Section 8 Grounds for Possession: Full List (2026)

What are the Section 8 grounds for possession now?

Since 1 May 2026, a private landlord in England can only recover possession of an assured tenancy by proving one of the grounds in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. GOV.UK lists 37 grounds: 26 mandatory (the court must order possession if the ground is proved) and 11 discretionary (the court must also think possession is reasonable). Notice periods run from none at all (Grounds 7A and 14) to four months (Grounds 1, 1A, 6 and others).

Section 21 is gone for private assured tenancies, and every tenancy is now periodic. Any Section 21 or Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026 had to be followed by a court claim by 31 July 2026; it is now too late to use one (GOV.UK: giving notice before 1 May 2026).

The full table of grounds

Notice periods and restrictions are from the government's grounds for possession guidance and the notice-period table in section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988. Grounds 3 and 16 no longer exist.

Ground	What it covers	Type	Minimum notice	Key restriction
1	Landlord or close family moving in	Mandatory	4 months	Tenancy must have begun at least 1 year before the date in the notice
1A	Landlord selling	Mandatory	4 months	Same 1-year rule; not for pre-May 2026 non-shorthold assured tenancies
1B	Sale under a Rent to Buy scheme	Mandatory	4 months	Private registered providers only
2	Mortgage lender selling	Mandatory	4 months
2ZA–2ZD	Superior lease ending / superior landlord	Mandatory	4 months	Limited categories of landlord and lease
4	Student accommodation	Mandatory	2 weeks	Universities and colleges only
4A	Student HMO needed for next students	Mandatory	4 months	Written statement before the tenancy; date in notice between 1 June and 30 September
5	Minister of religion	Mandatory	2 months
5A	Agricultural worker	Mandatory	2 months
5B	Employment criteria	Mandatory	2 months	Private registered providers only
5C	End of employment with the landlord	Mandatory	2 months
5D	Employment requirements ended	Mandatory	2 months	Private registered providers only
5E, 5F	Supported accommodation	Mandatory	4 weeks	Must meet the statutory definition
5G	Homelessness temporary accommodation	Mandatory	4 weeks
5H	Stepping-stone accommodation	Mandatory	2 months	Registered providers and charities
6	Redevelopment	Mandatory	4 months	Cannot usually be used in the first 6 months
6A	Decant	Mandatory	4 months	Relevant social landlords only
6B	Complying with enforcement action	Mandatory	4 months
7	Tenant has died (tenancy inherited)	Mandatory	2 months	Proceedings within 12 months of the death (or of learning of it, if the court directs)
7A	Serious antisocial or criminal behaviour	Mandatory	None	No order within 14 days of notice; strict time limit to serve
7B	No right to rent	Mandatory	2 weeks
8	Serious rent arrears	Mandatory	4 weeks	3 months' / 13 weeks' rent owed at notice and at hearing
9	Suitable alternative accommodation	Discretionary	2 months
10	Any rent arrears	Discretionary	4 weeks
11	Persistent late payment	Discretionary	4 weeks
12	Breach of tenancy (not rent)	Discretionary	2 weeks
13	Deterioration of the property	Discretionary	2 weeks
14	Antisocial behaviour	Discretionary	None	No order within 14 days of notice
14ZA	Conviction for an offence during a riot	Discretionary	2 weeks
14A	Domestic abuse	Discretionary	2 weeks	Social landlords only
15	Deterioration of furniture	Discretionary	2 weeks
17	Tenancy obtained by false statement	Discretionary	2 weeks
18	Supported accommodation, not engaging	Discretionary	4 weeks	Must meet the statutory definition

If you rely on more than one ground, the date in the notice must respect the longest notice period among them (s.8(4AA)).

Mandatory vs discretionary: what the court can do

Mandatory grounds (Part 1 of Schedule 2). If you prove the ground, the court must order possession. It can delay the date by no more than 14 days, or up to six weeks if leaving sooner would cause exceptional hardship (Housing Act 1980, s.89).
Discretionary grounds (Part 2). The court orders possession only if it also considers it reasonable. It can adjourn, or suspend or postpone the order on conditions such as paying off arrears (Housing Act 1988, s.9). Suspended orders are common.

The grounds a small private landlord is most likely to use

Ground 1: moving in yourself or a family member

You need the property as the only or principal home for yourself, your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner, or your (or your partner's) parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild (Schedule 2, Ground 1). The tenancy must have begun at least a year before the date you put in the notice, so you can serve a four-month notice before the first anniversary as long as that date falls after it. Full walk-through, with dates: Section 8 Ground 1: landlord moving in.

Ground 1A: selling

You intend to sell the freehold or leasehold (or grant a lease of more than 21 years). It has the same one-year rule as Ground 1, and GOV.UK says it cannot be used against assured tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 and were not shorthold tenancies. See Section 8 Ground 1A: selling your rental property.

Ground 6B: complying with enforcement action

Ground 6B is new. It is available where continuing to let would breach a banning order, where an HMO or selective licence has been refused or revoked, where the property is over the number of occupiers its licence allows, where a prohibition order prevents occupation, or where an improvement notice identifies overcrowding (Schedule 2, Ground 6B). Four months' notice.

Ground 7: the tenant has died

This applies where the tenancy passed under the tenant's will or intestacy. Proceedings must begin within 12 months of the death or, if the court directs, within 12 months of when you found out about it. There are limits where the new tenant already lived there as their main home.

Ground 8: serious rent arrears

At least three months' rent (monthly rent) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly or fortnightly rent) must be unpaid both when you serve notice and at the hearing. Any amount that is unpaid only because the tenant's Universal Credit housing payment has not arrived yet is ignored (Schedule 2, Ground 8). Four weeks' notice. The court cannot waive the notice for Ground 8 (s.8(5)).

Worked example: rent is £1,200 a month, so the threshold is £3,600. If the tenant owes £3,600 when you serve but pays enough to owe £3,599 by the hearing, Ground 8 fails. That is why landlords normally plead Grounds 10 and 11 alongside it: they are discretionary but have no threshold.

Grounds 10 and 11: any arrears, or persistent late payment

Ground 10: some rent is unpaid when proceedings begin and was in arrears when notice was served. Ground 11: the tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, even if nothing is owed on the day. Both are discretionary with four weeks' notice. For Ground 11 you need a payment history that shows a pattern.

Grounds 12 and 13: breach of tenancy and damage to the property

Ground 12 covers breach of any tenancy term other than rent. Ground 13 covers deterioration of the property or common parts caused by the tenant or someone living with them. Both are discretionary with two weeks' notice. A dated inventory, inspection reports and your warning letters are the evidence.

Grounds 7A and 14: antisocial behaviour

Ground 7A (mandatory) needs an objective trigger: a conviction for a serious offence, a breach of an ASB injunction or criminal behaviour order, a closure order that kept people out for more than 48 hours, or a conviction for breaching a noise abatement notice. Ground 14 (discretionary) covers nuisance or annoyance to neighbours, the landlord or managing staff, and certain convictions. Neither has a notice period, but the court cannot make an order within 14 days of the notice. Details: antisocial behaviour eviction process.

Grounds most private landlords will not use

Ground 14A (domestic abuse) is for social landlords only. Grounds 1B, 4, 5B, 5D and 6A are limited to universities, registered providers or social landlords. Grounds 5E–5H and 18 apply only to supported, temporary or stepping-stone accommodation as defined in the Act. Ground 4A is for all-student HMOs, and only where you gave the students a written statement before the tenancy began.

Work out your notice period

Pick the ground (or grounds) and the date you will serve the notice to see the minimum notice period, the earliest date you can start court proceedings and any timing restriction for that ground. It is also on its own page as the Section 8 notice period calculator.

Before you serve: a checklist from the statute

Each of these comes from the Act itself, and each can defeat a claim no matter how strong the ground is.

Deposit protected and prescribed information given. If you took a deposit, the court can only order possession if it is held in an authorised scheme and the scheme's initial requirements and the prescribed information rules were complied with. The exceptions are orders on Ground 7A or 14, or where the deposit has been returned (Housing Act 2004, s.215).
Correct form. Private landlords must use Form 3A (GOV.UK assured tenancy forms), with each ground and its particulars specified. The court can only order possession on grounds that are in the notice, unless it gives permission to add them (s.8(2)).
Date in the notice. It must be no earlier than the end of the longest notice period for the grounds you rely on. For Ground 1 or 1A it must also be at least a year after the tenancy began.
Issue within 12 months. Proceedings cannot begin later than 12 months after the notice was served (s.8(3)(c)).
Genuine belief in the ground. Relying on a ground when you do not reasonably believe you can win on it can lead to a civil penalty of up to £7,000 if the tenant leaves within four months without a court order (s.16I). Doing it knowingly or recklessly is an offence (s.16J).
Ground 1 or 1A: plan for the letting ban. Put the end date of the 12-month ban in your diary before you serve.

The Act also bars possession orders (except on Grounds 7A and 14) for landlords who are not registered on the new Private Rented Sector Database (Guide to the Renters' Rights Act). The database is not live yet, so this does not apply to claims today.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still use Section 21?

No. Section 21 was abolished for private assured tenancies from 1 May 2026, and notices served before then had to be followed by a court claim by 31 July 2026 (GOV.UK). Every possession claim now needs a Schedule 2 ground.

Can I rely on more than one ground in one notice?

Yes. Arrears claims commonly plead Grounds 8, 10 and 11 together. The date in the notice must satisfy the longest notice period among the grounds used.

How soon after issuing a claim is the hearing?

Under Civil Procedure Rule 55.5(3), the hearing is at least 28 days after the claim is issued, and the standard period is no more than 8 weeks. Busy courts can list later than that.

Does an unprotected deposit stop a Section 8 claim?

For most grounds, yes: the court can only order possession once the deposit rules are met or the deposit has been returned. The exceptions are Grounds 7A and 14 (Housing Act 2004, s.215). See deposit protection rules.

Can the court skip the notice requirement?

Only if it considers it just and equitable (s.8(1)(b)), and never for Grounds 7A, 7B or 8 (s.8(5)). Do not plan around it.

Section 8 Grounds for Possession Under the Renters' Rights Act: The Full List