rentready / Landlord database guides

Landlord database registration in the West Midlands: deadline 14 March 2027

Written by GenZAgents, reviewed 28 October 2026. Sources below.

If your rental is in the West Midlands, you must register it on the government's Register your rental property service (the landlord database, or PRS Database) by 14 March 2027. The requirement for the West Midlands starts on 15 December 2026; the service opens to every landlord in England on 15 December 2026, so you can register earlier. The region goes by the property's address, not yours. The West Midlands covers Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Walsall, Dudley, Worcester, Hereford, Telford and Shrewsbury.

Councils in the West Midlands and their licensing schemes

The West Midlands has 30 local councils that act as the local housing authority (ONS, May 2026). The registration service asks whether each property needs an HMO, additional or selective licence, and for the licence numbers (draft Schedule 3, paragraph 10), so check your council first. Mandatory HMO licensing applies everywhere; these schemes are on top.

On 28 October 2026 we found 2 councils in the West Midlands with selective licensing and 5 with additional HMO licensing, in force or designated to start.

Birmingham

• Selective licensing (in force): Parts: 25 of the city's 69 wards. Council page
• Additional HMO licensing (in force): Whole city (all wards), until 4 June 2028. Council page

Coventry

• Additional HMO licensing (in force): Whole city, until 3 May 2030. Council page

East Staffordshire

• Selective licensing (in force): Parts: 8 streets in Burton upon Trent (incl. Blackpool St, Broadway St, Goodman St, King St, Queen St, Shobnall St, Uxbridge St, Waterloo St), until 11 September 2027. A second scheme covering 16 more Burton streets is due to start on 1 January 2027. Council page

Sandwell

• Additional HMO licensing (in force): Whole borough, until 30 September 2029. Council page

Walsall

• Additional HMO licensing (in force): Parts: Palfrey, Paddock, Pleck and St Matthews wards (Scheme One), until 31 August 2027. Council page

Warwick

• Additional HMO licensing (in force): Whole district. Council page

No selective or additional scheme found on the council's own website: Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, Dudley, Herefordshire, Lichfield, Malvern Hills, Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Redditch, Rugby, Shropshire, Solihull, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent, Stratford-on-Avon, Tamworth, Telford and Wrekin, Wolverhampton, Wychavon and Wyre Forest. That is not a guarantee: a council can start a scheme at any time, so check before you let.

Not verified: we could not confirm the schemes for Worcester from the council's own website, so we list nothing for them here. Check with the council.

Before 14 March 2027

£65 a property a year (fee). Upload the gas safety record, EICR and EPC (full list) within 28 days or the entry becomes inactive (draft reg 11(2)(a)); renew anything that lapses before 14 March 2027 first. Up to £7,000 if you miss it (penalties).

Questions

When do landlords in the West Midlands have to register?

The requirement starts on 15 December 2026 and the deadline is 14 March 2027. The service opens to every landlord in England on 15 December 2026, so you can register earlier.

Which councils in the West Midlands have selective licensing?

As of 28 October 2026: Birmingham and East Staffordshire. Most schemes cover only some wards, so check the council's map for your street.

Which councils in the West Midlands have additional HMO licensing?

As of 28 October 2026: Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Walsall and Warwick.

Related guides

Other regions · What you need · Gas · EICR · EPC

Sources

• Get ready to register: Register your rental property (official guidance)
• Draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 (legislation.gov.uk; not yet made)
• ONS Open Geography Portal: ward to local authority to region lookup (May 2026)
• Draft Schedule 3, Part 2: what the service asks, including licences

Dates: official guidance and the draft regulations, which Parliament has not yet approved (status). Fee: official guidance. Councils and schemes: read on each council's own website on 28 October 2026. Not legal advice. Last checked 28 October 2026.