Section 48, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires a residential landlord in England and Wales to give the tenant an address in England or Wales at which notices, including notices in legal proceedings, can be served. The obligation is unconditional: it applies wherever the landlord lives and whether or not an agent manages the property. It does not always need a separate notice: a written tenancy agreement that gives the landlord’s name and an address in England or Wales can satisfy it.

Why it matters

Until a valid address has been given in writing, section 48(2) treats any rent, service charge or administration charge as not being due. Until an address is given, the tenant is not in rent arrears in law, however long the gap runs. Serving a valid address restores the whole of the suspended sum as immediately payable, so non-compliance postpones the debt rather than cancelling it.

Section 47 and section 48 are not the same

Section 47 requires the landlord's name and address to appear on every written demand for rent or other sums, so that the tenant can identify who their landlord is. Section 48 requires an address for service of legal notices, which need not be the landlord's own. Both apply independently, and complying with one does not satisfy the other.

What address qualifies

The address must be a real, physical address in England or Wales where post, including court documents, will actually be received. A PO box does not qualify, and neither does an overseas address. Many landlords give their managing agent's address instead of their own. The requirement catches overseas landlords in particular, who often assume an agent relationship substitutes for an England or Wales address.

Landlords who cannot evidence when the address was given are in practice treated as never having given it.

How to serve the notice, when it must be re-served, and what happens to suspended rent once it is, are covered in our guide.