PRS database terms of business: a checklist for letting agents
When a landlord nominates you on the PRS database, the instruction can arrive before anyone has agreed what you will do, what it costs or who is responsible for what. This checklist sets out eleven points to consider covering in your terms of business, or in an addendum to them, and why each one matters.
On this page
- What is a terms of business addendum for PRS registration support?
- What should letting agents consider covering in their terms for PRS registration support?
- What do the fee transparency rules already require of letting agents?
- Should an agent have a solicitor review the addendum?
- Get the PRS readiness pack
- Frequently asked questions
What is a terms of business addendum for PRS registration support?
A terms of business addendum for PRS registration support is an agreed set of terms, added to a letting agent’s existing landlord agreement, that says whether and how the agent will help a landlord register each property on the PRS database. It records who does what, who pays what and who is responsible for accuracy.
The reason to agree it in advance is the way the service works. The landlord starts every registration and finishes it, and can appoint an agent to provide the property details in between (draft Regulations, reg 4). As shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026, each appointment reaches the agent as a separate invitation for one property. Your existing terms were written before any of this existed, so they may not say who owns this work. What the PRS database means for letting agents →
What should letting agents consider covering in their terms for PRS registration support?
Letting agents should consider covering eleven things: whether registration support is part of the service, the fee, the landlord’s authority, what the landlord must supply and when, accuracy, final submission and payment, charges for gaps and repeat work, instructions the agent has not accepted, annual renewal, ending the appointment, and credential security. Each is explained below.
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1. Is registration support part of your service?Consider covering: whether you offer registration support at all, to which landlords (fully managed, let-only, all), and whether it is included or optional.Why it matters: the landlord’s nomination does not ask your permission, so a landlord on a let-only agreement can appoint you for work you never agreed to do. Settling the scope in writing gives you something to point to when a nomination arrives from a client who is outside it. Do adverts need a registration number?
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2. What do you charge, and on what basis?Consider covering: the administration fee for the support you give, the basis it is calculated on (for example per property or per event), and what the fee does and does not include. Keep it separate from the government fee, which the landlord pays when they submit.Why it matters: you are entitled to decide whether to charge, and that is a commercial decision for your agency. Whatever you decide must also appear in your published fee list, because the duty to publicise fees covers fees payable by landlords (see the table below). A fee that is in the contract but not on the website is an exposure of its own. Do not pass the £65 or your own fee to tenants; neither is a payment the Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits tenants to be charged. Time per property is attributed: 10–15 minutes by the MHCLG estimate, 20–25 minutes according to agents involved in prototype testing, so the basis you choose can matter at portfolio scale. Work out your portfolio’s hours →
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3. Does the landlord authorise you to act?Consider covering: a clear statement that the landlord authorises you to receive nominations, provide the property details and use the information you hold on them, and for which properties.Why it matters: the draft Regulations let a landlord appoint an agent or property manager to provide the property information, but the landlord stays responsible for the registration (draft Regulations, reg 4). A written authority shows that you acted on instruction and within limits. The final definition of an eligible agent or third party is still being clarified, so check it when the Regulations are made. How landlords nominate an agent.
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4. What must the landlord supply, and by when?Consider covering: the information and documents you need from the landlord, and a deadline for supplying them that leaves you room inside the statutory window.Why it matters: the tenancy and compliance details are due within 28 days of the entry being made, not of the landlord’s request (draft Regulations, reg 6), and some items can be marked ‘provide this later’ within that window, with a reminder at 14 days, as shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026; subject to change. Some of what is needed will not sit in your systems, such as the licence document, the current gas safety record and the EICR. Without a landlord deadline, your deadline is whatever the clock says. Every field, who holds it and when it is due →
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5. Who is responsible for the accuracy of the information?Consider covering: that the landlord is responsible for checking what has been entered before they declare it, and that you act on the information provided to you.Why it matters: the landlord makes the final declaration, and giving false information is an offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £40,000 once the provisions are in force, which they are not yet (Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.91 and s.92). The licensing questions are confirmed under a false-information warning. Your terms should reflect that the person making the declaration is the person who checks it, while your own duty to be accurate in what you provide remains. Get a lawyer’s view on how far a term can shift responsibility.
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6. Who submits and pays?Consider covering: that the landlord reviews, declares, submits and pays the government fee, and what happens to your work if they do not do so in time.Why it matters: under the draft Regulations the agent cannot register a property for a landlord. If the landlord does not complete the last step, you have done the work and the property is still unregistered. The penalty for that falls on the landlord (a civil penalty of up to £7,000 under s.91, once in force), and a clear term makes it plain that the outcome was not yours to control. Who must register, and what happens if they do not →
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7. What happens when information is missing, or the work has to be repeated?Consider covering: a charge, or a time limit, for chasing missing information, and for redoing work when the landlord supplies corrected details after you have finished.Why it matters: the entry can only be as complete as the data you are given. Safety documents may be missing or out of date, and licence numbers are often not held centrally. Each time a landlord changes an answer, someone re-enters it for one property. If a charge applies it must be in the contract and on your fee list, with a description a landlord can understand.
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8. What if you did not accept the instruction?Consider covering: what the landlord is told, and when, if a nomination arrives that is outside your terms, and whether any work you do before agreeing counts as accepted.Why it matters: as shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026; subject to change, a nominated agent receives an invitation and has no option to reject it, or to accept it. The record can therefore show you as the nominated party for a property you never agreed to handle. A term on unaccepted instructions, plus a routine for replying to the landlord promptly, protects the relationship. Kamma has put this question to MHCLG through the NRLA; the answer may change this entry. What the PRS database means for letting agents →
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9. Who handles annual renewal and updates?Consider covering: whether your support covers the annual renewal and changes during the year, such as a new gas safety record or a change of rent, and whether that is included or charged separately.Why it matters: each entry must be renewed annually and kept up to date (draft Regulations, reg 10). Whether a renewal is a fresh entry for the agent’s side of the work is not yet confirmed, as shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026. Without a term on this, a landlord may assume that your support continues indefinitely and you may assume it ended with the first submission.
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10. How does the appointment end, and what happens if the landlord changes agent?Consider covering: how either party ends registration support, the notice needed, the handover of the information you hold, and the charges due to the date of ending.Why it matters: the nomination is made per property, so a landlord who moves to a new agent will probably have to update the nomination on each property. This is our inference from how the service works, not a confirmed rule. Your terms of business already have to explain how an instruction ends and what liability for fees follows (TPO Code of Practice, paragraphs 5g, 5n and 5q); registration support should follow the same logic.
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11. How are access credentials and personal data protected?Consider covering: who holds the access details for each property, how they are stored, who in your business can use them, and what you do with the personal data of landlords and tenants that you enter.Why it matters: as shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026; subject to change, each property has its own access link and password, set by the agent and not changeable afterwards. Across a large portfolio, that is a credential-management task as well as a data-entry one. Never reuse a password across properties. The entry also includes occupant and household numbers, so UK GDPR duties apply to how you hold and share it (ICO guidance on security). Your data protection advisers should look at this one.
What do the fee transparency rules already require of letting agents?
Letting agents in England already have to publicise their fees, and that duty covers fees charged to landlords as well as tenants. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.83, an agent must display a list of its fees at its premises and on its website, with a description of each, the amount including tax or how it is calculated, and its redress and client money protection scheme memberships.
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 is a different thing: it bans most payments by tenants, and does not govern what you charge a landlord. The disclosure duty is what reaches landlord fees. Trading Standards can impose a financial penalty of up to £5,000 for a breach (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.87). A new registration support fee is a fee payable by a landlord ‘in connection with’ an assured tenancy, so it is likely to be a relevant fee under s.85. Confirm that with your adviser. The Property Ombudsman and Propertymark add standards of their own.
| Source | What it says | Applies to | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Rights Act 2015, ss.83 and 85 | Publicise a list of all fees payable by landlords or tenants, on premises, website and third-party sites | All letting agents in England | s.83 · s.85 |
| Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.87 | Trading Standards enforce; penalty up to £5,000 | All letting agents in England | s.87 |
| TPO Code of Practice (England, May 2026 edition), 1k, 5f, 5h, 5k, 5n, 5q | Written terms before liability; all fees and when due; how an instruction ends; written confirmation of termination | TPO members | Code (PDF) |
| Propertymark Conduct and Membership Rules (March 2026 edition), rules 12 and 13 | Comply with UK GDPR; no practice unfair to the public or misrepresentation | Propertymark members | Rules |
If your landlord is an individual acting outside a business, consumer unfair-terms law (Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 2) may also apply to your terms. Whether it does depends on the landlord, which is another reason to take legal advice.
Should an agent have a solicitor review the addendum?
Yes. Letting agents should have any addendum reviewed by a solicitor with lettings and consumer-law experience before using it. The draft Regulations are not yet made, and the nominated-agent mechanics may change. Terms that allocate liability, charge for work or end an instruction are the kind that can be unenforceable if they are unfair or unclear.
Kamma is software for letting agents, not a law firm, and nothing here is drafted for you to paste. The pack below is a prompt for the conversation you will have with your adviser. When the Regulations are made, or MHCLG publishes guidance on the agent’s role, we will update this page and say what changed.
Decide
Whether registration support is in your service, and for whom.
Set the fee
Add it to your published fee list.
Brief your solicitor
Give them the eleven points above and the draft Regulations.
Plan the routine
How nominations are logged, answered and chased.
Send
Send it to landlords with enough time before their region’s deadline. Regional dates →
Get the PRS readiness pack
The PRS readiness pack for letting agents
The terms checklist on this page as a printable one-pager, the field-by-field registration spreadsheet and a workload one-pager.
- The eleven-point terms checklist, printable
- The field-by-field registration spreadsheet
- A workload one-pager for your portfolio
We will email you the pack and occasional updates on the PRS database. Unsubscribe any time. The checklist above stays open on this page: the gate is for the downloadable formats only.
Know which of your managed properties are licensable before landlords have to declare it: get a free licensing audit.
Frequently asked questions
No. The landlord is responsible for registering, and appointing an agent is optional. Whether you support registration, and for whom, is a decision for your agency to make and write down.
That is a commercial decision. If you charge, the fee should be in your terms and on your published fee list, because the duty to publicise fees covers fees payable by landlords. Take legal advice on the wording.
No. The registration fee is paid by the landlord when they submit, and it is not among the payments the Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits a letting agent to charge a tenant.
No. The Act restricts payments by tenants. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 duty to publicise fees is the rule that reaches landlord fees.
As shown to industry by MHCLG in autumn 2026; subject to change, a nominated agent cannot reject the invitation. Agree in your terms how you will respond, and reply to the landlord promptly. Agent access, workload and risk →
No. It is a list of topics to raise with your own solicitor, who can tell you what is enforceable and what suits your agency.
