The National Residential Landlords Association says the planned private rented sector database will cost England’s landlords at least £326.95 million a year once every rental home is paying the £65 annual registration charge.
The estimate, published by the NRLA on 5 October, multiplies the confirmed annual fee by MHCLG’s 5.03 million private rented dwellings figure. It is an industry-body calculation, rather than a Government forecast, but it puts a national total on a charge that begins its regional rollout in December.
Owners have a short planning window before their area is called into the scheme. The cost rises with the number of properties, while the first rollout also requires landlords to organise evidence and registration details for every let.
£65 fee replaces earlier three-year assumption
The association contrasts the annual £65 charge with the assumptions used in the 2024 Renters’ Rights Bill impact assessment. That document assumed a £28.58 registration fee and re-registration every three years. Landlord Knowledge previously reported that the Government has set the £65 register fee and 15 December rollout.
The current fee produces the NRLA’s £326.95 million estimate only if all 5.03 million homes are registered at £65 in a year. That is a useful scale measure, not a bill issued to one landlord, and it does not settle which costs Government will incur in operating the system or how the rollout will progress between regions.
Manual evidence creates a second cost
Landlords with larger portfolios face a separate administrative question. Landlord Knowledge’s report that the database has no bulk-registration route at present found that registrations and payments are expected to be completed separately, even where an agent can upload some documents.
In its new release, the NRLA says there are no plans to digitise gas and electrical safety certificates in the way that EPCs are digitised. It argues that scanning and uploading those documents will add to compliance time, particularly for build-to-rent operators and other large portfolios. Landlords should treat that as the association’s assessment of the current design, not as confirmation that the process cannot change before their own regional start date.
The NRLA’s 5 October release also says some landlords could be paying for information already supplied through local licensing. Its comparison is part of the body’s call for a more digital system, rather than a decision to remove council licensing or waive the new registration duty.
What remains confirmed
The confirmed elements are narrower than the debate around the figure. The Government’s Register your rental property programme is due to start a regional rollout from December, registration is £65 per property each year, and the national database is part of the Renters’ Rights Act programme. The eventual public-facing information, local sequencing and final day-to-day registration experience remain matters for further Government guidance.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on the private rented sector database timetable and preparation, which set out the documents landlords may need to keep ready. The NRLA calculation changes the scale of the cost debate, but it does not change the £65 charge or create a new nationwide registration date.
What this means for landlords
- If you own one rental: allow for a £65 annual registration charge when the rollout reaches your region.
- If you own several homes: multiply the annual fee by every property and leave time to assemble safety, EPC, tenancy and licensing records.
- Watch for: regional invitations and Government guidance on the registration journey, including any changes to document handling.
- Bottom line: the £327 million figure is an NRLA sector-wide calculation, but the direct cost remains £65 per property each year.
Editor’s view
The headline total is politically useful because it turns a per-property fee into a figure landlords can compare with other national compliance costs. The more immediate test is simpler: whether the system removes duplicate work or adds another annual task to an already crowded compliance calendar.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 06 October 2026
Sources: National Residential Landlords Association
Related reading: Government sets £65 landlord register fee from 15 December
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