The landlord register isn't a one-off: the 28-day rule for landlords in Clapham, Brixton and surrounds

A Facebook post has been doing the rounds. It says the new landlord register is NOT a one-off form but a "live record", where every change - a new gas certificate, a rent rise, even your tenant's partner moving in - must be updated within 28 days or you face a fine of up to £7,000. And, of course, there's a handy checklist "in the comments".

Credit where it's due, the post is mostly right. But "mostly" is doing a lot of work there.

So what's actually happening?

The register comes from the Renters' Rights Act 2025, with the detail in the draft PRS Database Regulations 2026, laid before Parliament on 9 September. Two things the post leaves out:

• The regulations are still a draft. Both Houses have to approve them before they're made.
• The penalties aren't in force. They need a separate commencement order, which hadn't been made when I checked.

Nobody in SW4 is getting fined next week.

The 28-day rule

Under the draft regulations, when any information or document on your landlord or property entry "becomes out of date", you have 28 days to update it. Registering isn't fire and forget.

What's on the record for each property:

• the number of occupants and households
• HMO, additional or selective licence status and numbers
• the gas safety record, EICR and EPC
• the rent, how often it's paid and which bills are included
• whether it's furnished, and whether it's currently let

So yes, a partner moving in changes the occupant count, and the NRLA reads renewed certificates and rent changes as updates too. (The draft regulations don't list trigger events, and official GOV.UK guidance isn't out yet.)

But "every change"? No. Tenant names, deposits and repairs aren't on the list. Fixing the boiler isn't a register event in itself.

It's annual too

Entries must be renewed every 12 months. GOV.UK puts the fee at £65 per property per year, though it can change. And if you have more than one property, they all share the renewal date of your first one.

Quick numbercrunch for a landlord with three flats: 3 x £65 = £195 a year, all due on the same day. Put it in the diary.

What the penalties really are

• Up to £7,000 for failing to register or keep entries up to date. That's a maximum. Each council sets the amount, and there's no minimum.
• Up to £40,000, or prosecution, for knowingly or recklessly giving false information, carrying on more than 28 days after a penalty is final, or another breach within five years of a penalty.
• No rent repayment order just for being unregistered. An RRO only comes into play for the false-information offence, or for carrying on after a penalty.
• No possession order without an active entry. Apart from two anti-social behaviour grounds, a court can't make a possession order while you have no active landlord or property entry. An entry you didn't renew counts as inactive, and so does one where the tenancy and safety details weren't added within 28 days.

A correction from me

In my last post on the register I said the penalty for ignoring it could be two years' rent. That overstated it. Simply not registering means a penalty of up to £7,000 and a block on possession, not a rent repayment order. I also said tenants will be able to check whether their landlord is registered. That's the plan, but not at launch - public access needs further legislation and there's no date yet. I'd rather tell you straight.

But what does it mean for Clapham, Brixton and surrounds?

London is the second-last region. Duties start on 15 July 2027 and the deadline is 14 October 2027, for Lambeth, Wandsworth and Southwark alike. So Streatham, Brixton, Battersea and most of Dulwich all register in the same window. It depends on where the property is, not where you live.

Picture an accidental landlord with one flat off Abbeville Road. She registers in August 2027 and forgets about it. Next spring her tenant's partner moves in and the rent goes up. On the NRLA's reading that's two updates, each with its own 28-day clock. Then, in August 2028, the renewal.

A letting agent can update the tenancy and safety details and whether the property is let. What they can't do is register you in the first place. That's on you.

Who wins? Organised landlords with one folder per property. Who loses? The shoebox brigade.

About that checklist in the comments

I'm not calling any particular post a scam. But "link in the comments" is a classic engagement-bait trick, and those links are sometimes lead-capture forms, paid "compliance packs" or pages dressed up to look like GOV.UK. Register only through the official GOV.UK service (or its official paper form), where the only fee mentioned is £65 per property. Don't pay a third party to "register" you, and be suspicious of any unsolicited "register now" message before the service opens on 15 December 2026.

My take

The post is broadly right, just early and breathless. Good landlords already know when their gas certificate is due. The real risk in Clapham and Battersea isn't a £7,000 fine landing on the doormat. It's a stale entry quietly going inactive just when you need possession.

In summary

So there you have it. A 28-day update duty for the listed items, an annual £65 renewal on one shared date, and penalties not switched on yet. London's window is 15 July to 14 October 2027.

Are you a landlord in Clapham, Brixton or Dulwich, and have you got a system for keeping your paperwork current? I'd genuinely like to hear how it's playing out on your street. Drop me a line at jeroen@claphampropertyblog.com or call 07837 093554.

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07837 093 554

Sources: Draft PRS Database Regulations 2026 and Explanatory Memorandum (legislation.gov.uk), Renters' Rights Act 2025, GOV.UK Housing Hub, GOV.UK civil penalties guidance, NRLA.