Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has said the government is weighing up whether HM Revenue and Customs and other agencies should be given access to data held on the new Private Rented Sector database, alongside full access for local authorities.
The confirmation came in response to a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Andrew Snowden on how information will flow between the landlord registration service, councils and HMRC. Pennycook said ministers will assess the benefits and risks of sharing different data points and will set out the rules in future legislation after the initial rollout is complete.
Councils will see the full picture from day one for enforcement work, while HMRC access would hand the tax authority a structured feed of who owns what and where. With quarterly digital reporting under Making Tax Digital approaching and HMRC consulting on direct rent reports from letting agents, the compliance net around rental income is tightening on several fronts at once.
What ministers have confirmed
Pennycook said the government is considering how agencies and organisations, including HMRC and local authorities, will be able to access relevant data collected through the registration service to support their statutory functions. Any sharing must be proportionate and in line with data protection and landlord privacy rights, he said.
Detailed data-sharing arrangements will be set out in later legislation, announced only after the first phase of the service is running. Landlords’ submitted information will not be publicly available before 2027, the government has confirmed. Local authorities will hold the full range of records to carry out enforcement duties.
The registration service will collect property addresses, bedroom and occupancy details plus copies of gas safety, electrical and EPC documents. How that data is stored and shared is described in the government’s PRS database privacy notice.
Low awareness raises the stakes
Many landlords still do not know the register is coming. This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on August research finding only 23 percent of landlords knew about the mandatory database, a gap that leaves large numbers unprepared for registration duties starting with the West Midlands rollout from 15 December.
Cost is a second concern. The NRLA has put the landlord database bill at £327 million a year once fees and admin time are counted. Adding HMRC visibility to that picture sharpens the incentive to get records, certificates and tax reporting aligned now rather than under enquiry later.
What this means for landlords
- If you are registering from December: assume what you submit can in time be seen by councils and potentially HMRC – keep it accurate
- Watch for: the follow-up legislation after rollout, which will fix exactly which data points each body can see
- Align your certificates: gas, electrical and EPC documents filed on the register should match what you hold and what agents hold
- Reconcile rent records: with MTD quarterly updates and possible agent rent reports, declared income must tie across systems
- Bottom line: the register is becoming an enforcement tool, not just a list – treat every entry as if an officer and an inspector can read it
Editor’s view
Ministers talk of proportionality, but the direction is plain: one database feeding councils, and probably the taxman too. Landlords who register carefully and keep certificates current will have little to fear. Those with gaps across properties, paperwork and tax returns should close them before the data starts moving.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 10 November 2026
Sources: House of Commons written answers, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Related reading: August survey: only 23% of landlords know about mandatory database
