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For years, England's national register for short-term and holiday lets has been "coming soon". Target dates came and went, and plenty of owners and managers understandably stopped paying attention. That changed on 3 September 2026. Answering questions in Parliament, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed that the short-let registration scheme in England will be fully up and running by March 2027.
It's the clearest timetable the government has given so far. If you own or manage holiday lets in England, the register is no longer a question of "if". It's a question of whether your properties are ready when it opens.
This guide covers what we know, what we don't yet know, and the practical steps you can take now so registration is a formality rather than a scramble.
What is the short-let register?
The register is a mandatory national scheme for short-term and holiday let accommodation in England. It is expected to run primarily online. Its powers come from the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Its purpose is to give councils reliable information about how many short-term lets operate in their area and where they are. Councils will use that data to understand the effect on local housing and to support enforcement of the safety rules that already apply.
Based on what the government has said so far, the process is expected to work like this. Owners register each property's address and receive a unique registration number. That number then has to be displayed wherever the property is advertised, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and your own website. As part of registering, owners confirm that the property meets existing legal requirements, including fire safety and gas and electrical safety.
Hotels, hostels and B&Bs are not expected to be covered.
What's confirmed, and what isn't
It's worth being clear on this, because a lot of other articles quote dates and details that have since moved.
Confirmed:
- The register is going ahead and is mandatory
- The government's target is for it to be fully operational by March 2027
- Each property will receive a registration number to display on its listings
Still to be published:
- Exactly what information owners and managers will need to provide
- How the register will be administered
- How often properties will need to be re-registered
- Fees, and whether there will be a transition period
- Whether occasional letting of your own home will be treated differently
The detail will come through government guidance and secondary legislation over the coming months. However that detail lands, one thing is very unlikely to change. The register relies on compliance paperwork that you're already required to have.
Why "we'll deal with it when it opens" is risky
The register doesn't create most of the underlying obligations. Gas safety, electrical safety and fire safety requirements already apply to holiday lets. What the register changes is visibility.
Today, a lapsed certificate on one property in a portfolio can go unnoticed. Once every property has to be registered, and councils have a clear picture of who is letting what, those gaps become much easier to spot.
There's also the practical side. For a single owner with one cottage, pulling documents together might take an afternoon. For a manager looking after dozens or hundreds of properties, it's a different job. Certificates sit with different landlords, in different formats, falling due at different times. That gathering exercise is the slow part, and it's the part you can do now.
If everyone leaves it until the portal opens, early 2027 is going to be busy. Engineers and electricians will be in demand, and landlords will be slow to reply to "can you send me your certificate?" emails.
How to get ready: a practical checklist
You don't need to wait for the final guidance to make real progress. Here's where to start.
1. List every property that's let short-term - Include properties that are only let seasonally or between longer tenancies. Note who owns each one and where it's advertised.
2. Gather current safety documentation for each property - At minimum, check you have up-to-date:
- Gas safety certificate (where there's a gas supply)
- Electrical safety report
- Fire risk assessment and records of fire safety measures, such as alarms and extinguishers
3. Check expiry dates and fix the gaps now - A certificate that's valid today may have lapsed by March 2027. Book renewals early, while contractors have availability.
4. Confirm insurance is in place and appropriate - Make sure each property has cover that suits short-term letting, and that you can put your hands on the documents.
5. Get everything into one place - Folders scattered across inboxes, shared drives and landlords' filing cabinets are exactly what makes registration slow. A single, organised record for every property means that when the register opens, you're working from a list rather than starting a search.
6. Keep an eye on official guidance - Watch GOV.UK for the published requirements. When the details arrive, you'll only need to check them against records you already have.
Managing properties in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
England is catching up with the rest of the UK here. Scotland and Northern Ireland already run their own schemes, and Wales is introducing a visitor accommodation register from October 2026. If your portfolio crosses borders, each nation has its own rules, so check each one separately.
How RentReg helps
RentReg was built for exactly this kind of work. We keep every certificate, check and expiry date for your properties in one place, and flag what's coming up well before it lapses.
For owners, that means knowing at a glance that each property is in order. For property managers, it means one clear view across the whole portfolio, instead of chasing paperwork landlord by landlord.
When the register opens, you'll already know which properties are ready and which need attention. More importantly, properties signed up to RentReg before the roll-out will have their license processed automatically.
Property managers: our partnership programme gives you 50% off all compliance services in your first year, plus a £50 recurring annual fee on every property for as long as it stays with us.
Create your account today or book a short call to see how it works.
This article reflects the position as of September 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Registration requirements have not yet been fully published and may change. Always check the latest official guidance on GOV.UK.
