How Much Will Landlord Registration Cost Me Each Year?

Landlord registration in England will cost £65 a year for each property you let. Registering yourself as a landlord is free. The fee is paid through the government’s Register your rental property service, which opens on 15 December 2026 and reaches every region of England by November 2027.

That’s the headline figure – the rest of this guide covers how the fee adds up across a portfolio, how the first payment works and the other costs you’ll want to budget for.

The Annual Fee At A Glance

The fee is charged per property, so your yearly total rises with the size of your portfolio.

The fee comes round every year, so it’s worth looking at the longer view too. At the current rate, a landlord with three properties will pay £975 in registration fees over five years, and a landlord with ten will pay £3,250.

What Counts As One Property?

Each self contained home needs its own registration and its own fee. In practice:

• A house let to one household is one property and one fee.
• A house let room by room to sharers is still one property and one fee.
• A building split into separate flats needs a registration and a fee for each flat.

How The First Payment Works

During the rollout, your first payment is worked out pro rata. You won’t pay extra for registering before your region’s deadline.

After that, you’ll renew every year. Your renewal date is the anniversary of the first property you registered, and every property you own shares that date. If you register another property later on, its first year is charged pro rata so it lines up with the others.

Can You Claim The Fee Against Tax?

Landlord bodies expect the fee to be an allowable expense against your rental income, in the same way as similar schemes elsewhere in the UK. Your accountant can confirm how to record it on your return.

Other Costs To Budget For

Certificates And Reports

When you register, you’ll be asked for your latest gas safety record, your electrical safety report and your EPC. If any of these has lapsed, you’ll need to pay for a new one before your entry is complete.

Your Time

Registering asks for details about you, the property, the tenancy and the rent. Once you’re on the register, you’ll need to update your entry within 28 days whenever something changes, such as a new tenant, a rent increase or a renewed certificate.

Larger Portfolios

Bulk registration isn’t expected when the service launches, so each property is entered individually. If you’ve got a large portfolio, it’s worth starting early.

What It Costs If You Don’t Register

The fee is small next to the penalties for going without. Once your region’s three month window has closed, councils can issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for letting or advertising an unregistered property. Repeated or continuing breaches can bring a penalty of up to £40,000. Courts also can’t grant a possession order to a landlord who should be registered and isn’t, apart from in antisocial behaviour cases.

Does The Fee Change The Sums On Your Rental?

For a rental that’s making a healthy return, £65 a year is unlikely to change your plans. It matters more when the margin is already thin. Some landlords are covering a mortgage that’s gone up, repairs that keep coming and a property that needs work to meet energy standards, and the registration fee is one more yearly cost on that list.

It helps to add up what the property brings in over a year and take away everything it costs you, including the new fee and any certificates you’ll need to renew. If the figure that’s left is small, or you became a landlord by accident and never planned to stay one, selling may suit you better than registering. Many landlords in this position will choose to sell a rental with the tenants still living there, which avoids a long wait for the property to empty.

Avoid The Fee Altogether With A Fast Cash Sale

If you sell before your region’s deadline, there’s no registration to pay for and no renewal to remember next year. Sell House Fast is the strongest option for making that happen in time. We buy with our own cash funds and can complete in as little as 7 days, with tenants in place if you have them.

Selling to us costs you nothing. There are no fees, and we cover the legal costs. Call 0800 368 4757 or fill in our short online form, and we’ll come back to you with an initial cash offer within 24 hours. If the numbers on your rental no longer work, we’re the quickest way to close the chapter before the first £65 is due.

FAQs

Is there a charge for registering myself as a landlord?

No. The landlord entry is free. The £65 fee applies to each property entry.

Does my council licence fee cover registration?

No. Selective, additional and HMO licences are separate council schemes. A licensed property still needs registering, and the £65 fee is paid on top of your licence.

Can I charge the registration fee to my tenants?

You can’t add it to a tenancy as a separate charge, because landlords in England are only allowed to take a short list of permitted payments from tenants. Rent itself can be increased once a year using the formal notice process.

Will I get a refund if I sell partway through the year?

The guidance published so far doesn’t mention refunds. If you’re planning to sell, completing before your region’s deadline means the fee never becomes due.

Do joint owners pay twice?

Each joint landlord needs their own landlord entry, which is free. Those entries link to a single property entry, so the property carries one £65 fee.

Do I pay for a property that’s standing empty?

An empty property doesn’t need registering until someone’s living there under an assured tenancy. The government has said this will change in future, so that properties are registered before they’re marketed for let.