Bedford Landlords: PRS Database Duty Starts 15 January 2027

If you let in Bedford or Kempston, your rental sits in the East of England cohort for the PRS database (the private rented sector database under the Renters' Rights Act). Under the planned dates in the draft regulations, the requirement for East of England properties, including Bedford, starts on 15 January 2027. That puts Bedford second in England, just after the West Midlands. The service is currently scheduled to open to all landlords on 15 December 2026, so you can register voluntarily before the East of England requirement starts. The regulations are still in draft, so these dates can still shift. Check GOV.UK before you register.

Bedford Borough Council licenses small shared houses too

The local housing authority for Bedford, Kempston and villages such as Bromham, Wootton, Sharnbrook and Great Barford is Bedford Borough Council. When we checked the council's HMO licensing pages on 28 October 2026, they described two kinds of HMO licence. A mandatory licence is needed where 5 or more unrelated people live in the property and share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. An additional licence is needed where 3 or 4 unrelated people share in the same way, and for certain blocks converted into flats before the 1991 Building Regulations standard (section 257 HMOs) where more than a third of the flats are let on shorthold tenancies. The council's designation notice says the additional licensing scheme covers the whole borough, came into force on 21 May 2023 and expires on 20 May 2028, unless revoked sooner. We found no selective licensing scheme in Bedford.

So in Bedford, unlike many towns, a house shared by 3 or 4 unrelated people already needs a council licence. A family home or a flat let to a couple usually does not. For those single-household lets, the PRS database is likely to be the first council or government register the property has had to join, and the details and certificates need gathering from scratch.

If you hold a Bedford HMO licence, you are partly there already. The council's application page asks for digital copies of a gas safety certificate, an electrical safety inspection certificate, fire alarm installation or test certificates, an emergency lighting certificate where one is installed, the tenancy agreement if the property is occupied, the EPC, floor plans and a fit and proper person check. The draft regulations ask for a gas safety record, an EICR and EPC information for each let home, so many of the same papers can serve both.

A licence to 2028 is not a database entry to 2028

The council's licence conditions page says mandatory HMO licences are usually granted for five years, and additional licences run up to 20 May 2028, with a shorter licence possible where the property does not have planning permission or there are known management failings. The PRS database is set to work on a shorter cycle. Under the draft regulations, entries need renewing every 12 months, and information that goes out of date, such as a gas safety record replaced at its annual check, must be updated within 28 days. Holding a Bedford licence until 2028 does not mean a database entry can be left alone until then. Diary each property's licence expiry and its certificate renewals side by side.

Small HMOs in Bedford and Kempston need planning permission

Planning is separate from licensing. When we checked the council's Article 4 directions page on 28 October 2026, it said an HMO Article 4 Direction has been in force since November 2020 in the urban areas of Bedford and Kempston. It removes the permitted development right to turn a family home into a small HMO for 3 to 6 unrelated people, so a planning application is needed for that change there. HMOs for more than 6 people have always needed planning permission anywhere in the borough. The council's Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document, adopted on 28 October 2020, guides how those applications are considered.

Outside the Article 4 area, the council's HMO planning guidance says a planning application is not required to change a family home into a small HMO. The additional licence, though, applies across the whole borough. So a 4 person shared house in central Bedford needs both planning permission and a licence, while a similar house in a village outside the Article 4 area may need only the licence. Either way, it needs registering once the East of England requirement is live. Check the council's Article 4 map for your exact address, and keep evidence of planning permission or lawful HMO use in the property's file. For HMO planning in general, see our guide to HMO planning and Article 4.

First check: postcodes around Bedford cross three council areas and two regions

Postcodes around Bedford do not follow council lines. Many MK43, MK44 and MK45 addresses are in Bedford Borough, but Cranfield and Marston Moretaine (MK43) and Ampthill and Flitwick (MK45) are run by Central Bedfordshire Council, as are Sandy and Biggleswade on SG postcodes. Kimbolton (MK44) is in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire. All of those are in the East of England, so the PRS database dates are the same, but Bedford's additional licensing and its Article 4 Direction do not apply there, and those councils set their own.

Two neighbours sit in other regions. Milton Keynes is in the South East, where the planned date is 15 March 2027, two months after Bedford. To the north, Rushden, Irchester and Wollaston are in North Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands, where the planned date is 15 February 2027. The NN29 postcode shows how fine the line is: Irchester and Wollaston are in North Northamptonshire, while Podington, on the same postcode district, is in Bedford Borough. A quick first check for any address is which council sends the council tax bill.

For the full England timetable see our guide to PRS database planned dates by region. For the wider picture, start with the PRS national database overview. For the regional overview, see East of England landlords and the PRS database. Letting across the border too? See our guides for Milton Keynes, Luton and Northampton.

Portfolios across regions: the East of England comes second

The East of England is the second English region in the timetable, after the West Midlands, so a Bedford let is likely to be one of the first homes in a mixed portfolio that needs registering. If you also let in the West Midlands, that region's planned date comes first, on 15 December 2026. Under the government's current plans, the service is due to open on 15 December 2026, and from then you can register homes in any region voluntarily, before each region's requirement starts. Nothing needs registering today, but getting your documents ready now means you can register everything in one go.

Licensing and the PRS database are separate

A council licence does not replace registration on the national database once your region's requirement is live, and registering does not replace a licence. GOV.UK's guidance says the registration form asks whether the property needs an HMO, additional or selective licence, so have the answer and any licence number ready for each address. In Bedford the answer depends on who lives there: no licence for most single-household lets, an additional licence for 3 or 4 unrelated sharers, and a mandatory licence for 5 or more. Have the licence reference and expiry date ready for every shared house. For how the two fit together, see the PRS database versus selective licensing, and for licensing in general, landlord licensing explained and how to check if your property needs a licence.

Bedford prep checklist before 15 January 2027

Use this as a working list for every Bedford let you own or manage:

• Council and region check: confirm whether the address is in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire or Huntingdonshire (all East of England), or in Milton Keynes (South East) or North Northamptonshire (East Midlands), which have different planned dates.
• Gas safety (CP12): annual check where gas appliances are present, with the certificate in date, filed, and the renewal date noted.
• EICR satisfactory and still within its validity period for the electrical installation (at most five years).
• EPC valid and meeting the minimum rating the rules require for your let.
• Landlord and property details ready: your name and contact details, the property address, the type of property, the number of bedrooms, how many people and households live there, and the type of tenancy.
• Tenancy paperwork to hand: written agreement, how rent is paid, and who occupies the property (for shared houses, note how many people and households live there).
• Licence details for every shared house with 3 or more unrelated people: the additional or mandatory licence reference and expiry date. For single-household lets, note that no licence is needed, so you can answer the registration question quickly.
• Planning evidence for any HMO in the Bedford and Kempston Article 4 area, and for any HMO with more than 6 people anywhere in the borough: the planning permission, or evidence of lawful use.
• Deposit protection and prescribed information completed correctly if you took a deposit. This is a general landlord duty rather than a database field, but keep the scheme details in the same file.
• Fire safety records: smoke and carbon monoxide alarms tested, and for any HMO, fire alarm test records and any other fire safety records kept with the certificates.
• Government sign-in: watch GOV.UK for the service link and how to sign in. The service is currently scheduled to open on 15 December 2026.

None of that is new law invented for the database. It is the compliance you should already hold. The PRS database makes that compliance visible. Over time, the Renters' Rights Act also links being registered to advertising a property and to most possession claims. See why that matters in PRS database as eviction gatekeeper, and the early readiness message in when the PRS database goes live. For the wider ombudsman picture, see the PRS landlord ombudsman. For HMO duties that sit beside licensing, see our guide to running an HMO.

What to do between now and 15 January 2027

1. List every property you let, in Bedford and elsewhere, including those managed by an agent, and note the council and region for each. Only a West Midlands let has an earlier planned date than Bedford.
2. Audit certificates this autumn: gas, EICR and EPC, so your papers are together before the Christmas break.
3. Start a file for each unlicensed let: family homes and couples' flats have no licence application to draw on, so this is where most of the preparation time goes.
4. Bundle documents per property as digital files so registration is copy-and-paste, not a hunt across email and drawers.
5. Diary the planned dates: requirement from 15 January 2027. Voluntary registration is currently scheduled to open on 15 December 2026. Aim to be ready well before your region's planned date.
6. Re-check GOV.UK nearer the time for the live link to the "Register your rental property" service, the fee, and any adjustment to the regional calendar, and re-check Bedford Borough Council's licensing and planning pages for any change.

A letting agent cannot register for you. The landlord makes the landlord and property entries and pays the fee (a small number of others, such as an attorney or personal representative, can act instead). The regulations do not set the fee. In Parliament on 28 October 2026, ministers said the Government has separately announced a fee of £65 per property per year, pro rata during the initial roll-out. An agent or property manager can supply some of the tenancy and safety details. Agree now who will provide which documents and where the certificates live.

General guidance for landlords in England, not legal advice. PRS database planned start dates, fees, who must register, and how the service works are set by government and can change. The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 are still a draft statutory instrument, so dates can still shift. Local licensing schemes and planning rules are set by Bedford Borough Council (or by Central Bedfordshire Council or another neighbouring council for addresses outside its area) and can change too. Always confirm the current East of England dates, fee and process on GOV.UK, check licensing and planning on the council site for your exact address, and take professional advice for your situation. LandlordProof helps you organise your certificates, documents and reminders. Using it does not by itself meet your legal duties as a landlord, and it does not register you on the PRS database. You remain responsible for your legal duties as a landlord, so check GOV.UK or your council if you are unsure.