The Property Portal represents a fundamental shift in how the private rented sector is regulated in England: for the first time, every private landlord will be required to register their properties and their compliance status on a national database managed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC, now MHCLG). The portal is designed to give tenants transparency about landlord compliance, enable local authorities to identify unlicensed and non-compliant landlords, and create a national record of landlord conduct that feeds into the banning order register.
Landlords who are already compliant — with valid EPCs, gas and electrical safety certificates, and (where applicable) HMO licences — will find registration straightforward. The complexity arises for landlords with gaps in their compliance documentation, and for the growing number of landlords who may not realise they are caught by the registration requirement (for example, accidental landlords who inherited a property and are renting it informally).
What is the Property Portal and what does RRA 2025 require landlords to do
The Property Portal is a national database of private rented sector properties and landlords established under Part 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The key obligation is registration before letting — a landlord must register before granting a new tenancy, and must keep their registration up to date:
- Who must register: All landlords of residential property in England who let to private tenants must register. This includes individual landlords, limited company landlords, corporate landlords, and portfolio landlords with multiple properties. Each property must be registered separately. The obligation applies to new tenancies from the implementation date and (via a transition period) to existing tenancies. Resident landlords letting rooms in their own home may have modified obligations
- What information must be provided: Landlords must provide: their full name and correspondence address; contact telephone number and email; property address; current EPC rating and expiry date; gas safety certificate status (date of last check; engineer name); EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) status; HMO licence number if the property is licensed; and details of any civil penalties or banning orders on their record. The information is designed to allow tenants to carry out due diligence before signing a tenancy
- Keeping registration up to date: Landlords must update their registration when any registered information changes — including when a new gas or electrical safety certificate is obtained, when an EPC is renewed, or when a property changes address or ownership. Failure to keep the registration current is treated as a failure to register
- Registration number: Once registered, the landlord receives a unique property registration number for each property. This number should be included in all tenancy advertisements and tenancy agreements. Letting agents must verify the registration number before listing a property
Civil penalties for failing to register — landlords and letting agents
The civil penalty regime for Property Portal non-compliance is enforced by local housing authorities. Civil penalties are imposed on a civil standard (balance of probabilities) and do not create a criminal record:
- First offence — landlord: A landlord who lets a property without registering on the Property Portal commits an offence and is liable to a civil penalty of up to £5,000. The local authority determines the amount within the statutory maximum based on the severity and duration of the non-compliance, the landlord's financial position, and whether the landlord cooperated with the authority
- Repeat offence — landlord: A landlord who commits a further registration offence within 5 years of the first penalty is liable to a civil penalty of up to £30,000. Repeat offences may also trigger an application for a banning order (HA 2016 Part 2). The escalating penalty structure reflects the Government's intention to make continued non-compliance more costly than compliance
- Letting agent obligations and penalties: Letting agents are prohibited from letting or marketing a property they know (or ought to know) is not registered on the Property Portal. An agent who breaches this prohibition is liable to a civil penalty of up to £7,500. Agents must establish procedures to verify property registration status before accepting new landlord instructions or listing properties
- RTO interaction: Failure to register on the Property Portal is a trigger offence for a Rent Repayment Order under the extended RTO regime in RRA 2025. This means that in addition to the civil penalty, a tenant who paid rent during an unregistered period can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an RTO of up to 12 months' rent. The combined financial exposure from civil penalty plus RTO is substantial
Tenant rights via the Property Portal — transparency and pre-tenancy checks
The Property Portal is designed to give prospective and current tenants access to key information about a property and landlord before and during their tenancy. This transparency mechanism is central to the Government's objective of professionalising the private rented sector:
- Tenant access to registration status: Prospective tenants can search the Property Portal by property address to confirm that the landlord is registered and that the property's compliance certificates (EPC, gas safety, EICR) are current. This allows tenants to identify non-compliant properties before signing a tenancy agreement. Tenants are encouraged to request the property's registration number at the viewing stage
- Mandatory disclosure in tenancy agreements: Landlords and letting agents must include the property's registration number in the tenancy agreement. Failure to include the registration number in the tenancy agreement is itself a compliance failure. Tenant advocacy groups recommend that tenants verify the registration number on the portal before signing
- Tenancy validity where landlord is not registered: A tenancy granted by an unregistered landlord is not automatically void — it remains a valid tenancy agreement. However, the unregistered landlord cannot rely on certain possession grounds until they have remedied the registration failure. This is an additional incentive for landlords to register: non-registration may restrict their ability to obtain possession when needed
- Local authority enforcement role: Local housing authorities can search the Property Portal to identify unregistered landlords in their area and serve civil penalty notices without requiring a prior complaint. The portal enables proactive enforcement rather than relying on tenant complaints. This is a significant change from the current selective licensing model where landlords who fly under the radar often avoid enforcement
Property Portal rollout timetable and interaction with other RRA 2025 obligations
The Property Portal is being implemented in phases by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG, formerly DLUHC). Landlords should plan their registration now rather than waiting for the enforcement deadline:
- Phased implementation: The RRA 2025 provisions on the Property Portal come into force by commencement order. MHCLG has indicated a phased rollout with new tenancies first (all new tenancies in the designated area must be registered from day one) followed by a transition period for existing tenancies. During the transition period, landlords with existing tenancies must register within a specified number of months. Landlords in early implementation areas should register immediately
- Mandatory PRS ombudsman interaction: The Property Portal and mandatory PRS ombudsman membership are both required under RRA 2025 and both come into force on the same commencement schedule. Landlords must be registered on the portal AND members of the ombudsman scheme. The portal will eventually display a landlord's ombudsman membership status as part of the public-facing compliance record
- Property Portal and possession grounds: Under RRA 2025, landlords who have not registered on the Property Portal may find their access to certain possession grounds restricted or unavailable until the registration breach is remedied. This is analogous to the restriction on Section 21 use where prescribed information was not served at the start of the tenancy — non-compliance with a key compliance obligation affects enforcement rights
- What landlords should do now: Audit all properties' compliance certificates (EPC, gas safety, EICR) and ensure they are current. Identify any HMO properties requiring licences and check all licences are in place. Ensure your correspondence address is current. When the portal opens for registration, register all properties promptly. Add a calendar reminder for certificate renewals. Brief your letting agent that they must verify registration before re-marketing any property
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register on the Property Portal before my next tenant moves in?+
Yes — once the Property Portal provisions of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 come into force in your area, you must register before granting a new tenancy. Granting a tenancy without registering is a civil offence carrying a penalty of up to £5,000 (first offence) or £30,000 (repeat offence). You should also register within the transition period for any existing tenancies. Check MHCLG announcements for the commencement dates in your area.
What information do I need to register on the Property Portal?+
You will need: your full name and contact address/phone/email; each property's address; current EPC rating and expiry date; gas safety certificate status (date of last check); EICR status; and HMO licence number if applicable. Ensure all compliance certificates are current before registering — the portal displays this information to prospective tenants.
Can my letting agent register on my behalf?+
Yes — your letting agent can register your property on your behalf, but the registration is in your name as the landlord. Both you and your agent need to ensure the registration is accurate and kept up to date. Your agent is also independently prohibited from listing or letting your property if they know it is not registered — non-registration by the landlord creates compliance risk for the agent as well.
Does failing to register on the Property Portal affect my right to get my property back?+
Under RRA 2025, landlords who have not complied with key pre-tenancy obligations (including Property Portal registration) may find certain possession grounds restricted until the compliance failure is remedied. Additionally, tenants can apply for a Rent Repayment Order for the period during which the landlord was unregistered. Proactive registration avoids both risks.
- Rent Repayment Orders — RTOs for unlicensed and non-compliant landlords →
- Eviction process — possession under RRA 2025 →
- Landlord licensing — mandatory, selective, and additional schemes →
- Landlord compliance checklist — all obligations in one place →
- Electrical safety — EICR obligations →
- Gas safety certificate — annual checks, CP12 →