Phase 2 of the Renters' Rights Act starts on 15 December, when the government's landlord register, "Register your rental property", opens in the West Midlands; London landlords must be on it by 14 October 2027.
Phase 1 arrived on 1 May this year. Section 21 went, most tenancies became periodic, and rent increases were limited to one a year through the statutory section 13 process. Phase 2 is more administrative, and it brings two things for landlords to plan around: a national database of landlords and the homes they let, and a planned change to who decides rent disputes.
The register: who, what and when
Landlords who let on an assured or regulated tenancy in England will need two active entries: one for themselves and one for each property. Companies register too, with their Companies House number and a named contact. The fee is £65 per property, renewed every year, and changes must be updated within 28 days. Without both entries active, a property may not be marketed or let.
The rollout runs region by region, with three months to register after each region opens. The West Midlands goes first (15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027); London opens on 15 July 2027 with a deadline of 14 October 2027; the South West is last, by 14 November 2027. Landlords can register early from 15 December, wherever their homes are.
For each property the service asks for the address, type, bedrooms, the rent and how often it is paid, and the safety and energy records: the gas safety record, the electrical installation condition report and the EPC. Agents can upload information, but the landlord has to start and confirm the registration and stays responsible for it. The register starts as a private record; Osborne Clarke notes that the government intends to make parts of it public through later legislation.
We set out the London timetable in more detail in London's landlord register: what to prepare before July 2027.
What happens if you do not register
Councils enforce the register. Under sections 91 and 92 of the Act, a landlord who fails to register can face a penalty of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for a repeat or continuing breach, or for knowingly or recklessly giving false information.
The sanction landlords will feel most is in section 90. A court cannot make a possession order while the landlord is in breach of the duty to register, unless the claim is for anti-social behaviour. Now that every possession claim has to rely on a statutory ground, an unregistered landlord would find almost all of them closed until the entries are put right.
The duty is drafted around assured and regulated tenancies. A let to a company, or one where the rent is above £100,000 a year, cannot be an assured tenancy, so on the face of the definitions those lets appear to sit outside the register. Both are common in prime London. Check the position for any particular tenancy with a solicitor rather than assume it.
Rent disputes: from the tribunal to the Valuation Office
Since 1 May, a landlord can raise the rent once a year with two months' notice on the statutory form, and the tenant can challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. The rules already shifted in tenants' favour: the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the landlord proposed, and the new rent runs from the date of its decision rather than being backdated, according to Shelter Legal.
In September the government announced that it intends to move these decisions to HMRC's Valuation Office. The NRLA says the change needs new legislation and could take up to two years, and no start date has been set. Until then, challenges stay with the tribunal. In the meantime, a rent increase is easier to defend when it comes with evidence of comparable lets on the same streets.
Getting ready in London
London's deadline is eleven months away, but the paperwork takes longer than people expect. Gas safety records run for a year and electrical reports for five; an expired EPC, or one below the standard needed to let, can hold up both the registration and the next tenancy. Worth doing before next summer: collect the certificates for every property, confirm which tenancies are assured, and agree with your agent who will upload what.
Dolce Vita handles sales and lettings across the UK from Mayfair, and helps clients buy abroad through partner agencies. If you would like your rent and compliance position reviewed before the register opens, Request a lettings valuation; we acknowledge the same working day and return a written valuation within 24 to 48 hours.
Chris Dawson, Co-Founder
Sources: MHCLG announcement of 9 September 2026, as summarised by Devonshires (10 September 2026) and Osborne Clarke (23 September 2026); Macfarlanes, The Private Rented Sector database, 19 October 2026; Draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 (legislation.gov.uk); Renters' Rights Act 2025, sections 82 and 90 to 92, and Housing Act 1988, Schedule 1 (legislation.gov.uk); NRLA, 22 September 2026; Shelter Legal England, Challenging a rent increase, January 2026.