The Renters’ Rights Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will finally introduce a new database which all landlords in England will have to join. At Generation Rent we have outlined exactly what the database must include and how it should work to the government.
The database is a huge opportunity in improving the renting experience for tenants across the country – allowing them to make informed decisions before starting new tenancies, increasing landlord transparency and accountability and making it easier for local councils to do their jobs.
However, the key to the success of the database lies in the level of information landlords are required to provide. Without the right information, it risks falling short of meaningfully being useful to renters and councils.
Private renters are also crying out for more information to help them make better decisions when looking for their new home. In a survey conducted by Generation Rent in April 2025 (with 231 private renter participants) 93% said that additional information about a potential home would help them to make better decisions about where to rent, with 66% stating specifically that this would help them
“greatly”.
With this in mind, we have put together exactly what the database should record, so that it allows tenants to make more informed choices about their homes, while giving local councils the information they need to police bad practice from landlords.
What should the database include?
- Mandatory entries for landlord and letting agent contact details – This creates a dependable and direct line through which renters can get through to when they need to, especially with repairs.
- A record of previous eviction notices the landlord has used – This would help to prevent the misuse of evictions by allowing local councils and renters to identify cases where a landlord may have tried to exploit a loophole, especially in cases where a landlord has a tenant apparently to sell the property, only to put it back onto the market at a higher rent.
- Mandatory entries for actual rents charged – This would mean that the rent tribunal, which the government are relying on keeping rents fair after the Bill comes into law, would know what local rents being charged to tenants are, not just what they were put on the market as (which is often higher than what the landlord is eventually able to rent the home for).
- Previous relevant enforcement actions against a landlord – Including this on the database would empower renters to make better decisions on who to rent from, such as cases where a landlord has committed an illegal eviction, rented an overcrowded home or failed to license a property legally.
- Already mandatory safety documents:
- Gas Safety Certificate (if the property has a gas supply) (this could be imported if
- the gas safe register were digitised and brought into line with UPRN system)
- Electrical Safety Certificate
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) (this could be imported without the landlord
- needing to take action, by integrating the database with the EPC Register)
- A written statement of terms
- Information about previous deposit disputes where the tenant’s challenge was
- upheld. This would be information provided by the deposit protection schemes
- Following the start of the tenancy, proof that the tenancy deposit had been placed
- into a legitimate scheme
- The government How to Rent guide
- Information about disabled access and disability features – This would make disabled renters aware of the accessibility of a potential home before a viewing, so they can more easily decide whether a property is right for their needs, saving them time when looking to move.
At Generation Rent we will be working to make sure that the database is as powerful and as useful for renters in England as possible.
You can read it in full what we want to see in the database here.
