Compare your optionsRule by rule
Home, agent, PO Box or landlord address? Your options compared
Last reviewed
In short
A home address in England meets every address rule but puts your home on tenancy paperwork and public records. A letting agent's address works for section 48 notices but not for section 47 rent demands, and it changes when you change agent. A PO Box cannot be your PRS database correspondence address. A landlord address keeps your home private and flags legal post, though rent demands may still need your own address.
Which landlord address option is best?
Six addresses landlords use, checked against the rules and the practical points that matter. Where the answer depends on the provider or on someone agreeing to help, the table says so.
| Question | Home address | Letting agent | Accountant | PO Box | Virtual office | Landlord Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keeps your home private | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accepted for section 48 notices | Yes If it is in England or Wales | Yes If they agree to accept notices | Depends They must agree to accept notices | Depends Not ruled out, but a street address is safer | Depends On the provider accepting legal post | Yes An address in England |
| Works on section 47 rent demands | Yes It is your own address | No The Upper Tribunal held it is not enough | Depends May not on its own | Depends May not on its own | Depends May not on its own | Depends May not on its own. Keep your own address on demands or take advice |
| PRS database correspondence address | Yes | Depends Only PO Boxes are excluded. Your agent must agree | Depends Only PO Boxes are excluded. The firm must agree | No PO Boxes are excluded | Depends Only PO Boxes are excluded. Check the provider | Yes Not a PO Box |
| Land Registry address for service | Yes | Yes As a care-of address if they agree | Yes As a care-of address if they agree | Depends Check practice guide 55 | Depends On the provider | Yes As a care-of address |
| Tells you quickly about legal post | Depends Only if you are there to open it | Depends On the agent | Depends On the firm | Depends Only when you check it | Depends On the plan | Yes Flagged and you are told the same working day |
| Stays the same when you move or change agent | No It changes when you move | No It changes if you change agent or self-manage | Depends While you stay with that firm | Yes While you keep it | Yes While you keep the plan | Yes While you keep your plan |
| Identity checked | Not needed | Depends On the agent | Depends On the firm | Depends On the provider | Depends On the provider | Yes Before an address is issued |
| Cost | Free | Ask your agent | Ask the firm | Varies by provider | Varies by provider and plan | £49 in your first year, then £99 a year |
General information about the rules in England, checked 31 October 2026. Not legal advice.
Should a landlord use their home address?
It is free. As long as you live in England or Wales it meets every address rule, including section 47 on rent demands where your own address is what the law asks for. You also see your post yourself.
The cost is privacy. Your home goes on tenancy paperwork, deposit forms and the Land Registry title that anyone can buy a copy of. Every move means updating each of them, and post can wait unopened while you are away. If you move abroad it stops working for section 48. Read why landlords protect their home address.
Can you use your letting agent's address?
For section 48 notices, yes, if your agent agrees to accept notices for you and passes them on promptly. Agents deal with tenants every day and are used to landlord post.
There are two catches. The Upper Tribunal has held that section 47 needs the landlord's own address on rent demands, so an agent's address alone is not enough there. And the address is only yours while the agent is: change agent or start managing yourself and you need a new notice for every tenant and new details everywhere else. Read using your letting agent's address and landlords with letting agents.
Can you use your accountant's address?
You could ask your accountant or solicitor instead. A professional office is a steady address and a solicitor in particular will know what a legal notice looks like.
The firm has to agree to accept notices for you and to tell you quickly when one arrives, and it may charge for doing so. Section 47 rent demands may still need your own address. If you move firms, the address changes with it.
Can a landlord use a PO Box?
A PO Box keeps your home private and stays the same when you move. But the PRS database will not accept a PO Box as the correspondence address for a property, or as an organisation's business address. Section 48 does not mention PO Boxes, but a street address where post can be received and signed for is the safer choice for notices. Read can a landlord use a PO Box.
Can a landlord use a virtual office address?
A virtual office gives you a street address and usually some form of mail handling, so it can work. Many are set up for businesses rather than landlords. Before you give one to tenants, check that the provider allows landlord use, will accept tenant and court notices, will tell you promptly when legal post arrives and will not reject or return it. Read can a landlord use a virtual office address.
What does a landlord address do differently?
Landlord Address is built around the rules above. You get an address in England with your personal reference to use for tenants, notices and registers. Every item is logged the day it arrives, letters are scanned within one working day and legal or official post is flagged to you the same working day. Signed-for letters are signed by our staff and logged. We check your identity before issuing an address, and one annual price covers every property you let.
It has limits too. It cannot take your home address out of the PRS database, and written rent demands may still need your own address under section 47. It is for letters and large letters only, with no parcels. See how it works and pricing.
Which option is right for you?
- If you live in England, do not mind your address being on paperwork and records and are home to open post, your home address works.
- If an agent manages everything and you do not plan to change, their address may be enough for notices. Keep your own address on rent demands.
- If you want your home kept private and an address that stays the same for years, a landlord address fits.
Still unsure? Check which address you need or read every landlord address rule in one table.
Sources
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48, legislation.gov.uk, 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 and Beitov Properties Ltd v Martin, Gatehouse Chambers, checked 31 October 2026.
- But that isn't what it says, Nearly Legal, checked 31 October 2026.
- Practice guide 55: address for service, HM Land Registry, updated 18 May 2026, checked 31 October 2026.
- Get ready to register, GOV.UK Housing Hub, updated 29 October 2026, checked 31 October 2026.