Section 8 grounds: every ground, notice period and evidence

All possession grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Ground wordings are from Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 as in force on 1 May 2026 [S7]; notice periods are from section 8(4AA) of that Act [S6]; tenant-facing explanations from GOV.UK [S4].

How the notice periods work

A section 8 notice (Form 3A) must state a date before which proceedings will not begin [S6]. Where the notice does not specify Ground 7A or 14, that date must not be before the end of the longest period in this table for any ground specified [S6]:

Grounds 7A and 14 have no minimum notice period; for 7A the court cannot make a possession order until 14 days after the notice, and 7A notices must be served within 12 months (conditions 1–3, 5) or 3 months (condition 4, closure order) of the trigger event [S6]. Proceedings must be begun within 12 months of service of the notice [S6].

Mandatory means the court must order possession if the ground is proved; discretionary means the court decides [S4].

Mandatory grounds

• Ground 1 — landlord or family moving in. Landlord or family member (spouse/civil partner/partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild) requires the home as their only or principal home; the current tenancy must have begun at least 1 year before the relevant date [S7]. Notice: 4 months. Notice served in the first 12 months cannot expire before the 12-month protected period ends [S4, S5].
• Ground 1A — sale. Landlord intends to sell a freehold/leasehold interest or grant a long lease (over 21 years); tenancy began at least 1 year before (or compulsory acquisition); not available to most social landlords or to pre-RRA 'lifetime' assured tenants [S7, S4]. Notice: 4 months; 12-month protected period applies [S5].
• Ground 1B — Rent to Buy sale. Sale of a Rent to Buy property [S4, S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 2 — mortgagee sale. The lender with a pre-tenancy mortgage requires vacant possession to sell [S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Grounds 2ZA / 2ZB — superior lease ends. Landlord's own lease (or fixed-term superior lease) is ending. Prior notice at the start of the tenancy is required [S5, S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Grounds 2ZC / 2ZD — superior landlord. Landlord became landlord by succession (e.g. from a PRP, agricultural tenancy, supported accommodation, local-authority company or long superior lease) within 6 months before proceedings [S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 4 — student accommodation. Fixed term of ≤12 months on premises previously let as student accommodation; prior notice required [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 4A — new academic-year students. Property is HMO let to full-time students; needed for new students for the academic year; prior notice required [S4, S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 5 — minister of religion. Home is required for a minister of religion; prior notice required [S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Ground 5A — agricultural worker. Home is needed for a qualifying agricultural worker [S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Grounds 5B / 5D — employment-linked accommodation. Home is provided for someone meeting employment requirements (5D: former employment ended for 5C re-lets) [S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Ground 5C — end of employment, re-let to a worker. Tenancy tied to a job that ended and the landlord intends to re-house another worker; prior notice required [S4, S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Grounds 5E / 5F / 5G — supported accommodation and homelessness duty. 5E: co-operation with support services ceased (supported accommodation ground); 5F: the home is needed as supported accommodation; 5G: tenancy granted under a council homelessness duty [S7]. Notice: 4 weeks.
• Ground 5H — stepping-stone accommodation. Home is needed as 'stepping-stone' accommodation to help a former homeless household move on [S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Ground 6 — redevelopment. Landlord intends demolition, reconstruction or substantial works that cannot be done with the tenant in place [S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 6A — decant accommodation. A social landlord moves the tenant from temporary 'decant' accommodation back to their previous affordable home [S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 6B — enforcement action. Possession is needed to comply with enforcement action (e.g. a prohibition or closure order) [S7]. Notice: 4 months.
• Ground 7 — death of tenant. The tenancy has passed by will or intestacy to someone who did not live with the deceased tenant (with exceptions); proceedings within 12 months of death [S7, S4]. Notice: 2 months.
• Ground 7A — severe antisocial or criminal behaviour. Conviction of an indictable offence, an injunction breached with violence or threat of violence, a criminal behaviour order breached, or a closure order over 48 hours. No notice period; the court cannot make an order for 14 days after notice; notice must be served within 12 months of the conviction/finding or 3 months of the closure order [S6, S7, S4].
• Ground 7B — no right to rent. The tenant has no right to rent under immigration law; the Home Office (Secretary of State) notifies the landlord [S7, S4]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 8 — serious rent arrears. At the service of the notice and at the hearing: at least 3 months' rent unpaid (monthly rent), 13 weeks (weekly/fortnightly), one quarter more than 3 months in arrears, or 3 months for yearly tenancies. Universal Credit housing-element delays are ignored [S7, S4]. Notice: 4 weeks. Paying down below the threshold before court defeats the ground [S4].

Discretionary grounds

• Ground 9 — suitable alternative accommodation. Suitable alternative accommodation is or will be available [S7]. Notice: 2 months.
• Ground 10 — any rent arrears. Some rent unpaid when proceedings begin (and in arrears at notice service unless the court dispensed with notice) [S7]. Notice: 4 weeks.
• Ground 11 — persistent arrears. Tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, whether or not in arrears now [S7]. Notice: 4 weeks.
• Ground 12 — breach of tenancy. Any tenancy obligation other than rent has been broken [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 13 — deterioration of property. Condition of the home or common parts has deteriorated through waste, neglect or default [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 14 — antisocial behaviour. Nuisance or annoyance to people in the locality or to the landlord's housing-management staff, or conviction for using the home for illegal purposes or an indictable offence in the locality. No notice period; order not earlier than 14 days after service [S6, S7].
• Ground 14A — domestic abuse. For social landlords, where a tenant (or household member) has been violent or abusive towards another tenant (or their family member) who has left because of it [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 14ZA — rioting. Tenant or adult resident convicted of an indictable offence committed at the scene of a riot [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 15 — deterioration of furniture. Furniture provided under the tenancy has been ill-treated [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 17 — false statement. Tenancy was granted on a false statement by the tenant (or someone acting for them) that materially influenced the landlord [S7]. Notice: 2 weeks.
• Ground 18 — supported accommodation non-co-operation. Tenant of supported accommodation has unreasonably refused to co-operate with support services [S7]. Notice: 4 weeks.

Ground 3 (holiday lets) was omitted from 1 May 2026 [S7].

Evidence and blockers

• The court cannot order possession on most grounds unless the deposit was protected in an approved scheme, the scheme's requirements were met and prescribed information was given (or the deposit was returned, or there was reasonable excuse / court-accepted reasons). This does not apply to Grounds 7A and 14 [S4, S5].
• Prior notice given at the start of the tenancy is needed for some grounds (e.g. 2ZA, 2ZB, 4A, 5C) [S5].
• The landlord must use Form 3A legal wording, and the notice's particulars must state the ground relied on [S5, S6].

Sources

• [S4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grounds-for-possession-tenant-guidance/grounds-for-possession-guidance-for-tenants
• [S5] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/repossessing-your-privately-rented-property-after-1-may-2026
• [S6] Housing Act 1988 s.8 (as at 1 May 2026) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/section/8
• [S7] Housing Act 1988 Sch 2 (as at 1 May 2026) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2