Landlord database audit trail and privacy concerns raised by MPs

Landlords could be exposed to administrative mistakes and enforcement risks without an audit trail showing changes to their landlord database property records, MPs have warned.

The concern was raised during the Delegated Legislation Committee debate on the PRS Database, where housing minister Matthew Pennycook rejected calls to pause its introduction despite Conservative and Liberal Democrat objections.

The government has now published guidance which states that the landlord and property information will not initially be shared publicly, but some parts may become accessible later.

Information may also be shared with other agencies where the law permits or requires it.

The government is promising a privacy notice explaining those arrangements, with updates before changes take effect.

However, the guidance does not specify which landlord details will eventually become public or identify the other agencies that may receive information.

Who can change landlords’ records?

In the committee, Conservative housing spokesman Gareth Bacon questioned how landlords would check records across their portfolios or establish what had been changed.

He said: “Then there is the lack of an audit trail.

“Because of the system favoured by the government, landlords have no ability to verify and validate data on a portfolio basis.”

He added: “They have no access controls nor an audit trail for data uploads, changes or deletions.”

Mr Bacon linked those alleged shortcomings to administrative errors, potential fines and wider compliance risks.

Mr Pennycook did not directly address the audit-trail allegation in his response, although he outlined plans for organisations to add employees to their accounts and possible connections with property management systems.

The latest guidance confirms that organisation team members will be able to register and update properties.

However, it does not explain whether landlords will have access to a history identifying who changed a record.

Landlords remain responsible

Each property entry must include its address, ownership, property type, rent and management details.

Occupied properties must also have tenancy information and safety documentation covering gas, electricity and energy performance.

Mr Pennycook said: “Landlords will be legally responsible for registration, payment, renewal and compliance.”

Agents and property managers will be allowed to supply certain information, but landlords must initiate registration.

The new guidance reinforces that responsibility: owners must ensure that property records are completed within 28 days of registration, even where they delegate information to an agent.

Outstanding information can lead to a property registration being deactivated.

The guidance also says a landlord’s own registration will be deactivated if they have no active properties on the service.

Landlords must also update information that changes or expires within 28 days.

That makes the ability to identify and resolve mistakes particularly relevant for owners relying on others to maintain their records.

Seventy data points per property

Mr Bacon also challenged the practical burden of entering properties individually, telling MPs that each required around 70 data points.

He said much of that information was already supplied to councils through licensing schemes.

Quoting the Large Agents Representation Group, he said registering a 10,000-property portfolio would take more than 1,600 staff hours at 10 minutes per property, or around 3,300 hours at 20 minutes.

Although the largest portfolios face the greatest workload, Mr Bacon argued that the design failed to reflect how much of the market was served by owners with several properties.

Landlords with one property accounted for 21% of tenancies in England, he said, citing the 2024 English Private Landlord Survey.

Liberal Democrat MP Gideon Amos, whose party supported the introduction of a database, also criticised its operation.

He said: “The system that has been devised, however, is nothing short of a fiasco and will undermine the whole purpose of the database.”

No bulk upload commitment

Mr Pennycook said the government had examined bulk uploads but found significant difficulties with validating data and handling errors.

Traditional approaches, including uploading Excel files, would add complexity for users, he argued.

Instead, officials were examining how landlords could connect existing property management systems to the service, reducing manual entry.

The minister would not commit to providing bulk uploads and rejected a request to pause the regulations while those arrangements were developed.

He also disputed suggestions that landlords would have to enter everything again each year.

He added that existing information would need changing only where it had become outdated.

Registration will begin regionally on 15 December.

Landlords will have three months to register once their region’s window opens, with all relevant entries required by 14 November 2027.

MORE INFORMATION

For more details and information about registering for the new landlord database, the government has published this guide to help landlords and agents.