Somewhere in Whitehall, someone has finally produced a calendar, and your region is on it. Find your date before it finds you.
The lead: find your region's register date
Registration for the new landlord database opens one region at a time, and the government has now published the full timetable in its guidance for landlords. The West Midlands goes first on 15 December. Then come the East of England (15 January), East Midlands (15 February), South East (15 March), Yorkshire and Humberside (15 April), North West (15 May), North East (15 June), London (15 July) and South West (15 August). Each region gets a three-month window.
Registering yourself as a landlord is free. Each property costs £65 a year. You enter the property details first, including a correspondence address in England or Wales and contact details for any managing agent, superior landlord or freeholder, then pay. Your gas safety certificate, electrical safety report, EPC, tenancy details including the rent, and any licence such as an HMO licence can go in at the same time or within 28 days. Miss that deadline and the property's registration may be deactivated.
If an agent manages your property, you can ask them to supply the tenancy and safety information, and Letting Agent Today reports that they are responsible for the accuracy of anything they submit. But the record is still yours: the guidance says you must make sure it's complete within 28 days.
Find your region and put the start date in your diary. Pull your gas, electrical and EPC certificates into one folder now. If you use an agent, ask whether they'll complete the entry for you and whether that costs extra.
Your tenants are learning the rules, and asking AI
Goodlord's State of the Lettings Industry Report 2026 includes 2,000 tenants among its 3,031 respondents. Of those tenants, 68% have heard of the Renters' Rights Act, up from about half last year. 24% have used AI to understand their rights and 18% to draft an email or letter to a landlord or agent, as reported by Landlord Today.
Of the 7% of renters who served notice since May, 70% say the Act influenced their decision and 44% moved sooner than planned. Money is tight on their side too: 53% spend more than 30% of take-home pay on rent, and 35% say a significant rent rise would cause financial distress.
Expect tidier, better-informed messages from tenants. Reply in writing, stay civil and keep a dated record. Before you raise the rent, weigh a smaller rise against the cost of an empty month if a good tenant leaves early.
Your mortgage: the OBR sees rates drifting towards 5%
The Office for Budget Responsibility's October forecast puts the average effective mortgage rate at around 4% now, climbing to 5% by 2031 as cheap fixed deals expire, as reported by Landlord Today. That's across all mortgages, not just buy-to-let. It also expects house prices to grow about 2% this year and 2.5% in 2027, below inflation.
Check when your fixed rate ends and ask your broker what you'd pay on today's deals. If you're thinking of selling, prices rising slower than inflation means a real-terms squeeze, so get a realistic valuation first.
Quick hits
- Ombudsman: housing minister Matthew Pennycook has said the Housing Ombudsman Service is meant to set up and run the private landlord ombudsman, as reported by Landlord Today. The regulations don't make you join immediately, and no start date or fee is out yet. Keep repair logs and tenant emails in one place.
- Renewal: your registration renews one year after your first property registration, and all your properties share that date, per the gov.uk guidance. Fees are pro-rated during the rollout, and updates to your records are free.
- Energy upgrades: of landlords planning EPC work, 31% expect to raise rents where they can to recover the cost, in the Goodlord survey as reported by Landlord Today. Set that against the 35% of tenants who say a big rise would cause them distress, and price any increase to what your tenant can afford.
- Local help: Lancaster Council is running a landlords' forum on the registration scheme on Monday 9 November, 6pm to 8pm, at Morecambe Town Hall, as reported by Landlord Today. Worth checking whether your own council is doing the same.
Number of the day: £7,000
That's the top fine in the gov.uk guidance for failing to register yourself and your property. The ceiling rises to £40,000 for knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information, or for continuing or repeated breaches of certain requirements. Against £65 a property, registering is the cheap option.