If a tenant says they never received a notice, you need to show how and when it was served. Abide.Rent keeps that proof on the notice.
Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.
Service: the method and the proof, kept with the notice.
What you are deciding
How to serve the notice and what proof to keep.
Your options
- First-class post. Keep a certificate of posting. The notice counts as served on the second working day after posting.
- By hand. Record who delivered it, where and when; a photo of it through the door helps.
- Email. Only where the tenancy agreement allows it or each tenant agreed in writing. Keep the sent email.
How to do it
- Sign the notice in Abide.Rent.
- Serve it yourself: post it, deliver it or email it.
- Open the notice and select Service.
- Choose the method, the date (and time for hand delivery) and attach the proof.
- Save. The tenant can then open the notice and confirm receipt, free.
A worked example
On Monday 2 November 2026 Owen posts the Form 4A for 12 Walmersley Road first class and gets a certificate of posting. He records service by post on 2 November and attaches a photo of the certificate. Abide.Rent shows it as served on Wednesday 4 November 2026.
What Abide.Rent does for you
- Works out the date a posted notice counts as served.
- Keeps the proof and the tenant's response on the notice.
- Keeps a served notice exactly as it was served.
If something goes wrong
- The served date is two working days after you posted it
What to do: That is how a posted notice counts: on the second working day after posting, not counting weekends or bank holidays. - “Enter … It is how posting can be shown if the tenant disputes it.”
What to do: Attach the certificate of posting.
Common mistakes
- Recording service before the notice is signed: it is refused.
- Treating an email 'opened' report as proof on its own.
What to do next
Keep reading
All help articlesMore in Notices
Bring past notices and dates onto the recordRecord a notice you served before you used Abide.Rent, a safety record you gave the tenant on paper, or a request received long ago, each with the day it really happened.
Following a tribunal referralFrom the tenant's application to the decision: record the directions, prepare and send your statement, and keep track of an inspection or hearing.
Record how a notice was servedRecord the method, the date and any tracking reference. Abide.Rent works out the date a posted notice counts as served.