Landlord registration opens in the West Midlands on 15 December

What happened

According to GOV.UK, private landlords will need to register themselves and their privately let properties in England under the Renters' Rights Act 2026. The Register your rental property service is being rolled out regionally. The first region, the West Midlands, has its registration period starting on 15 December 2026.

The page we read is guidance for letting agents and property managers. They can choose to help landlords by entering some property details and keeping them updated, but using that feature is voluntary. The guidance is clear on the main point: landlords must start all property registrations, and it is their legal responsibility to register each property and make payment.

What it means for a self-managing landlord

If you manage your own lets, the guidance puts the starting of every registration, and the payment, with you as the landlord.

Landlords register themselves on the service to get a landlord number, and they start the registration of each property. According to the guidance, landlord numbers are formatted L-XXXX-XXXX and rental property numbers are formatted P-XXXX-XXXX. Landlords pay each property's annual registration fee on the service.

During the rollout, landlords only have to register properties that are let under an assured periodic or regulated tenancy at the registration deadline for their region. Properties that become let after that deadline also need registering. Tenancies that count as supported exempt accommodation under Section 12 of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 do not need to be registered. The page text we have does not give dates for regions other than the West Midlands, so check GOV.UK for the region your property is in.

Looking further ahead, the guidance says properties available for let will also need the landlord and the property to be registered before they can be marketed and advertised. That includes unoccupied properties. Adverts will need to show the landlord number and the rental property number.

The service also covers a property's compliance certificates and their issue and expiry information. The guidance describes agents providing these details through a link, and it suggests preparing property information in advance. It would make sense for any landlord to gather their certificates and dates before registering.

Where ServeProof fits

ServeProof prepares the documents the law says a tenant must have, sends them, and keeps a dated record of exactly what went to whom.

ServeProof is not a law firm. This post reports the GOV.UK guidance and does not advise on your own situation. Check the full GOV.UK guidance for what applies to your property and your region.