Dear Valued Client,
We wanted to make you aware of an important new Government requirement that will affect landlords.
The Government has now released further details about the Landlord and Property Database, which is now being referred to as the ‘Register Your Rental Property’ service, with the new registration system is being introduced in stages. For properties in Yorkshire & Humber the new regulations are due to commence on 15th April 2027 and we will then have until 14th July 2027 to register your property. Although this may seem some time away, there is a fair amount of information involved, particularly if you own several rental properties, so we recommend starting to prepare now.
What is the new Register Your Rental Property service?
The Government is introducing a central register of landlords and privately rented properties.
Landlords will need to register themselves and their rental properties and provide information about each property.
Once registered, you will receive:
- Landlord Registration Number (LRN) – this identifies you as a registered landlord; and
- Property Registration Number (PRN) – this identifies each individual rental property.
Once the new requirements apply, these numbers will also need to be included in relevant property advertisements. If a property has more than one legal owner, each legal owner is expected to register individually. The current information indicates a registration fee of £65 per property per year. This is a Government fee, for a small fee we are happy to conduct the registration on your behalf although have not decided what this is as of yet.
We appreciate that keeping up with changing legislation can be time-consuming, particularly for landlords with multiple properties. This is one of the key advantages of having your property fully managed by Whitegates.
As your managing agent, we already deal with many of the day-to-day responsibilities involved in keeping your rental property compliant and properly managed. As the new registration requirements are introduced, we will be preparing our systems and processes so that we can assist our managed landlords with the information and ongoing requirements associated with the new register.
This can include helping to:
✓ Keep your property information up to date
✓ Maintain records of your compliance certificates and property documentation
✓ Ensure the relevant LRN and PRN information is recorded on our systems
✓ Ensure the required registration numbers are available for property marketing once the rules apply
✓ Keep track of important compliance requirements and renewal dates
✓ Assist with the information required for the registration process
✓ Keep you informed as further Government guidance is released
For landlords with a portfolio of properties, having one agent managing this information across your properties can make the process considerably easier and reduce the risk of something being overlooked. Please note that the legal responsibility to register remains with the landlord, but where we manage your property, we can help take away much of the administration involved. Our aim is to make the introduction of these new requirements as straightforward as possible for our managed landlords.
We will provide further information about exactly how we can assist with registration once the Government’s final guidance and processes are confirmed, we will continue to monitor the Government’s guidance, update our systems and keep you informed of what you need to do and when.
What if I don’t register?
Once the requirements apply to your property, registration will be a legal requirement. The Government has enforcement powers for landlords who fail to comply, including civil penalties of up to £40,000 in certain circumstances. Other enforcement measures may also apply. It is therefore important that landlords take the new requirements seriously and ensure that the information provided is complete, accurate and kept up to date.
Thinking about letting us manage your portfolio?
If you currently manage your properties yourself, the introduction of the new registration requirements is a good opportunity to consider whether fully managed lettings could take some of the work off your hands.
From tenant management and property compliance to keeping records and dealing with changing legislation, Whitegates can take care of the day-to-day management of your rental property, leaving you more time to focus on your investment rather than the administration behind it.
If you would like to discuss moving your property or portfolio to full management with Whitegates, please get in touch and one of our lettings team will be happy to talk through how we can help.
We will continue to keep you updated as further Government guidance becomes available.
