FeaturesNotices
Section 48 notice: the address your tenant can serve notices on
Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 says a landlord must give the tenant, by written notice, an address in England or Wales where notices can be served. Until you do, rent is treated as not due. An address in the tenancy agreement is enough, and LetCompliance puts yours in every agreement it produces.
- Law as amended, checked 8 October 2026
- No prescribed form
- Not changed by the Renters’ Rights Act
How it works
- 01Choose the address
- 02Put it in writing
- 03Keep proof it was given
- 04Update it if it changes
The short answer
What is a section 48 notice?
Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires the landlord of a home to give the tenant, by notice, an address in England and Wales at which notices, including notices in court proceedings, can be served. In England it applies to assured and assured shorthold tenancies of a dwelling.
There is no prescribed form, but the notice must be in writing. The Court of Appeal has held that an address in England or Wales stated in the tenancy agreement, without limitation, satisfies section 48, so no separate notice is needed.
If no address has been given, rent is treated as not being due until it is. The rent is suspended, not lost: once the landlord complies, the earlier rent becomes payable.
Section 47 is the companion rule for each written demand: a demand for rent or other sums must show the landlord’s name and address, and an address in England and Wales if the landlord’s is elsewhere. Leaving that out holds back service and administration charges, not the rent itself.
What it does
Three things to know about section 48.
An address in England or Wales
Given without limitation, in the tenancy agreement or a written notice. A landlord who lives abroad needs an address in England or Wales where notices will reach them.
Rent is not due until you comply
Section 48(2) treats rent as not due before the landlord complies. Give the address and the earlier rent becomes payable again.
In writing, no prescribed form
A clause in the agreement, a letter or an email will do. Telling the tenant the address out loud does not.
In detail
When it matters most
Section 48 rarely comes up until something else does.
- Before you count arrears
- A possession claim for rent arrears relies on rent being lawfully due, so check the address has been given before you count the arrears.
- Landlords abroad
- Your own address does not meet section 48 if it is outside England and Wales. Give one inside them where notices will reach you.
- A new landlord
- The duty sits with the landlord, so a new owner gives the tenant their own address for service.
- Joint landlords
- A LetCompliance agreement names every landlord and gives the first landlord’s address for service.
- Service charge demands
- For flats with service charges, section 47 also matters: each demand needs the landlord’s name and address, or those charges are held back.
- An address that has changed
- Give the tenant the new address in writing, and keep a dated copy.
Step by step
Giving a section 48 address
- Step 1
Choose the address
An address in England or Wales where post will reach you.
- Step 2
Put it in writing
In the tenancy agreement, or a short letter or email to the tenant.
- Step 3
Keep proof it was given
The signed agreement, or the dated email or letter.
- Step 4
Update it if it changes
Send the new address in writing and keep that copy too.
Rent, service charge and administration charges are treated as not due before the landlord gives the tenant an address in England and Wales for notices. Checked against Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48 (legislation.gov.uk) on 8 October 2026. This is not legal advice.
Same account
The address is one line of the tenancy. The rest is in the same login.
Agreements, rent and notices sit on the same property.
See every feature- Tenancy agreements with your address for service
- Section 8 on Form 3A and Section 13 on Form 4A on paid plans
- Rent and arrears worked out on every tenancy
- A tenant portal with no password to remember
- Making Tax Digital, recognised by HMRC
- A 0 to 100 compliance score for every property
Questions
Section 48 questions, answered
Do I need a separate section 48 notice if the address is in the tenancy agreement?
No. In Rogan v Woodfield Building Services (1995) the Court of Appeal held that an address in England or Wales stated in the tenancy agreement, without limitation, satisfies section 48, as later quoted in Glen International v Triplerose [2007] EWCA Civ 388. A separate notice is only needed if the agreement gives no such address.
What happens if I never gave a section 48 address?
Section 48(2) treats rent as not due until you comply. It is suspended rather than lost: the courts have held that the rent becomes due once the landlord complies (quoted in Sunset Ltd v Al-Hindi [2023] EWHC 2443 (Ch)). Give the address in writing before you count arrears or rely on them.
Can I use my letting agent’s address?
Section 48 asks for “an address” in England and Wales, unlike section 47, which needs the landlord’s own name and address on a demand. No appeal court has decided whether an agent’s address named in the agreement is enough, though one was accepted at first instance; an address given only for a narrow purpose, such as one letter, does not count. An address in the agreement, given without limitation, where notices will reach you, avoids the question.
Is there a prescribed form for a section 48 notice?
No. The Act only requires the notice to be in writing (section 54(1)). A clause in the tenancy agreement, a letter or an email meets it.
What is the difference between section 47 and section 48?
Section 48 is a standing duty to give the tenant an address in England or Wales for notices; until you do, rent is treated as not due. Section 47 is about each written demand, which must show the landlord’s name and address; if it does not, service and administration charges are held back, but not the rent.
Did the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 change section 48?
No. On 8 October 2026 sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 had no amendment from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
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