Section 47 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 states that each demand for rent or other sums payable to the landlord under the terms of a lease must include the landlord’s name and address. Where any demand for a service charge does not contain the required information the amount demanded is to be treated as not being due from the tenant at any time before the information is furnished to him.
The case of Pendra Loweth Management v North considered how this would apply where service charges are paid to a management company. The leaseholders had denied liability to pay service charges for the years 2006 to 2010 as the demands did not contain the landlord’s name and address.
Finding in favour of the management company the Upper Tribunal observed:
- S47 requires the landlord’s name and address to appear on any “written demand” given to a tenant/leaseholder.
- A demand is defined as “a demand for rent or other sums payable to the landlord under the terms of the tenancy”.
- S60(1) defines “landlord” as “the immediate landlord”.
Since the service charge was payable to the management company and not to the landlord the management company’s demand for service charges was not a “demand” for the purposes of s47.
Accordingly the demands did not need to include the landlord’s name and address.
