Lawbite: Renters’ Rights Act Update: Private Rented Sector Register and Rent Increase Challenges

On 9 September 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced the next phase of reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (the Act), the mandatory national landlord registration service, and the transfer of rent increase challenges to HMRC’s Valuation Office.

These measures apply to England only. They will affect private landlords, letting agents, property managers, institutional investors, and leaseholders in the private rented sector (PRS), and local authorities responsible for housing enforcement.

What has been announced?

Two features of the announcement:

• The new national landlord registration service (the Register) will be rolled out gradually, region by region from December 2026.
• The responsibility for initial rent increase challenges will be transferred from the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Valuation Office Agency (VOA). It is unknown when this move will take effect.

The national landlord registration service - highlights

• The Register launches on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands.
• It will roll out region by region over the following 12 months.
• When an area is called forward to register, landlords with properties in the region will have a three-month period to sign up.  
• All landlords actively letting property must have registered by 14 November 2027.
• Registration is a legal requirement. Failure to register risks a fine.
• The requirements initially apply only to landlords with properties under let, or which become occupied during rollout.
• In future, landlords will also need to register unoccupied properties before marketing them for let. This will require further legislation.
• Letting agents and landlords will need to include registration numbers on property adverts.
• Councils will be able to use the Register to identify rogue landlords and take faster enforcement action.
• Tenants will be able to check whether their landlord or prospective landlord has registered. This will give them more confidence that a landlord is genuine and following the rules.  

Rent increase disputes: transfer to the VOA

• HMRC’s VOA will become responsible for initial decisions on challenges to rent increases in England.
• This is an unexpected move, but one that is intended to speed up the resolution of rent disputes and reduce pressure on the FTT.
• It isn’t clear when this development will take effect.
• While the Government develops these reforms, tenants who want to challenge a rent increase must still apply to the FTT.

Key points

• this announcement marks the next significant phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 reforms. In May the first key phase of the reforms took effect with, amongst other features, the abolition of fixed-term assured tenancies and of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, and the introduction of additional or varied grounds of possession
• landlords should not underestimate the compliance burden when it comes to the new Register. The registration deadline is tight, and fines for non-compliance are a real risk
• landlords should check when the Register will launch in their region, diarise the deadline and prepare the information needed to register each property.
• landlords will also want to update internal compliance processes to include registration as a standard step for new lettings, and ensure that all property adverts include registration numbers once required.
• the transfer of rent disputes to the VOA signals the Government’s intention to make it easier and faster for tenants to challenge rent increases. It is uncertain when this change will take effect, and secondary legislation and guidance will be required to introduce and explain the process