Tenants must know where they can reach their landlords

It seems such a simple thing: all landlords should let their tenant know their address. Tenants have two main statutory rights – at civil law under section 48 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987, and at criminal law under section 1 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985.

Section 48 (1987 Act) makes it a legal requirement for the landlord to produce an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) can be served by the tenant. The tenant may have reason to sue their landlord and if an address is not given or the landlord lives outside the country, the tenant will be put at a disadvantage and unable to bring a claim. A tenant may also need to request repairs, to mediate with the letting agent if one is involved, and have someone to contact in an emergency.

The address need not be the landlord’s own address but simply where notices can be served. Often this is the agent’s address, which is not surprising when landlords pay an agent to manage their property so that the landlord does not have to get involved in day to day issues. Some landlords do not want to be known to the tenant because they may live in the locality or even next door to the rented property.

If the landlord does not produce an address, the tenant is legally entitled to withhold their rent until such time as the address is provided. However, as soon as the address is given, the rent is payable – all of it that is due at that time, including any back rent.

The biggest problem can be if this issue is raised in the course of possession proceedings that are based on rent arrears. If it is discovered that a section 48 notice has not been served on the tenant the proceedings
will fail.

Reasonable excuse

In section 1 (1985 Act), if a tenant of premises occupied as a dwelling, requests the landlord’s name and address in writing from the landlord’s agent or whoever collects the rent, that person must provide
a written statement of the information within 21 days, beginning with the day on which that person receives
the request.

If the information is not provided ‘without reasonable excuse’ then sub-section 2 states that this amounts to a criminal (summary) offence punishable by fine. A prosecution can be brought in the magistrates’ court but the process is not usually known to tenants and the police are usually unwilling to get involved in such cases. The local authority may be able to assist but they tend to prosecute when the case is very serious
as they have limited
resources/staffing.

Tenants must ensure that they have paid their rent up to the point of request.

Best route

This depends on why the address is required in the first place. With section 48, as soon as the landlord has produced an address, all the rent is due, so tenants should beware spending it.

An interesting scenario is if the tenant wants to explain to the landlord that the agents are not working well. The agents will be reluctant to confirm the landlord’s address in such a case. If a section 1 prosecution is possible, the agents may be a little more likely to provide the information needed. However, if tenants are keen to find out exactly where a landlord lives to cause some sort of nuisance or disruption to the landlord then you may find that agents will not assist in providing the information. In fact, the agents might even have a defence of “reasonable excuse” not to provide it.

It is best practice at the start of any tenancy for a landlord to provide, for the purposes of section 48 a notice, his address for the purpose of service in England and Wales. Most tenants will not require any further information but landlords should be aware of the need to provide the tenant with their address if there is a request received in writing. SJ

 Gina Peters is a senior associate solicitor at Dutton Gregory