Landlord's Name And Address On Service Charge Demands

The Upper Tribunal has again reiterated the importance of getting your service charge demands right every time. In the recent decision of Beitov Properties Ltd v Elliston Martin [2012] UKUT 133 (LC), the Upper Tribunal rendered a number of service charge demands invalid on a purely technical construction of Section 47 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

Section 47(1) provides that "Where any written demand is given to a tenant of premises to which this part applies, the demand must contain the following information, namely (a) the name and address of the landlord, and (b) if that address is not in England and Wales, an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served on the landlord by the tenant".

Section 47(2) further provides that "Where any demand for a service charge does not contain the information required by s 47(1), the amount demanded is to be treated as not being due from the tenant at any time before the information is furnished to him".

In Beitov, the address shown on the demands for the purposes of section 47(1) was that of the landlord's managing agents, which is common in many of the demands that we see. From a practical perspective, many landlords leave their managing agents to deal with all aspects of property management, from day to day management to dealing with Court or LVT proceedings. It is also understandable that an individual landlord may be hesitant to disclose a private, residential address to their tenants.

The Upper Tribunal disagreed with this approach and, on a strict construction, held that the demands did not comply with section 47(1).

The Upper Tribunal reiterated that the address for the purposes of section 47(1) is "the place where the landlord is to be found". In the case of an individual, this would be his place of residence or the place from which he carries on business. In the case of a company it would be the company's registered office or the place from which it carries on business. If there is more than one...