Selling, Deactivating or Removing a Property from the PRS Database

When You Sell a Rental Property

When you complete a property sale, log into the portal and formally request deactivation of the dwelling entry. The seller deactivates the entry upon legal completion.

If the buyer intends to continue letting the property to existing tenants and wishes to market it before completion, draft Regulation 6(7) allows the purchaser to create a second active dwelling entry after exchange of contracts, subject to the regulation's conditions. This can ensure continuous registration without a gap where the property would sit unregistered with tenants in situ.

The buyer will need to set up their own landlord entry (if they don't already have one), create a new dwelling entry linked to their account, upload current compliance documents, and pay the £65 fee. Your deactivated entry and theirs can briefly overlap during the handover period.

When You Stop Letting

If you stop renting out a property — whether you're moving back in, converting to commercial use, or demolishing — the process is the same: log in and deactivate the dwelling entry.

You're not required to maintain a registration for a property that's no longer let. But if you later decide to let it again, you'll need to register a fresh dwelling entry before advertising or granting a new tenancy.

What Happens to Your Landlord Entry

Deactivating all your dwelling entries automatically converts your master landlord entry to inactive status. Your Landlord Registration Number still exists — it doesn't get deleted — but the account sits dormant.

If you acquire a new rental property later, you reactivate the same landlord entry rather than creating a new one. Your Landlord Registration Number is permanent.

Historic Records Are Not Erased Immediately

Deactivation does not erase an entry immediately. The Act requires the database operator to remove a landlord or dwelling entry if it has been inactive continuously for five years; enforcement authorities may access database information for housing-related enforcement purposes.

This means deactivating an entry does not immediately remove it from the database. The Act does not promise that every historic record will remain indefinitely.

Inherited Properties

If you inherit a rental property with tenants in place, you'll need to register as the new landlord. Executors and personal representatives can manage the registration during probate using a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration as proof of authority. Once the estate transfers to you, the executor deactivates their entry and you create your own.

The transition should be managed within 28 days of the change of ownership to avoid triggering the update duty penalty.

The PRS Database Registration Guide covers property transitions in detail — sale handover sequences, estate administration, and reactivation procedures — with checklists for both the outgoing and incoming landlord.

See more England guides →