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Service charge demand without the landlord's name and address: what is treated as not due, worked for twelve flats
A written demand must carry the landlord's name and address. Without them the service charge part is treated as not due. Twelve flats worked in pounds.
A quarterly demand goes out for a block of twelve flats. It has the amounts, the due date and the bank details, but the landlord's name and address were left off the template. Is the money still owed?
What the source says
I read sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 on legislation.gov.uk today. In plain terms:
- The demand must say who the landlord is. Any written demand for rent or other sums, given to a tenant of premises the Part applies to, must contain the landlord's name and address. If that address is outside England and Wales, the demand must also give an address in England and Wales where notices, including notices in proceedings, can be served on the landlord (section 47, subsection 1).
- What happens if it does not. The part of the demand that is a service charge or an administration charge is treated as not due from the tenant to the landlord at any time before the information is given by notice to the tenant (subsection 2). The wording covers service charges and administration charges. It does not say that ground rent is treated as not due.
- A manager appointed by a court or tribunal. The "not due" effect does not apply while an order appointing a receiver or manager is in force and the manager's functions include receiving service charges or administration charges from the tenant (subsection 3).
- What counts as a demand. A demand for rent or other sums payable to the landlord under the tenancy (subsection 4).
- Section 48 is a separate duty. The landlord must, by notice, give the tenant an address in England and Wales where notices can be served. Until that is done, rent, service charge or administration charge otherwise due is treated as not due (subsection 2 of section 48), with the same exception for a court- or tribunal-appointed manager.
- The page carries a pending change. The legislation.gov.uk page lists an amendment not yet applied to the text, inserting a subsection (3A) into section 47 by the Renters' Rights Act 2024. I did not see the text of it.
Twelve flats, two faulty demands
An invented block of twelve flats. Each quarterly demand is:
| Item | Amount per flat | Affected by section 47? |
|---|---|---|
| Ground rent | £50 | No (not named in subsection 2) |
| Service charge | £450 | Yes |
| Administration charge | £60 | Yes |
| Demand total | £560 | £510 affected |
Check: 50 + 450 + 60 = 560, and 450 + 60 = 510.
Suppose the first two quarterly demands of the year left out the landlord's name and address, and the second two carried them.
| Demand run | Demands | Total billed | Treated as not due until notice | Unaffected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarters 1 and 2 (faulty) | 24 (2 x 12) | £13,440 | £12,240 | £1,200 |
| Quarters 3 and 4 (correct) | 24 (2 x 12) | £13,440 | £0 | £13,440 |
| Year | 48 | £26,880 | £12,240 | £14,640 |
Checks: 24 x £560 = £13,440. Not due: 24 x £510 = £12,240. Ground rent: 24 x £50 = £1,200, and 13,440 - 12,240 = 1,200. Year: 2 x 13,440 = 26,880; 12,240 + 14,640 = 26,880; 1,200 + 13,440 = 14,640.
So 12,240 / 26,880 is about 45.5% of the year's billing sitting in the "not due" column until a notice supplies the details. That is a cash-flow problem as much as a legal one: a reminder letter or an arrears claim on those sums would rest on money the Act says is not yet due.
What to do about it
- Put the landlord's name and address in the demand template, so every demand carries them. Then check one real PDF from each batch, not just the template.
- If a batch has already gone out without them, give the missing information to the tenants by notice, and keep a copy and the date.
- Where the landlord is abroad or a company with an overseas address, add the England and Wales address for service.
- Hold arrears letters on a faulty demand until the notice has been given. See the service charge demand validity checker for the other things a demand should contain, and the service charge arrears letter template for what to send once a demand is sound.
- Ground rent has its own notice rules: see the ground rent demand notice window.
What I did not read
I did not read case law on what counts as a sufficient address, or on whether an agent's address can stand in for the landlord's. I did not read which tenancies Part VI of the 1987 Act covers beyond the wording of section 47, I did not read the Renters' Rights Act 2024 amendment to section 47, and I did not read any lease. The block, the amounts and the demand dates are invented.
Overlyft builds AI staff who join your block management team and check each batch of demands against a list before it goes out, flagging a missing landlord name or address. A property manager reviews the flags and approves the batch.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the legislation and take advice on a particular demand or lease.
Where this comes from: legislation.gov.uk, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 section 47, "Landlord's name and address to be contained in demands for rent etc." (subsections 1 to 4 and the editorial notes), and section 48, "Notification by landlord of address for service of notices". Read 23 October 2026.
AEO Lookup editorial team
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