Receivers and the PRS Database: registration, information gaps and possession

Government guidance published on 29 October 2026 explains how receivers and other third parties can use the “Register your rental property” service under the Renters’ Rights Act. Applying to England, the guidance expressly includes receivers, administrative receivers, mortgagees and persons appointed to act on a mortgagee’s behalf. For receivers managing rented properties, the practical implications concern registration, access to information and preparation for possession proceedings.

Registration: authority versus responsibility
A receiver with legal authority to manage a landlord’s rental property can register the landlord and property. However, the guidance helpfully distinguishes that ability from a statutory obligation: the landlord remains legally responsible for registration and updating information. There is no statutory duty on a third party to make an entry unless that third party has become the legal landlord.

Receivers can therefore relax noting that an appointment doesn’t automatically transfer registration responsibility or that the absence of a statutory duty makes registration irrelevant. Checking the existing entry should become an early practical consideration, particularly where possession forms part of the recovery strategy.

Recognising the information gap
Third parties must provide information about themselves, the landlord and the rental property. Crucially, however, the guidance expressly recognises the difficulties facing a receiver taking over management without access to complete records:
“You are not required to provide tenancy and health and safety information about the property. This reflects that this may be prohibitively difficult to access this information if you have not previously been involved in managing the property.”

For receivers, this is a significant practical concession. Missing tenancy files or safety records should not be treated as information that must necessarily be supplied through the third-party registration route. It recognises the challenges of an appointment where the landlord’s records are incomplete or unavailable.

Nevertheless, the duty to provide that information remains with the landlord. If the third party becomes the legal landlord, it must provide the information when updating the entry. The concession should therefore be understood as an accommodation within the registration process, not a reason to disregard property compliance issues.

Proving authority
Registration requires a certified or sealed copy, as appropriate, of evidence of authority. Accepted evidence includes an appointment deed, certificate, notice or instrument, a mortgage deed or a court order.

Third parties currently need to contact the service for assistance with registration. An online third-party process is being considered but is not confirmed. Receivers should assemble their authority documents early.

Preparing for possession
From Winter 2027, the guidance states that both landlord and property must be registered before a court can issue a possession order. This possession restriction will be inserted into section 7 of the Housing Act 1988. Third parties may therefore need to make outstanding entries to enable possession proceedings.

Updated government possession guidance for receivers and lenders seeking possession is expected next year, in 2027. The current guidance promises further guidance before the restriction takes effect but does not specify a publication date.