The landlord register is real, it has a date, and the £65 fee is the least important thing about it
1 month ago | 90 comments
Why do I have to register my rental property twice?
12:01 AM, 22nd September 2026, 4 weeks ago
16
HI, I have been slapped with a £1,000 odd fee from Westminster Council for a licence to rent out my one and only property. I have given the council all the necessary documentation, and they have acknowledged this.
Why do I need to register the same information on a national database? And why am I asked to pay £65 per annum for this?
The national database will be so large that nobody is going to do anything with it. It’s simply a tax.
Westminster Council has not said that it is going to do anything for me as a landlady in return for the licensing fee. If my tenants, whom I cannot now choose, start a cannabis farm or annoy my neighbours, what are they going to do about it? Probably slap me with more costs.
The result of the RRA is that rentals are going up. I have to pay £60 a month to cover my costs if the tenant defaults, including legal fees. I have the licence fee and the National Database fee to pay. Yet the Rent Tribunals only work on the basis of agreed letting price for a similar property in your area.
All the diverse, small landlords are having to sell up to bigger landlords, who will have more power over the industry. They will sell off the small properties, and build huge blocks which meet the regulations.
Soon, every tenant will have to live in one of these blocks.
Is that really good for tenants, or for communities?
Rachel
Tags:
landlord costs, landlord database fee, Landlord Licensing, Renters’ Rights Act, small landlords, Westminster Council
16 comments on this article
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Member Since July 2023 - Comments: 211
2:07 PM, 23rd September 2026, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Oonagh at 22/09/2026 – 16:07
If let under an APT, then I believe – yes. If under the Room to Rent Scheme, then – no. This is because R2R is not a ‘tenancy’ within the scope of the legislation.
Member Since September 2020 - Comments: 23
2:50 PM, 23rd September 2026, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Jim K at 23/09/2026 – 14:07
so if you need a property code to advertise then how will this work
Member Since August 2013 - Comments: 34
10:07 AM, 24th September 2026, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Oonagh at 23/09/2026 – 14:50
The details haven’t been released yet.
Member Since April 2020 - Comments: 81 - Articles: 51
10:40 AM, 25th September 2026, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Jon Landlord at 22/09/2026 – 11:36
Landlords of HMOs and many buildings converted to flats have been required to display their address for allot see for 2 decades
“The manager must ensure that his name, address and any telephone contact number are clearly displayed in a prominent position in the common parts of the HMO so that they may be seen by all occupiers.”
So if LL operates from home – LL home address has to be on display for all to see.
Fines for failing to do this start at £3,000 and we have had one case of a council demanding £28,000 for a missing notice brought to us at Landlord Licensing & Defence
All under the Housing Act 2004 via The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation England Regulations 2006 and
The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007
Most licenses have a condition like this “The licence holder must display a notice with the name, address and emergency contact number of the
licence holder or managing agent in the property” so again any self managing LL has their details on display
Maybe not as bad as on a public database but still puts many landlords homes and families at risk
Member Since October 2020 - Comments: 1390
11:11 AM, 25th September 2026, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Oonagh at 22/09/2026 – 16:07
Not if you are living in the same building.
Member Since June 2017 - Comments: 162
4:44 PM, 7th October 2026, About 2 weeks ago
You can choose your tenant. I use an online agency which requires me to do my own viewings. I get to figure out who I think I can work with & who may not be a good fit for me or the property. It may be an applicant that fits within the governments mandated anti discrimination viewpoint, or it may not. Refusing to consider all applicants is discrimination in itself & any agency that is prepared to state that I discriminated against anyone is in for one hell of fight that will be turned around to call that agency discriminatory.
Oh & why register twice? Well it’s simple. One pays local government, one pays national & some of it filters down to local government. I think that’s commonly referred to as greed, not a word that the politicians like to hear. Oh & don’t forget, one hand of government knows nothing of what the other is doing, nor does it care, or even recognise much of what it’s up to.
They get you whichever way they can these days. Just put the rent up until they say you can’t charge that much. If it’s not enough, sell up & buy somewhere cheaper that attracts less restrictive practices. Until there is a shortage of rental housing in an area, national or regional governments aren’t going to change anything in a sensible way.
We live in an era of greedy & reactive governance. Unless we collectively drive the agenda, then nothing will change, which means nothing will happen quickly.