What is a Section 48 notice, and do you also need a Section 3 notice?

In England and Wales, Section 48 is about where the tenant can serve notices on the landlord, while Section 3 is about telling the tenant that the landlord has changed. In Wales, sections 47 and 48 no longer apply to most ordinary residential lettings once they are occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

What is a section 47 or 48 notice?

A missing section 48 address does not just suspend service charges or administration charges: it suspends the rent itself, in full, until the landlord gives the tenant an address in England and Wales for service, whereas a missing section 47 landlord-name/address problem only suspends the service-charge or administration-charge part of a written demand. Section 48 says: “A landlord of premises to which this Part applies 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.” Its sanction is stronger than section 47 because, where the landlord fails to comply, “any rent, service charge or administration charge otherwise due from the tenant to the landlord” is treated as not due until compliance. Section 47 is narrower: a written demand must contain landlord information, but the suspended amount is only the part “which consists of a service charge or an administration charge.” In Wales, this no longer covers most Welsh lettings because “this Part does not apply if the dwelling is in Wales and is subject to an occupation contract.”

Who has to serve a section 48 notice?

The landlord has to serve a Section 48 notice on the tenant, because the statutory duty is on “a landlord” to give an address in England and Wales where the tenant can serve notices, including court papers. The operative wording is direct: “A landlord of premises to which this Part applies 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.” A managing agent can practically send the notice for the landlord, and the address can be an agent’s address or another service address in England or Wales, but the legal duty remains the landlord’s. That is different from a Section 3 notice after a transfer of the landlord’s interest: Section 3 requires the “new landlord” to give written notice of the assignment and of the new landlord’s name and address. Abodient can store the landlord’s lease records and compliance documents against each tenancy, which matters here because Section 48 compliance is tenancy-specific rather than portfolio-general.

Where do you get a section 48 notice template?

You can get a Section 48 notice template from landlord-document suppliers or use your tenancy agreement if it clearly gives the landlord’s England-and-Wales address for service; no statute prescribes a mandatory Section 48 Notice Template Word form or official Section 48 notice download. The Act states the duty as giving the address “by notice” and does not set out a prescribed form: “A landlord of premises to which this Part applies 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.” In practice, many landlords include the Section 48 address in the tenancy agreement, and Landlord Studio states that “Most commonly, landlords will include the Section 48 address in the tenancy agreement itself.” If you want a standalone template, Net Lawman describes its document this way: “This notice allows you to comply with section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.” A combined Section 3 and Section 48 notice template is useful after buying a tenanted property, because the two notices answer different statutory duties.

Do you need to send a Section 3 notice, or is a Section 48 notice enough?

A Section 48 notice is not enough when you become the new landlord after buying or otherwise taking an assignment of the landlord’s interest: you need Section 3 to notify the change of landlord, and Section 48 to give the service address. Section 3 says that where the landlord’s interest “is assigned, the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant” by the statutory deadline. Section 48 is separate because it requires “an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served” on the landlord. The two addresses are not always interchangeable: Attwells notes that, unlike Section 48, “the address of the Landlord must be the Landlord’s actual address, not just an address for the service of documents.” The risk is also different: failure to give Section 3, without reasonable excuse, is a criminal offence, while failure to give Section 48 makes rent and charges not due until the service address is supplied.

You have just bought a tenanted property - what must you send the tenant, and by when?

If you have just bought a tenanted property in England or Wales, you must send the tenant a Section 3 notice by the next rent day or, if that is within two months of the assignment, within two months; you should also send a Section 48 notice immediately, but Section 48 itself has no statutory deadline. Section 3 sets the timed duty: the new landlord must give written notice of the assignment and of the new landlord’s name and address “not later than the next day on which rent is payable under the tenancy or, if that is within two months of the assignment, the end of that period of two months.” Section 48 has no equivalent two-month or 21-day deadline; its sanction is only that rent, service charge and administration charge are not legally due before the landlord complies. The 21-day rule belongs to a different tenant request duty under the 1985 Act, which says the person receiving the request must supply the landlord’s name and address “within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.”

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.48(1) — “A landlord of premises to which this Part applies 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.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.48(2) — “Where a landlord of any such premises fails to comply with subsection (1), any rent, service charge or administration charge otherwise due from the tenant to the landlord shall (subject to subsection (3)) be treated for all purposes as not being due from the tenant to the landlord at any time before the landlord does comply with that subsection.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.47(2) — “then (subject to subsection (3)) any part of the amount demanded which consists of a service charge or an administration charge (‘the relevant amount’) shall be treated for all purposes as not being due from the tenant to the landlord at any time before that information is furnished by the landlord by notice given to the tenant.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.46(1A) — “But this Part does not apply if the dwelling is in Wales and is subject to an occupation contract (see section 7 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 1)).” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.3(1) — “If the interest of the landlord under a tenancy of premises which consist of or include a dwelling is assigned, the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant not later than the next day on which rent is payable under the tenancy or, if that is within two months of the assignment, the end of that period of two months.” Source
• Attwells Solicitors, “What notices must a landlord serve?” — “Note however that, unlike Section 48 (discussed below) the address of the Landlord must be the Landlord’s actual address, not just an address for the service of documents.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.3(3) — “A person who is the new landlord under a tenancy falling within subsection (1) and who fails, without reasonable excuse to give the notice required by that subsection, commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.1(1) — “that person shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the landlord’s name and address within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.” Source
• Landlord Studio, “Section 48 Notice” — “Most commonly, landlords will include the Section 48 address in the tenancy agreement itself, which is sufficient to meet the requirement, provided the address is clearly identified as the landlord's address for service of notices.” Source
• Net Lawman, “Section 48 notice” — “This notice allows you to comply with section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (the 'Act').” Source