Section 48 notice: your address for service explained

What does section 48 say?

The section is short. Subsection 1 says a landlord of premises covered by this part of the Act "shall by notice furnish the tenant with an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served on him by the tenant".

Subsection 2 is the part landlords notice. If you have not complied, any rent, service charge or administration charge the tenant owes you is treated as not being due for any time before you do comply. Subsection 3 makes an exception where a court or tribunal has appointed a receiver or manager to collect those payments.

Which tenancies does it apply to?

Section 48 sits in Part 6 of the Act. Section 46 says that part applies to premises that consist of or include a dwelling, unless they are held under a business tenancy protected by Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. In practice that covers ordinary residential lettings, including houses and flats let on assured shorthold and other assured tenancies.

What happens if you do not give a section 48 address?

The tenant still owes the rent, but it is treated as not due until you give the notice. That matters most when you are chasing arrears or relying on rent arrears in court, because a tenant can argue nothing was due at the time. Once you give a valid notice, rent held back in the meantime becomes due.

It is a simple fix, but it is much better to give the notice at the start of every tenancy and whenever your address changes than to find the gap in the middle of a dispute.

Which address can you use?

The Act asks for an address in England and Wales where notices can be served on you. It does not say it must be where you live. Landlords commonly use:

• their home address, if it is in England or Wales
• their letting agent's office, if the agent has agreed to accept notices for them
• a solicitor's office
• a correspondence address such as Landlord Address, which logs every item and tells you the same working day when legal or official post arrives

Whatever you choose, it has to work. A notice served at that address counts as served on you, so post must be collected, opened and passed to you quickly. That is the point of a managed address: private, but never unreachable.

If you live outside England and Wales you cannot use your home address for section 48 at all, which is why overseas landlords need an address here.

Is section 48 the same as section 47?

No. Section 47 is a separate rule about written demands for rent or service charges. It asks for the landlord's name and address on each demand, and the Upper Tribunal has held that an agent's address alone does not meet it. Read section 47 and rent demands before you rely on a correspondence address for demands, and see every landlord address rule in one table.

Does the tenancy agreement count as a section 48 notice?

Case law has accepted that a clear address for notices in the tenancy agreement can do the job. For tenancies from 1 May 2026 the written statement landlords must give tenants also has to include an address in England and Wales where notices can be served. A short separate notice, given at the start and again whenever the address changes, removes any doubt. See the address on a tenancy agreement.

How do you give a section 48 notice?

1. Write it down

   There is no official form. A short letter or a clause set out as a notice is enough, as long as it clearly gives the address and says it is for notices under section 48.

2. Give it to every tenant

   Name all the tenants on the tenancy and send it to each of them, at the property or by email if they have agreed to receive notices that way.

3. Keep proof

   Keep a copy and a note of how and when you gave it, such as a certificate of posting or the sent email.

4. Update it when anything changes

   Give a fresh notice if you move, change agent or switch to a correspondence address. Our guide to changing your landlord address lists everyone else to tell.

A plain section 48 notice template

Copy this, fill in the parts in square brackets and give it to each tenant. It is a general template, not legal advice, so take advice if your situation is unusual.

Notice under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

To: [full names of all tenants]
Property: [address of the rented property]
From: [full name of the landlord, or all joint landlords]

The landlord gives notice under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 that the address in England and Wales at which notices, including notices in proceedings, may be served on the landlord by the tenant is:

[address for service]

This notice replaces any address for service given before.

Date: [date]
Signed: [landlord, or agent on the landlord's behalf]

Landlord Address customers get this notice already filled in with their name and reference once their identity check is complete.

Common questions

Does a section 48 notice have to be on a special form?

No. There is no prescribed form. What matters is that the tenant is clearly told, in writing, the address in England and Wales where notices can be served on you.

Can I use my letting agent's address?

Yes for section 48, if your agent agrees to accept notices for you and passes them on promptly. Remember that section 47 rent demands need your own address, and that you will need to serve a new notice if you change agent. See using your letting agent's address.

Can I use a PO Box?

Section 48 does not mention PO Boxes, but a street address where post can be received and signed for is the safer choice, and the PRS database will not accept a PO Box as a correspondence address. See PO Box addresses.

Do I need to give a new notice for every tenancy?

Give one at the start of each tenancy and again whenever the address changes. It costs nothing and it keeps rent due.