Landlords will have to start signing up to the new private rented sector database from late 2026, with the government confirming that the second phase of the Renters’ Rights Act will begin this year rather than on an undefined future timetable.
The update matters because ministers have now tied phase two to a clearer window and set out how the rollout will work. The database will begin with a regional launch for landlords and councils, while the new landlord ombudsman will follow after the database is in place rather than arriving at the same time.
For landlords, that shifts the focus from May’s section 21 changes to the next compliance build-out. The immediate question is no longer whether a database and ombudsman are coming, but how quickly landlords will need to register properties, provide safety information and budget for new annual fees.
Database rollout starts the next stage of RRA enforcement
According to the government’s updated implementation roadmap, phase two will start from late 2026 with a staged rollout of the PRS Database. Registration will be mandatory for all private rented sector landlords, who will also have to pay an annual fee set closer to launch.
The roadmap says landlords will be expected to provide contact details, property information and core safety records including gas, electrical and EPC certificates. Ministers say the system is designed to help tenants check who they are renting from, give councils better enforcement data and make compliance easier to evidence for landlords.
The government’s separate public explainer, published after the Act’s first phase went live, repeats that the database will be introduced gradually by area from late 2026 rather than as a single national switch-on date.
Landlord ombudsman will come after database launch
The same roadmap makes clear that the PRS Landlord Ombudsman will not arrive before the database. Instead, it will be introduced later in phase two, with ministers saying the ombudsman should share information with the database to cut duplicated sign-up work for landlords.
That sequencing is new detail for landlords trying to map compliance costs. The ombudsman scheme will be mandatory and funded by landlords under what the government calls a fair and proportionate charging model, but the paper says compulsory membership is expected in 2028 rather than immediately once phase two begins.
Matthew Pennycook, minister of state for housing and planning, said in the roadmap foreword that the second phase will introduce the PRS database and establish a landlord ombudsman for the sector, while a later phase will deal with Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on how the PRS Database will support landlord enforcement checks, which highlighted ministers’ plan to give councils better data on who owns and operates rental homes. It also builds on our coverage of the Renters’ Rights Act going live on 1 May, when the first phase brought in the end of section 21, new rent rules and tougher enforcement powers.
The bigger point for landlords is that the government’s timetable is becoming more granular. Phase three measures, including Awaab’s Law in the PRS and a new Decent Homes Standard, are still subject to consultation, but phase two now looks close enough for landlords and agents to start auditing records, certificates and portfolio data before registration opens.
What this means for landlords
- If you run a portfolio: start checking that landlord contact details, property addresses and safety certificates are current and easy to pull together.
- Watch for: confirmation of the annual database fee, the order of regional rollout and the eventual ombudsman charging model.
- Bottom line: phase two is no longer abstract – landlords now have a late-2026 window to prepare for mandatory registration.
Editor’s view
The government has stopped treating phase two as a vague promise and started describing how it will land. For landlords, that should be the signal to get paperwork, certificates and property records in order before the database turns from policy into a live compliance duty.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 10 June 2026
Sources: GOV.UK implementation roadmap, GOV.UK Renters’ Rights Act explainer
Related reading: PRS Database to power landlord enforcement checks
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
