Guide
How to check whether a landlord is registered or licensed
Updated
Whether you are a tenant checking a landlord, a buyer doing diligence or a landlord confirming your own record, you search the landlord register of the nation the property sits in: there is no single UK-wide one.
Talk to a specialist Four nations, four systems, and one of them changes from late 2026. A minute to see which applies to your property.
How to check landlord registration in each nation
- Scotland
- Search the Scottish Landlord Register. Registration numbers must also appear in property adverts and listings, so an advert without one, and without the words 'landlord registration pending', is itself a signal.
- Wales
- Search the Rent Smart Wales public register by property address, landlord name, agent name or reference number. Rent Smart Wales notes that the address search covers all Welsh postal addresses, so finding an address is no indication that the property is or has ever been rented.
- Northern Ireland
- Use nidirect's search for a landlord, or search by property details. nidirect states that if your landlord is not registered you can ask the local council to investigate.
- England
- There is no national register. Under section 232 of the Housing Act 2004 each local housing authority keeps a public register of the HMO and selective licences it has granted. Find the council at gov.uk/find-local-council and search its site for its licensing register.
What to look for once you find an entry
- The exact address, not the street. Flat-level entries matter in converted buildings.
- The expiry date. Scottish and Northern Irish registrations run 3 years, Welsh registrations 5 years, English licences up to 5 years. An expired entry is not a current one.
- The named holder. In Wales, check whether the person managing the property holds an agent licence, not just whether the landlord is registered.
- Permitted occupancy on an English HMO licence, which limits how many people may live there.
- Pending status. A Scottish advert may lawfully say 'landlord registration pending' while an application is processed.
If the property is not on the register
Absence is not proof of an offence: the property may be exempt, outside a designated area, or subject to a pending application. But it is the right point to ask. In Scotland, renting out without registration is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to £50,000. In Northern Ireland, nidirect tells tenants of unregistered landlords to ask the local council to investigate. In Wales, Rent Smart Wales publishes a route to report an unregistered or unlicensed landlord. In England, report an unlicensed licensable property to the council's private sector housing team.
Registers are the primary source, but they are snapshots. A licence or registration can be granted, revoked or allowed to lapse between the day a page is published and the day you read it, so check the register itself rather than any summary of it, including this one.