No landlord name and address on your rent demands? Why the rent may not legally be due (s47/s48) — tenant walkthrough 2026
Here is a rule a lot of renters have never heard of. If your landlord has not given you a name and an address in England or Wales where you can serve notices on them, your rent is treated as not legally due until they do. It does not mean the rent is wiped, but it can be a genuine point of leverage, especially with a faceless agent or an absent landlord who only ever gives you a PO box or an email. This walkthrough explains sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in plain English, what they do and do not give you, and how to ask for the missing details. England only.
Here is a rule almost no renter has heard of, and it can quietly tilt the balance with an evasive or absent landlord. If your landlord has not given you a name and an address in England or Wales where you can serve notices on them, the law treats your rent as not legally due until they do. It is buried in a piece of 1980s legislation, but it is alive and well, and it is genuinely useful to know.
This walkthrough explains sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in plain English: what they require, what the consequence really is, where it helps you, and how to ask for the missing details without getting yourself into difficulty. It covers England only.
What the law says
There are two related duties.
- Section 48 requires the landlord to give you, in writing, an address in England or Wales at which notices, including legal proceedings, can be served on them.
- Section 47 requires the landlord's name and address to be stated on any written demand for rent or other sums. If that address is outside England and Wales, the landlord must also give an England or Wales address for the service of notices.
The part that matters most is the consequence attached to section 48: if the landlord has not provided a valid address for service, the rent (and certain other sums) is treated as not being due from you until they do. A basic transparency rule, in other words, comes with real teeth.
What it does NOT mean
This is the bit to get right, so you do not land yourself in trouble. The rent is not cancelled. It is treated as not due for the time being. It is suspended, not wiped.
The moment the landlord provides a compliant name and address for service, the rent that was treated as not due becomes payable again, including everything that built up while they were in default. So you must never simply stop paying and spend the money, because you will still owe it once they comply.
The sensible approach is almost always:
- Keep paying as normal, or if you want to use the point, keep the rent set aside rather than spending it.
- Ask for the missing details in writing.
- Resume or confirm normal payment once they provide them.
Treat this as leverage and as a defence, not as a route to living rent free.
Where it actually helps you
There are two main situations where this rule earns its keep.
As leverage. A landlord or managing agent who has been ignoring you, or who hides behind a PO box, an overseas address, or email-only contact, suddenly has a concrete reason to engage. Until they give you a proper address for service, the rent is not technically due, and certain steps they might want to take become harder. It is a polite, lawful way to force an evasive landlord to the table, and once they are engaging on this, they tend to engage on everything else too, from repairs to a rent increase.
As a defence. If a landlord tries to rely on rent arrears, for example to support a possession ground, the fact that the rent was not legally due because they failed to comply with section 48 can be a real answer to that. Arrears that were never lawfully due are a very different thing from arrears that were.
"But my demands only show the agent"
Worth checking carefully. Section 47 requires the landlord's own name and address on rent demands, so a demand showing only the agent's details, with no landlord name and no proper address for service, may not comply. And an email address on its own is generally not an address for the service of notices.
So if all you have ever been given is:
- a managing agent only, or
- a PO box, or
- an email address, or
- an overseas address with no England or Wales address for service,
there is a good chance the section 48 duty has not been met. The fix is simple and entirely reasonable: ask for a proper name and address.
How to ask (and what to keep)
Keep it short, polite and in writing. You are not making a threat. You are asking for something the law requires and that you need in order to meet your own obligations properly.
Keep a dated copy of your request and whatever reply you get. If they comply, update your records and carry on paying normally. If they ignore it, you now have a documented failure to provide an address for service, which is exactly the evidence you would want if the issue ever fed into a dispute about arrears or a rent increase.
Template: request for the landlord's name and address for service
To: [landlord / managing agent] From: [your name], tenant, [property address] Date: [date] Re: Landlord's name and address for service (sections 47 and 48, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987)
I am writing to ask you to provide, in writing, the landlord's name and an address in England or Wales at which notices (including any legal proceedings) can be served on the landlord, as required by sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
My rent demands currently show [describe what you have, e.g. only the managing agent's details / a PO box / an email address only / an overseas address], which I do not believe satisfies these requirements.
Please provide the landlord's name and a valid England or Wales address for service so that I can deal with rent and any notices correctly. I would be grateful for a written reply within 14 days.
[Signature, date]
How this fits a rent increase challenge
If you are dealing with a Section 13 rent increase, this is a helpful piece of the wider picture rather than a direct knock-out. Sections 47 and 48 are about rent demands and the address for service, so they do not by themselves invalidate a properly served Section 13 notice.
But they tend to travel with the kind of disorganised or evasive landlord who also gets the Section 13 process wrong. A landlord who cannot put a compliant name and address on their paperwork may well have made other procedural mistakes worth checking. So confirm you have a valid address for service as part of your overall review, both because it affects whether rent is technically due and because it can flag a landlord whose paperwork will not survive scrutiny.
The bottom line
If your landlord has never given you a proper name and an England or Wales address for serving notices, your rent may not legally be due right now, and that is genuine leverage with an evasive or absent landlord, as well as a possible defence to an arrears claim. The catch is that it is a suspension, not a cancellation, so keep the money aside and never just spend it. Ask for the details in writing, keep a dated record, and pay normally once they comply.
If you are also facing a rent increase, a free check will look at whether the notice itself gives you grounds to challenge, alongside the wider paperwork.
This guide is general information about sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in England, not legal advice. For advice on your own case, contact Citizens Advice, Shelter, or a housing solicitor.
Frequently Asked Questions
+What do sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 actually require?
They are two related duties about giving tenants the landlord's details. Section 48 requires the landlord to give the tenant, in writing, an address in England or Wales at which notices (including legal proceedings) can be served on the landlord. Section 47 requires the landlord's name and address to be stated on any written demand for rent or other sums, and where that address is outside England and Wales, an address in England and Wales for the service of notices must also be given. The important part for tenants is the consequence: if the landlord has not complied with section 48 by providing a valid address for service, the rent (and certain other sums) is treated as not being due from the tenant until the landlord does provide it. So these sections turn a piece of basic transparency into something with real teeth.
+Does this mean I never have to pay the rent?
No, and this is the key thing to understand so you do not get into trouble. The rent is not cancelled or written off. It is treated as not due for the time being, which means it is suspended rather than gone. The moment the landlord provides a valid name and address for service that complies with section 48, the rent that was treated as not due becomes payable again, including the amounts that built up while they were in default. So you should never simply stop paying and spend the money, because you will still owe it once they comply. The practical value of the rule is as leverage and as a defence to certain claims, not as a way to live rent free. The sensible approach is usually to keep the rent aside, ask for the missing details in writing, and pay once they are provided.
+How is this useful to me as a tenant?
It is useful in two main ways. First, as leverage: a landlord or agent who has been ignoring you, or who hides behind a PO box, an overseas address or an email-only contact, suddenly has a concrete legal reason to engage, because until they give you a proper address for service the rent is not technically due and certain steps they might want to take become harder. Second, as a defence: if a landlord tries to rely on rent arrears, for example to support a possession ground, the fact that the rent was not legally due because they failed to comply with section 48 can be a real answer to that. It is also a tidy way to force a transparent paper trail with an evasive landlord, which tends to help with every other issue too, from repairs to challenging a rent increase.
+My demands only show a managing agent. Is that enough?
Not necessarily, and it is worth checking carefully. Section 47 requires the landlord's own name and address to appear on rent demands, so a demand that shows only the agent's details, with no landlord name and no proper address for service, may not comply. An email address on its own is generally not an address for the service of notices either. If all you have ever been given is an agent, a PO box, an email, or an overseas address with no England or Wales address for service, there is a good chance the section 48 duty has not been met. The fix is simple and reasonable: write and ask the landlord (through the agent if that is your only contact) to provide a name and an address in England or Wales for the service of notices, in writing, so that you can comply with your obligations properly.
+How do I ask for the details, and what should I keep?
Keep it short, polite and in writing, so you have a record. Ask the landlord, or the agent if that is your only point of contact, to provide the landlord's name and an address in England or Wales at which notices can be served, as required by sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. There is no need to be aggressive or to threaten anything: the request itself is entirely reasonable and the law is on your side. Keep a copy of your request, note the date you sent it, and keep whatever reply you get. If they comply, update your records and resume normal payment. If they ignore it, you now have a documented failure to provide an address for service, which is exactly the evidence you would want if the issue ever fed into a dispute about arrears or a rent increase.
+Does this affect a Section 13 rent increase challenge?
It can be a helpful piece of the wider picture rather than a direct knock-out of a Section 13 notice. The section 47 and 48 duties are about rent demands and the address for service, so they do not by themselves invalidate a properly served Section 13 notice. But they often go hand in hand with the kind of disorganised or evasive landlord who also gets the Section 13 process wrong, and a landlord who cannot even put a compliant name and address on their paperwork may well have made other procedural mistakes worth checking. If you are dealing with a rent increase, it is worth confirming the landlord has given you a valid address for service as part of your overall review, both because it affects whether rent is technically due and because it can reveal a landlord whose paperwork does not hold up to scrutiny.
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