Section 48 Notice Landlord UK 2026, Address for Service Requirements

What Section 48 requires

The statutory requirement is contained in Section 48(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987:

• A landlord of residential premises in England and Wales must give the tenant written notice of an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served on the landlord
• The notice must be in writing — oral notification does not satisfy Section 48
• The address must be in England and Wales — a Scottish, Northern Irish, or overseas address does not satisfy the requirement
• The address can be the landlord's own residential or business address, a letting agent's address, or a solicitor's address — it does not have to be the landlord's personal home address
• Section 48 applies to all residential tenancies — Assured Shorthold Tenancies, Assured Tenancies (including the new Periodic Assured Tenancies from 1 May 2026), and also to licences and other residential occupancy arrangements
• The notice must be given before or at the time rent or service charge is first demanded. In practice, including the landlord's name and service address in the tenancy agreement at signing satisfies this requirement for all subsequent rent demands

What happens if Section 48 is not complied with

Section 48(2) provides a severe consequence for non-compliance:

• Any rent or service charge otherwise due from the tenant is treated as not being due until the landlord gives the required written notice
• This does not mean the rent is extinguished — it accrues and becomes payable once the Section 48 notice is given. The tenant's obligation to pay all outstanding rent is revived from the date the notice is given
• However, until the notice is given, the rent is technically 'not due'. A tenant relying on Section 48 non-compliance can argue before a court that rent claimed in arrears proceedings was not legally due during the non-compliant period
• Ground 8 of Schedule 2, Housing Act 1988 (the mandatory rent arrears ground requiring 3 months' arrears) requires that the arrears are 'lawfully due'. If Section 48 has not been complied with, the arrears may not be 'lawfully due' and Ground 8 may not be available
• County court judges in possession proceedings regularly check Section 47 and 48 compliance as part of the standard review. A landlord whose Ground 8 claim fails on Section 48 grounds loses the mandatory ground advantage and may need to rely on discretionary arrears grounds (Grounds 10 and 11) where the court has discretion to refuse possession
• Practical consequence: before issuing any Section 8 notice for rent arrears, confirm that you have given a valid Section 48 notice and that your rent demands comply with Section 47

Section 47 and rent demands

Section 47 complements Section 48 by requiring specific information on every written rent demand:

• Section 47(1): every written demand for rent or service charge from a residential tenant must contain the name and address of the landlord. If the landlord is a company, the registered office address must be given
• Section 47(2): if the name and address is not included in a rent demand, the amount demanded is not due until the information is provided
• Many landlords satisfy Sections 47 and 48 simultaneously by including the landlord's name and address on their tenancy agreement and in any written rent demands. A letting agent managing the property on behalf of a landlord should ensure that their written rent demands include the landlord's name and an address in England and Wales
• Section 47 applies to each individual demand — it is not enough to have given a compliant notice once if subsequent written demands omit the information
• Email rent demands: HMRC and courts have accepted that email constitutes a written demand where the tenancy agreement provides for email as a valid communication method. Email demands should still include the landlord's name and address to comply with Section 47

How to comply: practical steps

Section 48 compliance is simple and should be built into every new tenancy from the start:

• Include in the tenancy agreement: The simplest method. Add a clause specifying: 'The landlord's name is [Name]. The address in England and Wales at which notices may be served on the landlord is [Address].' This simultaneously satisfies Section 47 (for the demand incorporated in the agreement) and Section 48
• Serve a standalone Section 48 notice: Where an existing tenancy does not include the required information, serve a written notice on the tenant stating the landlord's name and service address. This can be done at any time and cures the non-compliance prospectively from the date of service
• Include on rent demands: Every written rent demand should state the landlord's name and address to comply with Section 47. This is in addition to (not a substitute for) the Section 48 address notice
• Letting agents: Where a letting agent collects rent, their address in England and Wales satisfies the requirement. The agent's address should appear on the tenancy agreement and on rent demands
• Before serving a Section 8 notice: Confirm that Section 48 has been complied with. If in doubt, serve a Section 48 notice to the tenant immediately before or alongside the Section 8 notice — this cures the non-compliance from that point and ensures that at least some arrears period will be 'lawfully due'

Frequently asked questions