Q. My tenant is withholding his rent because he says that I have not given him my address. Can he do this?

A. Under s48 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 a landlord must give tenants an address in England and Wales for the service of documents (including the service of court proceedings).  

The address does not have to be the landlord's home address - indeed if the landlord lives abroad, this would be impossible. The reason behind the legislation is to ensure that, if a tenant needs to bring legal proceedings against his landlord, he will not be prevented from doing so merely because the landlord lives abroad.  

If the address has not been provided to the tenants they can withhold rent until it is. As soon as the information has been given to them though, all the back rent falls due.