Since 1 May 2026, there is only one route to getting your property back in England: a Section 8 notice with a legal ground behind it. Section 21 is gone, and with it the option of ending a tenancy without giving a reason.
That makes choosing the right Section 8 ground for possession the single most important decision in the whole process. Pick the wrong ground, serve the wrong notice period, or fail to evidence your reason properly, and the court can dismiss your claim — leaving you to start again months later with the arrears still mounting.
This guide sets out every ground you are realistically going to use, the notice period each one carries, what you have to prove, and how the claim runs from notice to bailiff. It covers England only — Scotland and Wales have separate systems.
Key takeaways
- Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Every possession claim now needs a Section 8 ground.
- The notice is Form 3A. It must state each ground and explain why it applies.
- Mandatory grounds oblige the court to grant possession if proved. Discretionary grounds leave it to the judge.
- Serious rent arrears (Ground 8) now needs three months’ arrears and four weeks’ notice — up from two months and two weeks.
- Moving in (Ground 1) or selling (Ground 1A) needs four months’ notice, cannot be used in the first 12 months, and bars you from re-letting for 12 months afterwards.
What actually changed on 1 May 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 did three things that matter here. It abolished Section 21 no-fault eviction. It converted every assured shorthold tenancy into an assured periodic tenancy with no fixed end date. And it rewrote Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 — the list of possession grounds — adding new ones, and lengthening the notice periods on most of the old ones.
The practical effect is that possession is now slower and more evidence-driven. You need a reason, you need to prove it, and you need to give considerably more warning than you used to. If you are still working from a pre-2026 checklist, almost every notice period on it is wrong. Our full Renters’ Rights Act guide covers the wider changes.
Mandatory versus discretionary grounds
Every ground falls into one of two categories, and the difference decides how much risk you are carrying.
On a mandatory ground, if you prove the facts, the court must order possession. It has no discretion to let the tenant stay because they have nowhere to go or because you could have handled it better.
On a discretionary ground, proving the facts only gets you to the starting line. The judge then decides whether it is reasonable to order possession, weighing the tenant’s circumstances, the seriousness of the breach and your own conduct. A discretionary claim can be refused, or granted as a suspended order that lets the tenant stay so long as they comply with conditions.
Where you can, cite a mandatory ground and add relevant discretionary ones as a fallback. There is no penalty for pleading several grounds on the same notice, and it gives the judge somewhere to go if your main ground fails on a technicality.
The grounds you will actually use
Schedule 2 now runs to more than forty grounds, but most are confined to social landlords, agricultural tenancies or ministers of religion. For a private landlord, this is the working set.
| Ground | What it covers | Type | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You or a close family member are moving in | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 1A | You are selling the property | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 2 | Your lender is repossessing and needs vacant possession | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 4A | Student HMO needed for the next academic year | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 6 | Demolition or substantial redevelopment | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 6B | Possession needed to comply with enforcement action | Mandatory | 4 months |
| 7 | Tenancy passed on after the tenant’s death | Mandatory | 2 months |
| 7A | Severe antisocial behaviour or a relevant conviction | Mandatory | None |
| 7B | Tenant has no right to rent in the UK | Mandatory | 2 weeks |
| 8 | Serious rent arrears (3 months / 13 weeks) | Mandatory | 4 weeks |
| 10 | Any rent arrears below the Ground 8 threshold | Discretionary | 4 weeks |
| 11 | Persistent late payment, even if now up to date | Discretionary | 4 weeks |
| 12 | Breach of a tenancy term other than rent | Discretionary | 2 weeks |
| 13 | Deterioration of the property through neglect | Discretionary | 2 weeks |
| 14 | Antisocial behaviour by tenant, household or visitors | Discretionary | None |
| 17 | Tenancy obtained by a false statement | Discretionary | 2 weeks |
Grounds 7A and 14 carry no notice period — you can apply to the court immediately — but the court cannot make a possession order until 14 days after the notice was served.
Rent arrears: Grounds 8, 10 and 11
Arrears are the most common reason private landlords go to court, and this is where the 2026 changes bite hardest.
Ground 8 — the mandatory one
Ground 8 requires the tenant to owe at least three months’ rent where rent is paid monthly, or thirteen weeks’ rent where it is paid weekly or fortnightly. Before May 2026 the threshold was two months, so a tenant now has to fall a third further behind before the mandatory route opens.
Two traps catch landlords out. First, the arrears must be at or above the threshold both when you serve the notice and on the day of the hearing. A tenant who pays off a single month the morning of the hearing knocks the ground out from under you. Second, the court must disregard any arrears that built up because the tenant had not yet received universal credit they were entitled to.
Note that housing association tenants keep the older, lower thresholds of two months or eight weeks. Ground 8 as described here applies to private assured tenancies.
Grounds 10 and 11 — your safety net
Ground 10 covers any arrears at all, and Ground 11 covers persistent late payment even where the account is square on the day. Both are discretionary, both need four weeks’ notice, and both survive a last-minute part-payment that kills Ground 8.
For that reason, serve all three together. It costs nothing and it means a tenant cannot defeat your claim simply by timing a payment. Our guide to managing rent arrears covers what to do in the months before you reach this point.
Moving back in or selling: Grounds 1 and 1A
These two replace the practical function Section 21 used to serve, and they come with real strings attached.
Ground 1 applies where you, your spouse or partner, or a close family member intend to occupy the property as their only or principal home. Ground 1A applies where you intend to sell with vacant possession. Both are mandatory and both need four months’ notice.
The constraints are what catch people out:
- Neither ground can be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy. A tenant who moves in today cannot be served on these grounds until next year, and the notice then runs four months on top.
- After using either ground you cannot market or re-let the property for 12 months. Recovering possession to “sell”, then quietly re-letting, is exactly what the restriction is designed to stop.
- Ground 1A is restricted where the tenant already held an assured tenancy before 1 May 2026, so check the tenancy’s history before you rely on it.
If you are selling, it is worth asking whether you need vacant possession at all. Selling to another landlord with the tenant in place avoids four months of notice and a void. We cover the trade-offs in how to sell a rental property with tenants in it.
Serving Form 3A without wrecking your claim
The Section 8 notice is now Form 3A. A notice that is incomplete or inaccurate can get your claim dismissed or delayed, and you will not find that out until the hearing.
- Name every ground in full. Set out the ground number and the statutory wording, not a paraphrase.
- Explain why each ground applies. For arrears, attach a rent schedule showing dates, amounts due, amounts paid and the running balance. For antisocial behaviour, give dates and specifics, not “ongoing problems with noise”.
- Use the longest notice period of the grounds you cite. If you plead Ground 8 (four weeks) alongside Ground 1A (four months), the notice must run four months.
- Get service right. Follow the service clause in the tenancy agreement, and keep proof — a certificate of service, a photograph of the notice at the property, or a recorded delivery receipt.
- Check your own compliance first. Deposit protection, a current gas safety record, the EPC and — since the Renters’ Rights Act — the tenant information sheet or written statement of terms all get examined. The How to Rent guide has been replaced by those documents, and existing written tenancies had to be given the information sheet by 31 May 2026. Gaps here are the most common reason a claim fails.
From notice to bailiff: how the claim runs
The possession process, step by step
State every ground and the reasons. Keep proof of service.
Between two weeks and four months, depending on the ground.
Online through PCOL for rent arrears claims, on paper for other grounds. Fee £415.
Take your evidence. The court grants an outright order, a suspended order, or dismisses the claim.
If the tenant stays past the order date. Fee £148.
The tenant gets at least 14 days’ notice of the eviction date.
Budget for the costs as well as the calendar. The possession claim fee is £415 and a warrant of possession is a further £148. Either party has 21 days to appeal a decision. Add the notice period, listing times and bailiff availability, and a straightforward arrears claim is realistically a four to six month exercise from the day you serve.
Never change the locks, remove belongings or cut off services to force the issue. That is unlawful eviction, and it exposes you to prosecution, a rent repayment order of up to two years’ rent, and damages.
Five mistakes that lose claims
- Using an old notice form or notice period. Anything drafted before May 2026 is out of date. Ground 8 alone went from two weeks to four.
- Relying on Ground 8 alone. One part-payment before the hearing and the claim collapses. Plead 10 and 11 alongside it.
- Vague reasons. “The tenant has breached the agreement” is not a case. Dates, clauses, evidence.
- Forgetting your own compliance. An unprotected deposit or a missing gas safety record will be raised as a defence.
- Re-letting after Ground 1 or 1A. The 12-month bar is enforced with civil penalties of up to £7,000 for minor breaches and up to £40,000 for serious or repeated ones.
What to do next
Before you serve anything, do three things. Check the tenancy start date, because the 12-month restriction on Grounds 1 and 1A turns on it. Pull together your evidence for the ground you intend to use — a rent schedule, dated incident notes, correspondence. And audit your own paperwork, because the tenant’s solicitor will.
Then pick your grounds deliberately: a mandatory ground where the facts support one, with discretionary grounds behind it. Use the longest applicable notice period, serve properly, and keep proof. If the tenant is still there when the notice expires, our guide on what to do when a tenant won’t leave picks up from there.
Written by the Landlords Portal team, drawing on hands-on experience of letting and managing property in England. This article is general information, not legal advice — for a specific possession claim, take advice from a solicitor or your landlord association.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still use a Section 21 notice?
No. Section 21 was abolished in England on 1 May 2026. Every possession claim now needs a Section 8 notice citing a ground from Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
How much rent must a tenant owe before I can use Ground 8?
Three months’ rent if rent is paid monthly, or thirteen weeks’ rent if it is paid weekly or fortnightly. The arrears must reach that level both when you serve notice and on the day of the hearing, and arrears caused by delayed universal credit payments are disregarded.
How long does a Section 8 possession claim take?
Expect four to six months for a straightforward arrears case. That is four weeks’ notice, then several weeks for the court to list a hearing, then time for the order to expire and, if necessary, a warrant and a bailiff appointment. Grounds requiring four months’ notice take proportionately longer.
Can I serve a Section 8 notice in the first year of a tenancy?
Yes for fault-based grounds such as arrears, breach or antisocial behaviour. No for Ground 1 (moving in) or Ground 1A (selling), which cannot be used during the first 12 months of the tenancy.
What happens if I re-let after using Ground 1A to sell?
You are barred from marketing or re-letting the property for 12 months after using Ground 1 or 1A. Breaching that restriction can lead to a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for serious, persistent or repeated non-compliance.
Can I cite more than one ground on the same notice?
Yes, and you usually should. Pleading a mandatory ground with discretionary ones behind it gives the court an alternative if your main ground fails. The notice must then run for the longest notice period among the grounds cited.
Does this apply in Scotland and Wales?
No. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 applies to England. Scotland uses private residential tenancies with their own grounds, and Wales operates under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Sources: GOV.UK — Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents; GOV.UK — Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026; Shelter England — Ground 8 possession; NRLA — Section 8 rent arrears grounds.
