Tenants are entitled to know the address
of their landlord...
An important aspect of Residential
letting in England & Wales is the
necessity to supply the tenant with an address for
service of notices and for the reporting of defects
and repairs etc.
Under the requirements of section 48
of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 rent is not lawfully
due unless the tenant has been given, in writing, an
address in England and Wales at which notices can be
served.
It is usual that the tenancy
agreement clearly states the landlord's address for
service of notices.
Where the tenancy agreement clearly
states the landlord's address, then there is no need for
the serving of a separate notice containing these details
and therefore eliminates future problems with proof of
service.
The address supplied need not
necessarily be the landlord's residence. The
address can be that of the landlord's agent, for
example: a solicitor, an accountant or a managing agent.
Where the landlord resides abroad,
then the landlord must supply an address for an agent in
England & Wales.
Some landlords prefer to deal
through agents and remain anonymous as far as their
tenants are concerned. However, under the provisions of
the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, tenants of dwellings
in England & Wales, who make a written request to an
agent, have a right to the landlord's name and address.
This information must be supplied
within 21 days. The legislation refers only to the
landlord's name and address, not his telephone number or
any other form of contact details.
How can I contact my landlord or
find out where he/she lives? This
is one question that arises quite often in our e-mails and
on the Forum:
- Try your local authority. The
Council Tax Department will have your landlord's
details on their records for the periods when the
property is vacant (void periods) when the Council Tax
has to be paid by the landlord.
- The Gas, Electricity and Water
will also bill the landlord when the property is empty
so they will all have contact details.
- If you pay your rent into a bank
account by standing order the bank will have details
about your landlord.
- You should have a Gas Inspection
Certificate issued by a CORGI register plumber. The
plumber concerned should have contact details.
- It is common for authorities to
refuse to give out addresses because of the Data
Protection Act 1988 restrictions. However,
Section 35 of the Act makes an exception to this
where the information is needed in relation to legal
proceedings. "Personal data are exempt from the
non-disclosure provisions where the disclosure is
required by or under any enactment, by any rule of law
or by the order of a court."
- If all else fails you could try a
professional tracing agent - see debt collectors on
our Directory. You will of course have to pay for this
service.
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Never rely totally on this information which relates primarily to England & Wales. Before taking action or not, seek expert advice with the full facts of your case and all documents to hand.
