Form 3A: check your tenancy agreement before emailing it

Government guidance on Form 3A says it should only be served by email if the written tenancy agreement clearly sets out email as an agreed method of service. Routine email contact between landlord and tenant does not count as an agreement to accept formal notices that way.

If the tenancy agreement does not authorise email and a landlord serves Form 3A by email anyway, they may not be able to prove valid service later. This matters most for Ground 1A, which normally requires four months' notice: if service is challenged, the landlord may have to serve a fresh notice and start the notice period again. The same service risk applies to Ground 8 arrears cases, even though the minimum notice period is shorter.

Form 4A, used for section 13 rent increases, works on a similar basis: email is only safe where the tenancy agreement permits it. If the agreement is silent, the official guidance points to other methods instead, such as personal delivery, leaving the notice at the property with an independent witness, or first class post with proof of postage.

Note that this is separate from a tenant's own notice to end a periodic tenancy, where government guidance allows methods including email or text. That flexibility applies to the tenant giving notice, not to a landlord serving a prescribed form such as Form 3A or Form 4A.

This affects landlords in England serving Form 3A or Form 4A, including those relying on Ground 1A (sale) or Ground 8 (arrears) under the current tenancy rules.

The Renters' Rights Act did not require existing written tenancy agreements to be replaced, so an older agreement's service clause may still govern how notices must be served. If that clause does not mention email, or is unclear, email service is a risk.

• Find the notices/service clause in the written tenancy agreement and check whether it expressly allows email, names an email address, and covers joint tenants
• If the agreement does not clearly authorise email, use a method the official guidance identifies instead, such as personal delivery, delivery to the property with an independent witness, or first class post with proof of postage
• Keep a record of what was served, when, and how, including the sent email and attachment if email was used
• For new tenancy agreements, consider a clearly drafted electronic-service clause, checked by a solicitor or the supplier of the agreement, before relying on it
• Check with a solicitor before serving or relying on any notice where service method is in doubt