Demanding a Landlord’s Address 

A recent Lands Tribunal decision, Beitov Properties v Elliston Martin, has held that it is not sufficient for a written demand for payment of service charges or other sums, such as ground rent or administration charges, to contain the landlord’s name and the address of the landlord’s agent. Section 47 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires such a demand to contain the landlord’s name and address. For an individual that should be the landlord’s place of residence or place he carries on business; for a company this should be the registered office or trading address. Giving Judgement, the President of the Lands Tribunal, George Bartlett QC explained that the purpose of the Act was to allow leaseholders to know who their landlord is and where they may be found. Unless this information is correctly given on a demand, the demand is not payable even if the sums claimed are valid and due. The Tribunal was also critical of the LVT for taking this technical point of their own motion when it had not been raised by the parties.