-social behaviour). For every other ground, you would not be able to obtain possession until your registration is up to date.

Challenging rent increases: a new, faster process

At the moment, if a tenant wants to challenge a rent increase, they have to go through the First-Tier Property Tribunal — a process that can be slow and frustrating for everyone involved. The Government has now announced that this role will transfer to the HMRC Valuation Office.

Under the current system, Tribunal delays mean the increased rent is not payable until a final decision comes through, which can leave landlords at a disadvantage and out of pocket for a considerable time. 

The hope is that a dedicated service run by the HMRC Valuation Office will resolve rent disputes much more quickly, which should be a welcome change for landlords and tenants alike.

There's no confirmed date for this changeover yet. In the meantime, any challenges to rent increases will continue to be made to the First-Tier Property Tribunal .

What should you be doing now?

The legal obligation to register sits squarely with the landlord, though in practice many letting agents will be asked to handle registration on their landlord's behalf.

Now is a good time to review the records you hold for each property and make sure all the documentation needed for registration is to hand — or at least obtainable — well before your region's implementation date. Don't leave it to the last minute.

Even though the HMRC Valuation Office process is not live yet, the increased transparency it will bring means landlords will face more scrutiny when justifying rent increases. It's worth getting ahead of this by adopting a clear and consistent approach to rent reviews now, so you are well prepared if a tenant challenges an increase down the line.

For full details on what information you'll need to provide and the roll-out dates for the PRS database across the UK, click here.