The PRS Database and Landlord Ombudsman: what letting agents should prepare before 15 December 2026

The first phase of the Renters' Rights Act, the end of Section 21 and the move to periodic tenancies, started on 1 May 2026. The second phase is next. The government's roadmap says it will start rolling out the private rented sector (PRS) database "from late 2026", with a new Landlord Ombudsman to follow. On 9 September 2026 the government gave the date: the database launches on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and reaching other areas over 12 months. Landlords get three months to sign up once their area is called forward, every landlord letting property must be registered by 14 November 2027, and adverts will need to show registration numbers. This guide sets out what the roadmap says and what an agency can get ready now.

What the roadmap says

Phase 2, from 15 December 2026: the PRS Database. Joining will be mandatory for all private landlords, who will pay an annual fee to be confirmed closer to launch. The roadmap expects regulations to require, at minimum, for each property:

• the landlord's contact details, including every joint landlord;
• the property details: full address, whether it is a flat or house, number of bedrooms, number of households and residents, whether it is occupied and furnished;
• safety information: gas, electrical and Energy Performance Certificates.

Rollout starts with landlord registration, then public access and data sharing. It begins regionally.

Then the Ombudsman. A new PRS Landlord Ombudsman will handle tenants' complaints, and membership will be mandatory for landlords, funded by them. The roadmap says landlords will be required to join once the service is ready, and it expects that in 2028.

Phase 3: the Decent Homes Standard. A minimum standard for private rented homes for the first time. Dates are to be set after consultation.

Who does the work

The duties sit with landlords. In practice, for a managed property, the agent holds the information the database will ask for: the certificates, the tenancy details, the occupancy. Expect landlords to ask whether registration is included in management fees, and decide your answer now.

What to prepare now

1. Clean property records. Full addresses, property type, bedrooms, occupancy and furnishing for every managed property, in one place.
2. Every certificate current, and its date recorded. Gas, EICR and EPC dates are what the database asks for. Our compliance date tracker works them out and exports reminders.
3. Joint landlord details. The roadmap specifically mentions capturing every joint landlord's details. Many agency records hold only the lead contact.
4. A fee decision. Will you register landlords as part of full management, charge for it, or leave it to them? Put it in the terms of business before the first landlord asks.
5. A complaints log. The Ombudsman is a couple of years away, but tenant complaints handled and recorded well now are the evidence you will want then.

The conversation to have with landlords

Most landlords will hear about the database from the news, not from the government. Get ahead of it with a short note to every managed landlord: what the database is, that it launches on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and reaches other areas over the following 12 months, what it will ask for, which of those details the agency already holds, and what the agency will do. A landlord who learns about a new duty from their agent first is a landlord who stays. Self-managing landlords who use you for tenant-find only will need the same certificates, and some will want help; that is a service you can price.

What we do not know yet

The fee, the date each region after the West Midlands is called forward, whether agents will be able to register on a landlord's behalf, and how the database and Ombudsman will share information are all still to be set out in regulations. The roadmap says the government is looking at ways to share information between the two "to minimise landlord sign-up burden". We will update this guide when the regulations are published.

Meanwhile, the work that pays off whatever the detail is the same: accurate records and current certificates. For everything else that changed on 1 May, see our 2026 compliance checklist, and check your own website against the 12 phrases the Act made out of date.

This is general information for England, not legal advice.