Propertymark, a trade body, is calling for the abolition of discretionary landlord licensing schemes once the new national Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database becomes fully operational. The organisation argues that current local schemes create unnecessary costs and administrative burdens for landlords and letting agents.
In a new position paper, Propertymark questions the benefits of selective and additional licensing schemes in relation to their costs. The trade body highlights that selective licensing fees can exceed £1,000 per property in some areas, with additional schemes potentially costing more. For landlords with larger portfolios, these charges could amount to tens of thousands of pounds.
Propertymark suggests that councils should instead focus on identifying and addressing non-compliant landlords. The organisation also raises concerns about the enforcement capacity of councils, citing evidence that around two-thirds of English local authorities had not prosecuted a landlord in the previous three years, despite an estimated 300,000 annual complaints about property conditions.
The first phase of the national PRS Database, known as the 'Register your rental property service', is scheduled to launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands before expanding across England over the following 12 months. All landlords letting properties in England will eventually need to register.
Propertymark proposes that councils use this national database as their primary source of landlord and property information, aiming to reduce repeated information requests and charges for duplicated data entry. Tim Thomas, Propertymark’s senior policy and campaigns officer, stated that "The priority must be enforcement. A licensing system should not become an end in itself, particularly where councils already have extensive powers to identify and act against unsafe or poorly managed housing.”