# Landlord Database Check

> Renters' Rights Act and the coming PRS database: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already run mandatory registers. Check which scheme covers your property.

## Key facts

- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each operate a mandatory national landlord register; England's opens region by region from 15 December 2026, and until then it licenses at property level, council by council.
- Landlord registration lasts 3 years in Scotland and Northern Ireland but 5 years in Wales, and in Wales registration and licensing are two separate processes with separate renewal cycles.
- England's 'Register your rental property' service, created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, opens to landlords in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and in every other region by 15 August 2027, at £65 a property a year.

## Key pages

- [Renters' Rights Act: will you have to be on a landlord register?](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [Landlord registration by nation: Scotland, Wales, NI, England](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/landlord-registration-by-nation/): Scotland renews every 3 years, Wales every 5 with a separate licence, Northern Ireland issues a 3 year certificate, England has no national scheme. What each requires.
- [Selective licensing in England: why the answer is your council](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/selective-licensing-england/): Selective licensing can require a licence for every private rented home in a designated area. The grounds, the 2024 change to Secretary of State sign-off, how to check.
- [England's Private Rented Sector Database: what is confirmed](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/private-rented-sector-database/): England's 'Register your rental property' service opens 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, region by region to 14 November 2027, at £65 a property a year.
- [How to check if a landlord is registered or licensed](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/how-to-check-a-landlord-register/): Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish searchable national registers. England publishes council-by-council licensing registers. Where to search, what to check.
- [Landlord registration and licensing across the four UK nations](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-10-27.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- Landlord registration and licensing across the four UK nations. Methodology: Each row is taken from the official source named in its final column and read on the updated date shown above: mygov.scot and the Scottish Landlord Register for Scotland, Rent Smart Wales for Wales, nidirect for Northern Ireland, and gov.uk plus the Housing Act 2004 and Renters' Rights Act 2025 for England. Fees are the published official fees on those pages at that date and change periodically, so confirm on the register before paying. Where a scheme is announced but not open, the row says so instead of giving a date as if it were settled.
- Last updated: 2026-10-27. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: mygov.scot, registering as a private landlord: https://www.mygov.scot/landlord-registration
- Source: Scottish Landlord Register: https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/
- Source: Rent Smart Wales, landlord registration: https://www.rentsmart.gov.wales/en/landlord/landlord-registration/
- Source: Rent Smart Wales, licensing: https://www.rentsmart.gov.wales/en/licensing/
- Source: Rent Smart Wales, public register: https://www.rentsmart.gov.wales/en/check-register/
- Source: Housing (Wales) Act 2014: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2014/7/contents
- Source: nidirect, Landlord Registration Scheme: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/landlord-registration-scheme
- Source: nidirect, search for a landlord: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/search-landlord
- Source: gov.uk, selective licensing in the private rented sector: a guide for local authorities: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/selective-licensing-in-the-private-rented-sector-a-guide-for-local-authorities
- Source: Housing Act 2004: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/contents
- Source: gov.uk, house in multiple occupation licence: https://www.gov.uk/house-in-multiple-occupation-licence
- Source: Renters' Rights Act 2025: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/contents
- Source: gov.uk, Renters' Rights Act 2025 implementation roadmap: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renters-rights-act-2025-implementation-roadmap/implementing-the-renters-rights-act-2025-our-roadmap-for-reforming-the-private-rented-sector
- Source: gov.uk, guide to the Renters' Rights Act: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act
- Source: gov.uk, find your local council: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

## Citation

Cite as: "Landlord registration and licensing across the four UK nations", Landlord Database Check, https://landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk/ (updated 2026-10-27).

## About

- Landlord Database Check is an information site. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Rent Smart Wales, the Scottish Landlord Register, the Northern Ireland Landlord Registration Scheme, any local authority or any government department, and nothing here is legal advice. Registration and licensing schemes change, fees change, and England's landlord database opens region by region from 15 December 2026: every statement here is quoted from the official register or gov.uk page it links to and was checked on the date shown above. Confirm the current position with the relevant register or your local council before you let.
- Operated by landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk. Contact: enquiries@landlorddatabasecheck.co.uk