Who it is forLandlords with agents
Landlords with letting agents: where your own address still matters
Last reviewed
In short
A letting agent's address can be your section 48 address for notices if the agent agrees, and it can go on the written statement if you agree that too. It does not cover everything. Written rent demands may need your own name and address under section 47, the Land Registry and the PRS database hold your own details, and an agent's address stops working for you when you change agent or manage the property yourself.
What does a letting agent's address cover?
Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 asks you to give each tenant an address in England and Wales where notices can be served on you. It does not have to be your own address, and an agent's office can satisfy it as long as the agent has agreed to accept notices for you and passes them on promptly. Until tenants have that address, rent is treated as not due.
For assured tenancies in England from 1 May 2026 the written statement of terms must include your name and an address in England and Wales where notices can be served. If you and your agent agree, the agent's address can be that address.
If a tenant writes to your agent asking for your name and address, the agent must give them a written statement of your name and address within 21 days. Failing to do so without a reasonable excuse is an offence. So even with a fully managed service, your agent needs an address for you that you are happy to share.
What does an agent's address not cover?
- Written rent demands. Section 47 says any written demand for rent or other sums must contain the landlord's name and address. In Beitov Properties Ltd v Martin the Upper Tribunal held that this means the landlord's own address, not an agent's. If a demand does not comply, any service charge or administration charge in it is treated as not due until the information is given. See section 47 and rent demands.
- Your Land Registry title. The register shows each owner's address for service, and it does not change when you appoint an agent. You update it with form COG1. A care-of address is accepted, but an agent's address there has the same problem when you change agent. See Land Registry address for service.
- The PRS database. Individual landlords give their own residential address when they register. Your agent can provide certain information for you if you agree, but you remain responsible for the registration.
- Changing agent or managing the property yourself. The day your agent stops acting for you, their address stops working as yours. Every tenant then needs a new section 48 notice, and every record that shows the agent's address needs updating.
Deposit paperwork is a grey area. The prescribed information lists the landlord's name, address, telephone number and any email address. Some scheme templates allow agent details, but whether an agent's or care-of address complies is debated, so check with your scheme. See deposit paperwork.
How does an agent's address compare with a landlord address?
| Rule or record | Your agent's address | Landlord Address |
|---|---|---|
| Section 48 notice | Yes if the agent agrees to accept notices for you | Yes an address in England for notices |
| Written statement from 1 May 2026 | Yes if you both agree | Yes as your address for notices |
| Section 47 rent demands | No the Upper Tribunal held the landlord's own address is needed | Depends may not be enough on its own, so read the guide |
| Tenant asks for your name and address | Depends the agent must give your name and address within 21 days, so it needs one for you | Depends widely treated as your address for this, but take advice if unsure |
| Deposit prescribed information | Depends check with your scheme | Depends check with your scheme |
| Land Registry address for service | Depends only if you choose it as a care-of address | Yes care-of addresses are accepted |
| PRS database correspondence address | Depends the agent can give some details for you, but you stay responsible | Yes for each property, and it is not a PO Box |
| PRS database residential address | No you give your own | No you give your own |
| When you change agent | No it stops working and every tenant needs a new notice | Yes it stays the same |
For every rule in one place, including home addresses and PO Boxes, see your address options compared and the landlord address rules.
How does a landlord address work alongside my agent?
Your agent keeps finding tenants and managing the tenancy day to day. Your landlord address becomes your own address for the records that belong to you as the owner. You use it for your section 48 notice if you prefer it to the agent's, for your Land Registry address for service and as the correspondence address for each property on the PRS database. Your agent can give it when a tenant asks in writing for your name and address.
Because it belongs to you and not to the agent, it stays the same if you change agent or decide to manage the property yourself. Every letter is logged the day it arrives and scanned within one working day. Legal and official post is flagged and you are told the same working day. You see post from courts, councils and deposit schemes yourself rather than waiting for it to be passed on. See how it works.
What a landlord address cannot do
- It cannot take your home address out of the PRS database, which still collects your residential address.
- It may not be enough on its own on written rent demands under section 47.
- It never makes you unreachable. Every customer is identity checked and misuse ends the service.
Questions from landlords with agents
Should I stop using my agent's address for notices?
Not necessarily. If your agent accepts notices and passes them on promptly, their address can meet section 48. You can keep the agent's address for day to day contact and use your own landlord address for the records that belong to you as owner.
What happens when I change agent?
If your tenants have the agent's address for notices, give each of them a new section 48 notice and update every record that shows it. If they already have your landlord address, nothing about your address changes. Our guide to changing your landlord address lists everywhere to check.
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, Gatehouse Chambers, checked 31 October 2026.
- But that is not what it says, Nearly Legal, on Beitov Properties Ltd v Martin [2012] UKUT 133 (LC), 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.
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 1, legislation.gov.uk, checked 31 October 2026.
- Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007, article 2, legislation.gov.uk, checked 31 October 2026.
- If a landlord takes a tenancy deposit but the prescribed information does not include the landlord's name, LexisNexis, checked 31 October 2026.
- Practice guide 55: address for service, HM Land Registry, checked 31 October 2026.
- Get ready to register your rental property, GOV.UK Housing Hub, checked 31 October 2026.