How to Complete a Section 48 Notice: Contents, Service, and Scope

A Section 48 notice is a short written statement giving your tenant an address in England or Wales where they can serve legal notices on you. It is required by section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, and until you provide it, rent, service charges, and administration charges are treated as not due.¹ Serve it at the start of the tenancy and your right to collect rent is protected from day one.

What the Notice Must Contain

The statute is deliberately minimal. Section 48(1) requires the landlord to “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.”¹ That is the whole operative requirement. The notice must be in writing, and the address has to be a physical location in England or Wales. An email address or a phone number will not do, and an overseas address will not do.

The address does not have to be your home. A letting agent’s office, a solicitor’s address, or any other physical place in England or Wales where you actually receive post is fine. Landlords who live abroad or elsewhere in the UK typically use a UK-based managing agent.

There is no prescribed form, no mandatory wording, and no requirement that the notice explicitly cite section 48. In Rogan v Woodfield Building Services Ltd, the Court of Appeal held that simply including the landlord’s address in the tenancy agreement was enough, provided a reasonable tenant would understand it as an address for service.² A signature is not required either, though signing is sensible if the notice is ever challenged.

A well-drafted standalone notice usually contains:

The tenant’s name and the property address, so there is no doubt which tenancy the notice covers.
The landlord’s name. Section 48 itself only demands an address, but including the name removes ambiguity and lines up with the separate requirement to name the landlord on rent demands.
The full postal address for service in England or Wales, including postcode.
The date, which fixes the moment the obligation was met.
The managing agent’s name and address, if one is acting for you.

Template You Can Adapt

Replace the bracketed fields with your own details.

Notice Under Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

To:
[Tenant’s Full Name]
[Property Address]
[Postcode]

From:
[Landlord’s Full Name]
[Landlord’s Address]
[Postcode]

In accordance with section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, 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]
[Postcode]

Dated: [Date]
Signed: [Landlord or agent signature]

If an agent is acting on the landlord’s behalf:
Agent’s Name: [Name]
Agent’s Address: [Address]
[Postcode]

If you let more than one property, prepare a separate notice for each tenancy.

How to Serve It

You have two routes. The first is to build the required address into the tenancy agreement itself. The Court of Appeal has confirmed this is sufficient, provided a reasonable tenant would understand the address as one where notices can be served.² The tenant receives the notice automatically on signing, and there is nothing separate to remember.

The second route is a standalone notice. Whichever method you use, keep proof of delivery. Hand-delivery works if you have a witness or a dated photograph. First-class post with a certificate of posting is the most common option; Royal Mail signed-for or special delivery gives you tracking and a signature. Keep a copy of the notice and the postal receipt on file.

If You Live Outside England and Wales

Section 48 applies wherever the landlord lives. If you are based in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or overseas, you still need to give the tenant an England or Wales address for service, typically that of a UK letting agent or solicitor. Serve the notice before the tenancy starts, or on the day the tenant moves in, so rent is due from the beginning.

What Happens If You Don’t Serve It

Section 48(2) provides that any rent, service charge, or administration charge otherwise due from the tenant is treated as not being due at any time before the landlord complies.¹ A tenant who withholds rent while no notice has been served is not in arrears and cannot be treated as being in default. A possession claim built on rent arrears will fail if the court finds no valid notice was ever served, and the money spent on court fees and legal work is wasted.³

Compliance is retroactive. The moment you serve a valid notice, all previously suspended rent and charges become immediately due, and the tenant cannot treat the withheld amounts as waived.¹ The gap between the tenancy starting and the notice landing is a period during which your cash flow is legally unenforceable, so late is much better than never, and at the start of the tenancy is best of all.

Changing the Address Later

If you move, switch managing agents, or otherwise need a new service address, serve a fresh notice with the updated address. Until the tenant receives it, you are in the same position as a landlord who never served one, and rent and charges revert to being treated as not due during that gap.¹ There is no grace period. Landlords changing agents should add the fresh notice to the handover checklist.

Section 48 Is Not a Section 3 Notice

If you have just bought a tenanted property, a separate obligation applies. Section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the new landlord to notify the tenant of their name and address by the next rent day, or two months after the transfer if the next rent day falls within that period, whichever is later. Failing to do so without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence punishable by a fine, and the previous landlord can remain liable for tenancy breaches until proper notice is given.⁴

A section 3 notice does not replace a section 48 notice. Section 3 tells the tenant who the new landlord is; section 48 tells the tenant where to serve legal documents. If you buy a let property, serve both. Combining them into a single letter is fine as long as each requirement is clearly addressed.

Scope

The requirement applies to premises that include a dwelling and are not held under a business tenancy governed by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954,⁵ which in practice covers almost every residential letting in England and Wales. The Act does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland, which have their own landlord and tenant frameworks.

1
legislation.gov.uk. Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 – Section 48
2
Estates Gazette. Rogan v Woodfield Building Services Ltd
3
National Residential Landlords Association. Applying to Court for Possession in Wales
4
Emperor Home. Section 3 Notice – A Guide for Landlords and Tenants
5
legislation.gov.uk. Landlord and Tenant Act 1987