Beyond registration: Designing a PRS database that supports compliance
The incoming private rented sector (PRS) database has the potential to be far more than a landlord register. If designed well, it could become a practical compliance and communication tool – helping landlords understand their responsibilities, act at the right time and provide safer, better-quality homes.
This is a key message from recent research on unintentional landlord non-compliance, commissioned by TDS and carried out by Social Change. It found that many landlords want to do the right thing, but complex rules, fragmented guidance and limited time often make it difficult to know what action to take, and when.
Drawing on the research findings, this blog sets out four practical design principles for a database that supports better compliance and helps raise standards across the sector.
1. Create one trusted route to clear guidance
Stakeholders in the research highlighted the volume and complexity of legislation as a as a barrier to compliance. Non-compliance often stems not from bad intent but from decision fatigue and information fragmentation. When landlords cannot easily find clear answers, they tend to do nothing – not because they refuse to comply, but because the system feels too difficult to navigate.
Landlords in the study used a patchwork of council websites, letting agents, associations, online searches, friends, podcasts and forums. This means advice could be incomplete, inconsistent or out of date.
The database should create a centralised, authoritative source of information to reduce fragmentation and improve clarity across the system.
Guidance should also be tailored to local and property-specific rules, making it easier for landlords to comply by quickly seeing what applies to them and reducing the cognitive burden of sorting through irrelevant information.
2. Make it a proactive compliance support tool
In addition to personalised guidance, the database should provide automated reminders and clear prompts. Behavioural evidence shows that landlords may intend to comply with the rules but too much information, immediate pressures and competing priorities can stop them from taking action.
The research found strong support for practical tools that break obligations into manageable steps, with reminders linked to key moments such as the start of a tenancy, certificate expiry dates and annual checks.
This kind of timely, targeted support is more effective than generic guidance because it gives landlords the right information at the point they need it.
3. Communicate in a way that encourages action
More information is not always the answer. The research suggests landlords are more likely to engage with guidance that is timely, relevant and easy to act on – such as short updates that explain what has changed, who it affects and what to do next.
Framing matters too. Landlords responded more positively when support was presented as practical and protective, rather than as surveillance or another administrative burden. Messages could connect compliance with outcomes landlords value, such as protecting tenants, avoiding costly problems, preserving their property and feeling confident that they are doing the right thing.
Language should also reflect the diversity of the sector. Some people who inherit a property or rent out a former home may not see themselves as “landlords”. Using inclusive wording, such as “if you rent out a property”, can help important messages feel relevant.
4. Target support towards landlords facing greater compliance challenges
A universal system should not assume every landlord has the same knowledge, confidence, time or digital skills. The research suggests that some landlord groups are more at risk of unintentional non-compliance, such as small-portfolio and self-managing landlords, as well as those who entered the sector through circumstance. Extra support should therefore be targeted towards these groups.
By using the database to identify where support may be most needed, councils could target timely information and guidance more effectively than relying on generic communications alone.
Better prevention could also help councils use limited resources more effectively. If willing landlords can resolve issues earlier, enforcement teams can focus on persistent or deliberate non-compliance.
Targeted support will only work if landlords can access it easily. Accessibility should therefore be built in from the start, with simple navigation and non-digital support for people who cannot use an online service confidently.
Test, learn and improve
A database designed only for registration risks becoming another task to complete. But a database designed around behaviour could make compliance clearer, easier and more consistent – by giving landlords trusted guidance, timely prompts and practical support in a form they can act on.
The next phase of TDS’ research will test these behavioural approaches with landlords in Greater Manchester, building real-world evidence about what helps people comply in practice. We will continue to share learning from these interventions to inform future compliance tools and support wider efforts to raise standards across the sector.
Find out more: read the full research briefing.
About TDS
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is part of The Dispute Service (TDS), the largest tenancy deposit protection and resolution service provider in the UK making life easier for tens of thousands of agents, landlords, developers, and millions of tenants and homebuyers. Our award-winning customer service is highly rated on both Trustpilot and Google, and we’re backed by the NRLA. We offer free deposit protection in our Custodial scheme, and the lowest rates for landlords in our Insured scheme.
The views expressed in this content are solely those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views of TDS, its officers, or employees.
