Address rulesVirtual offices
Can a landlord use a virtual office address?
Last reviewed
In short
Often, for the rules that ask for an address for notices, as long as the address is in England and Wales, is not a PO Box and every notice reaches you quickly. The catch is that many virtual offices are designed for company post. Before you give one to tenants, check it will accept notices and court post for you as an individual landlord and tell you fast when legal post arrives.
What does a landlord address need to do?
Whichever provider you use, the address has to meet the rules you use it for:
- Section 48 and the written statement for new tenancies ask for an address in England and Wales where notices, including notices in proceedings, can be served on you.
- The PRS database asks for a correspondence address for each property, which cannot be a PO Box number.
- HM Land Registry accepts a care-of address for service.
- Written rent demands may need your own address under section 47, whatever service you use.
A virtual office address can meet the first three if it works properly for landlord post. No provider, ourselves included, changes the position on section 47.
How is landlord post different from company post?
Many virtual offices are designed for companies that want a business address, with post scanned or forwarded. Landlord post is different in a few ways:
- For a private landlord the customer is you as an individual, and the post is addressed to you personally.
- Some of it has deadlines. A tenant notice, a court claim or a council letter needs to reach you promptly.
- Some of it arrives by signed-for post or by hand.
- The address needs to stay the same for years, because tenants, registers and your deposit scheme all hold it.
None of this means a virtual office cannot do the job. It means you should ask before you rely on one.
What should you ask a virtual office provider?
Will you accept notices and court post for me as an individual landlord?
A service built around company post may have terms that do not fit an individual. Get a clear yes in writing for tenant notices, court papers and council letters addressed to you personally.
Is the address in England and Wales, and is it a street address?
Section 48 needs an address in England and Wales, and the PRS database will not accept a PO Box number.
How fast will you tell me about legal or official post?
Ask whether court, council, tenant and deposit scheme letters are picked out from the rest, and how quickly you hear about them.
Who signs for recorded letters?
Ask who signs, whether it is logged and when you are told.
Do you check my identity?
Checking customers means the address cannot easily be used to hide from tenants or courts. Ask what checks are run before the address is issued.
Can I use it for every property I let?
Check whether the price covers all your lettings or rises with each property.
What happens if I stop paying?
Ask whether post is held, returned to sender or thrown away, and whether there is a grace period. An address that quietly stops working can leave notices unread.
Are legal originals ever shredded?
Ask whether paper originals are kept, forwarded or destroyed after scanning, and whether you are asked first.
What does it cost in total?
Ask about extra charges for scanning, alerts, handling or forwarding, so you can compare like with like.
How does Landlord Address answer those questions?
| Question | Landlord Address |
|---|---|
| Notices and court post for individual landlords | Yes. It is what the service is for. We serve individual landlords and joint owners with rental property in England. |
| In England and not a PO Box | Our address in England with your personal reference. It is not a PO Box. |
| Legal and official post | Flagged, and you are told the same working day. That covers post from tenants, courts, councils, HMRC and deposit schemes. |
| Signed-for letters | Signed for by our staff and logged, and you are told. |
| Identity checks | Every customer is identity checked before an address is issued. Misuse ends the service. |
| Every property | One fixed annual price covers every property you let. |
| If you stop paying | For 30 days post is still received and logged, and you are told. After that new post is returned to the sender. It is never quietly binned. |
| Legal originals | Never shredded without your instruction. Originals are posted to you at the cost of postage with no handling fee. |
| Total cost | £49 for the first year when you sign up online, then £99 a year. No setup fee. The only extra is postage for originals you ask for. |
| Parcels | Letters and large letters only. We do not accept parcels. |
See mail handling and service levels for the detail, or compare every option side by side.
What can neither a virtual office nor Landlord Address do?
- Take your home address out of the PRS database, which asks individual landlords for their residential address.
- Replace your own address on written rent demands, where section 47 may need it. See section 47 and rent demands.
- Make you unreachable. A good landlord address makes you easier to reach, not harder.
What if you let through a limited company?
At the moment Landlord Address serves individual landlords and joint owners with rental property in England. Limited companies can join the waiting list using our address check.
Common questions
Is Landlord Address a virtual office?
It is a correspondence address and mail handling service built for private landlords. Like a virtual office it gives you an address that is not your home, but it is set up around tenant notices and court and council post rather than company mail.
Can I use the virtual office I already have for my business?
Possibly, if it answers the questions above well and accepts post addressed to you as a landlord. Check it is not a PO Box number before you give it to the PRS database.
Does a virtual office make me harder to reach?
It should not. Choose a provider that picks out legal post and tells you about it quickly, and keep the address the same across every rule. See every landlord address rule in one table.
Sources
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48, legislation.gov.uk, checked 31 October 2026.
- The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026, legislation.gov.uk, checked 31 October 2026.
- Get ready to register, GOV.UK Housing Hub, checked 31 October 2026.
- Practice guide 55: address for service, HM Land Registry, checked 31 October 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 47, legislation.gov.uk, checked 31 October 2026.
- Addressing the issue: sections 47 and 48, Gatehouse Chambers, checked 31 October 2026.