Understanding Section 48 Notices for Landlords
If you haven't given your tenant a valid address in England or Wales for serving notices, your rent is technically not payable. That's not new law — it's Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, which has been in force for nearly 40 years. But with the Renters' Rights Act 2025 strengthening enforcement from 27 December 2025, this overlooked requirement now carries real consequences.
What Section 48 requires
Section 48 is straightforward: a landlord must provide every tenant with an address in England or Wales at which notices (including notices in court proceedings) may be served on the landlord.
The requirements:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address location | Must be in England or Wales — not Scotland, not overseas |
| Address type | Physical address — not a PO Box, not an email address |
| Who it can be | Landlord's home, managing agent's office, solicitor's office |
| When to provide | No fixed deadline, but best practice is before or at tenancy start |
| How to provide | In the tenancy agreement, a separate letter, or any written communication |
If the landlord's address changes during the tenancy — for example, you switch managing agents — you must issue a fresh Section 48 notice with the new address.
Why it matters: the rent consequence
Here's the provision most landlords don't know about. Under Section 48(2):
Until such a notice is given, no rent or service charge shall be payable by the tenant to the landlord.
This doesn't mean the tenant never has to pay. It means rent is not legally payable until you provide the address. Once you serve a valid Section 48 notice, all withheld rent becomes due immediately. But until that point, a tenant who withholds rent has a statutory defence if you try to recover it.
In practice, this means:
- You cannot pursue rent arrears through the courts if you haven't served a Section 48 notice
- A tenant can withhold rent without breaching the tenancy agreement
- Once you serve the notice, arrears become payable — but you've lost leverage and time
The eviction consequence
Section 48 compliance also affects possession proceedings. If your Section 8 notice (the only eviction route from 1 May 2026) is served from an address that doesn't comply with Section 48, a tenant can challenge the validity of the notice.
Before the Renters' Rights Act, landlords could work around this by serving a Section 21 no-fault notice, which had less stringent procedural requirements. With Section 21 abolished from 1 May 2026, every possession claim goes through Section 8 — and every Section 8 notice is vulnerable to challenge if your Section 48 compliance is defective.
For the full picture on eviction changes, see Section 21 abolished: what landlords need to do.
Section 48 vs Section 47
These two sections of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 are often confused:
| Provision | What it requires | Address location | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 47 | Landlord's name and address on every written demand for rent | Anywhere (including overseas) | Every rent demand |
| Section 48 | An address in England or Wales for service of notices | England or Wales only | Ongoing — must be provided to every tenant |
Section 47 is about identification — the tenant needs to know who the landlord is. Section 48 is about accessibility — the tenant needs a domestic address to send legal notices to.
Both apply. If your rent demands don't include the landlord's name and address (Section 47), the rent is also not payable until the information is provided.
How to comply: a 3-step check
1. Check every current tenancy
Review your tenancy agreements. Does each one include a clearly identified address in England or Wales "for service of notices"? The phrase matters — the address needs to be explicitly identified as the notice address, not just appear as a correspondence address in the letterhead.
If you're a managing agent, the agent's office address in England or Wales satisfies Section 48 — provided the tenancy agreement or a separate notice identifies it as the address for serving notices on the landlord.
2. Issue a notice for any gaps
If any tenancy is missing a valid Section 48 notice, serve one immediately. A simple letter is sufficient:
To: [Tenant name(s)] Property: [Address] Date: [Date]
Under Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, I hereby notify you that the address at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served on the landlord is:
[Address in England or Wales]
[Landlord name / Agent name on behalf of landlord]
Keep a copy and proof of delivery (recorded post or acknowledged email).
3. Update your onboarding process
For every new tenancy, include the Section 48 address in the tenancy agreement itself. This is the simplest way to comply — a separate notice is unnecessary if the agreement clearly identifies the address.
The RRA enforcement connection
Since 27 December 2025, local authorities in England have had expanded powers to investigate private landlords under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. They can:
- Enter properties to inspect
- Demand compliance documentation going back 12 months
- Access third-party data (letting agent records, utility data)
Section 48 compliance is part of the documentation trail. If a council investigates and finds that you haven't provided tenants with a valid notice address, this strengthens any tenant complaint and weakens your position in any enforcement action.
Combined with the Phase 2 Private Rented Sector Database (expected late 2026), where all landlords must register properties and upload compliance data, these previously ignored procedural requirements are becoming genuinely enforceable.
Common mistakes
Using a PO Box. Section 48 requires a physical address. PO Boxes don't count.
Using an overseas address. Even if that's where the landlord lives. If you're a non-resident landlord, appoint a UK-based agent and use their address.
Including the address in the agreement but not identifying it as the Section 48 address. A landlord's address in the header of the agreement may not be sufficient. The safest approach is an explicit clause: "The landlord's address for service of notices under Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 is [address]."
Forgetting to update after a change. If you change managing agents or move, issue a new Section 48 notice to every affected tenant.
Assuming Section 48 only matters at the start. It's an ongoing obligation. If your address changes and you don't notify tenants, you lose compliance from that point.
Checklist
- Every current tenancy has a valid Section 48 address on record
- The address is in England or Wales (physical, not PO Box)
- The address is explicitly identified as the landlord's address for service of notices
- Tenancy agreement template includes Section 48 address clause
- A process exists to issue new Section 48 notices when the address changes
For a personalised compliance assessment across all RRA requirements — including notice obligations — try the free RRA Readiness Checker.
For the full Phase 1 compliance walkthrough, see the Complete Landlord Compliance Checklist.
This guide covers Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 as it applies to residential tenancies in England and Wales. This is not legal advice — for specific questions about your situation, consult a solicitor specialising in landlord and tenant law.
Information is current as of the date shown above.