The PRS database in Yorkshire and the Humber: dates, deadline and licensing
Registration on the PRS database opens in Yorkshire and the Humber on 15 April 2027, and every rented property in the region needs an entry by 14 July 2027. It is the fifth of nine regions to open.
On this page
- When do you have to register in Yorkshire and the Humber?
- Which councils are in Yorkshire and the Humber?
- Which Yorkshire and the Humber councils run selective or additional licensing?
- Do any Yorkshire and the Humber licensing schemes start or end during the registration window?
- What happens to Scarborough South’s licensing when it expires inside the window?
- What is happening to Doncaster’s Hexthorpe scheme?
- What have Yorkshire and the Humber councils said about the database and the Act?
- What should letting agents in Yorkshire and the Humber do before 15 April?
- Where can you read each council’s licensing rules?
- How much does registration cost, and what do you need to provide?
- What’s changed
- Frequently asked questions
When do you have to register in Yorkshire and the Humber?
Landlords in Yorkshire and the Humber must register each rented property between 15 April 2027 and 14 July 2027. The deadline depends on where the property is, not where the landlord or agent is based. A portfolio that spans more than one region has more than one deadline, set out in the national rollout table.
The window is 91 days and contains 63 working days once two bank holidays, the early May and spring bank holidays, are taken out. The deadline falls on a Wednesday, so it needs no weekend allowance. Because the window runs into the summer, the last fortnight overlaps with school holidays and annual leave in most agencies; plan the entry work earlier than the date suggests.
The date to register by is the end of the three-month window the government publishes on the Housing Hub, after which councils in the region can begin enforcement. The draft Regulations fix when each region opens, not a date to register by. The dates were announced by the government (GOV.UK, 9 September 2026).
Which councils are in Yorkshire and the Humber?
Yorkshire and the Humber has 15 local authorities. The draft Regulations list the councils in each region (Schedule 1), by the council areas as they stood on 15 December 2026. It takes in the four South Yorkshire boroughs, the five West Yorkshire districts, the City of York, the very large North Yorkshire unitary council, the East Riding and Hull, and the two unitary councils south of the Humber, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Schedule 1 names the Yorkshire and Humber region, and lists those two Lincolnshire unitaries in it; Lincolnshire’s other districts are in the East Midlands and have a different date.
| Area | Councils | Licensing beyond mandatory HMO |
|---|---|---|
| South Yorkshire | Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield | Doncaster and Rotherham. None in Barnsley and Sheffield |
| West Yorkshire | Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield | Leeds. None in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield |
| North and East Yorkshire | East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North Yorkshire, York | North Yorkshire and York. None in East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull |
| Northern Lincolnshire | North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire | North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire |
Which Yorkshire and the Humber councils run selective or additional licensing?
Seven of the region’s 15 local authorities run selective or additional licensing on Kamma’s data at 6 October 2026: Doncaster, Leeds, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Rotherham and York. Between them they hold eight live schemes. The other eight councils require a licence only for mandatory HMOs, which applies in every council.
Almost all of the region’s schemes are selective, and almost all cover parts of wards and not whole council areas. That makes address matching the work: a street can be inside a scheme while the next street is outside it. Both selective and additional licensing matter for the database, because each registration records the property’s licence type and number (what that means for enforcement). Coverage below is as recorded in our data; check the council’s own map before relying on a specific street.
| Council | Scheme | Started | Runs to | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doncaster | Selective | 1 March 2022 | 28 February 2027 | Parts of 1 ward: Hexthorpe & Balby North |
| Leeds | Selective | 9 February 2026 | 8 February 2031 | Parts of the city |
| North East Lincolnshire | Selective | 8 April 2026 | 7 April 2031 | Parts of 1 ward: East Marsh |
| North Lincolnshire | Selective | 20 March 2025 | 19 March 2030 | Parts of 2 wards: Crosby & Park, Town |
| North Yorkshire | Selective | 1 May 2022 | 30 April 2027 | Parts of 1 ward: Weaponness & Ramshill |
| North Yorkshire | Selective | 1 June 2024 | 31 May 2029 | Parts of 3 wards: Castle, Falsgrave & Stepney, Northstead |
| Rotherham | Selective | 15 February 2026 | 14 February 2031 | Six designated areas |
| York | Additional | 1 April 2023 | 31 March 2028 | 8 wards |
Dates in bold are schemes that end inside the registration window or within a year of its deadline.
The four South Yorkshire and five West Yorkshire councils are not all in the same position. In West Yorkshire only Leeds runs a scheme; Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield run none on our data. Barnsley and Sheffield likewise have no live scheme. Hull and the East Riding have none either.
Do any Yorkshire and the Humber licensing schemes start or end during the registration window?
One does. North Yorkshire’s selective scheme for part of the Weaponness and Ramshill ward in Scarborough ends on 30 April 2027, 15 days after registration opens. Doncaster’s Hexthorpe scheme ends before the window, on 28 February 2027, six weeks before it opens. York’s additional scheme ends on 31 March 2028, within a year of the deadline. None of the three has a replacement designation in our data, and a council that wants to continue a scheme must consult and designate again.
| When | What | Council |
|---|---|---|
| 12 October 2026 | North Yorkshire's consultation on renewing and expanding the Scarborough South selective scheme closes | North Yorkshire |
| 28 February 2027 | Doncaster's Hexthorpe and Balby North selective scheme ends, before the window opens | Doncaster |
| 15 April 2027 | Registration opens | |
| 30 April 2027 | North Yorkshire's Scarborough South selective scheme ends; the council proposes a renewal from the following month | North Yorkshire |
| 14 July 2027 | Registration deadline | |
| 31 March 2028 | York's additional scheme ends | York |
A licence is still needed while a scheme runs. The two schemes that end near the window are covered in the next two sections, because the public record on each is different.
What happens to Scarborough South's licensing when it expires inside the window?
North Yorkshire Council states that the Scarborough South scheme is “in place until 30 April 2027” and that it is “asking for views on a proposal to renew and expand the selective licensing scheme in the Scarborough South area for a further five years from May 2027” (council page). The consultation runs from 3 August 2026 to 12 October 2026 (consultation page), which means it closed or closes within days of Kamma’s data check on 6 October 2026.
The proposal would also add properties on Valley Road and Esplanade Gardens to the area. The council’s page does not give a decision date. Our inference, labelled as such: with the current scheme ending on 30 April 2027 and registration opening on 15 April 2027, a decision before the window is plausible, but nothing public confirms it, and until the council designates, the renewed area is a proposal.
For an agent, the practical point is the seam. A property inside the current area needs a licence number on its registration, and a property in the extended area needs one only if the renewal is designated. A registration made in the weeks either side of the expiry date should record the licence that is actually in force on the day, and be revisited once the council’s decision is known (North Yorkshire guide). North Yorkshire also runs a second selective scheme, in Scarborough, with a longer term; the table above shows both.
What is happening to Doncaster's Hexthorpe scheme?
Doncaster Council’s page describes the area as “an area for selective licensing for a period of 5 years which commenced on the 1st March 2022” (council page). On Kamma’s data the scheme ends on 28 February 2027, about six weeks before registration opens. We found no renewal designation or consultation on the scheme’s page. The council’s consultations page lists a Hexthorpe selective licensing consultation among its recent ones (consultations), without details we could read, so whether the scheme is being renewed is something to confirm with the council and not to assume.
If the scheme lapses, properties in the area move from needing a selective licence to needing none, and the licence-number field on a registration made after that date would be empty for them (Doncaster guide). That consequence is our reading of how the registration form treats licence type, not a statement by the council.
What have Yorkshire and the Humber councils said about the database and the Act?
We searched council sites across the region on 6 October 2026 for statements about the PRS database itself. Few councils had written anything specific, and what exists is general or out of date. Kirklees’s landlord post of 23 February 2026 lists “introducing a national private rental database” among the Act’s main changes and says no more (Kirklees Together). Rotherham’s landlord page, at our check, still described the regional rollout of the database as “probably in 2028” (council page), a date that predates the government’s announcement of 9 September 2026. Council pages lag; the national rollout table is the source for dates.
The councils with new schemes are saying more about licensing than about the database. Leeds made its designation on 3 November 2025 and brought it into force on 9 February 2026 for parts of the Armley, Beeston and Holbeck, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, Hunslet and Riverside, Gipton and Harehills, and Farnley and Wortley wards (Leeds City Council). Rotherham made its designation on 14 November 2025 for six areas, in force from 15 February 2026 (Rotherham Council).
Three of the eight live schemes started within the twelve months before Kamma’s data check: Leeds (9 February 2026), Rotherham (15 February 2026) and North East Lincolnshire (8 April 2026). A new scheme matters to registration because its licence numbers are the least likely to be on a landlord’s file yet.
What should letting agents in Yorkshire and the Humber do before 15 April?
Work out which of your managed properties sit inside a live licensing scheme, and gather each licence number before your landlords are asked for it. Each registration asks for licence type and number under a false-information warning, so a missing or wrong licence record becomes a problem at the point of declaration. Licensing offences on or after 1 May 2026 carry civil penalties of up to £40,000 (Housing Act 2004, s.249A) and rent repayment orders of up to 24 months’ rent.
- Match every managed address to the seven councils above at street level, because most schemes cover parts of wards
- Record licence numbers and end dates, starting with North Yorkshire’s Scarborough South licences (30 April 2027) and Doncaster’s Hexthorpe licences (28 February 2027)
- Ask North Yorkshire and Doncaster in writing what follows their schemes, and keep the reply with the property record
- Plan the entry work earlier than the deadline suggests, using the workload calculator
- Read what you need to gather before invitations start arriving
For the agent’s role in the process, see what a letting agent can and cannot do on the PRS database.
Where can you read each council's licensing rules?
Kamma publishes a licensing guide for each of the seven Yorkshire and the Humber councils with a live scheme. Each guide sets out the scheme, wards covered, fees and how to apply.
How much does registration cost, and what do you need to provide?
Registration costs £65 per property per year, and each entry asks for landlord, property, tenancy and compliance details. The full answers sit in the national guides, so they are not repeated here: see how much the PRS database costs and which information registration asks for.
What's changed
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Page published. Licensing data checked against council sources on 6 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
The region has 15 local authorities, as listed in Schedule 1 of the draft Regulations: the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire councils, York, North Yorkshire, the East Riding, Hull, and North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. A property’s council decides its region, so a Lincolnshire property outside those two councils follows the East Midlands date.
Registration asks for the licence type the property needs. Inside the Scarborough South area that is a selective licence until 30 April 2027. The council is consulting on renewing and expanding the area from May 2027, and has not announced a decision we can see. Check the council’s page on the day you submit.
Yes, one on the dates we hold: North Yorkshire’s Scarborough South scheme ends on 30 April 2027, inside the window of 15 April 2027 to 14 July 2027, and the council proposes a renewal. A council can also designate a new scheme at any time and must give notice first. Keep your entry up to date if a property becomes licensable.
No. The service opens on 15 April 2027 for Yorkshire and the Humber. The national guide covers early registration and the full rollout.
Find out which of your Yorkshire and the Humber properties are licensable before 15 April.
Get the licensing gaps in your portfolio before your region’s deadline.
