Section 8 Grounds for Eviction 2026: Full Guide

Section 8 grounds are a list of circumstances defined in law in which a landlord can evict a tenant, for example due to rent arrears. If you do not leave during the notice period, your landlord must prove to a court that the ground applies.

• If your landlord wants to end your assured periodic tenancy after 1 May 2026, they will need to give you a reason for evicting you when they ask you to leave. These reasons are called grounds for possession.
• A notice to leave given from 1 May 2026 is called a section 8 notice and should have been given to you using Form 3A.
• If your landlord can prove a mandatory ground, the court must usually give them a possession order to start the process of evicting you. On a discretionary ground, it will be up to the court to decide whether it is reasonable to evict you even if there is evidence against you.
• The changes apply to privately rented properties. Different rules apply if you rent from a housing association or local council, live in student halls of residence or are a lodger.

GOV.UK's guide to notices of possession is for tenants who rent a property in England from a private landlord and have an assured periodic tenancy. Private tenancies in Northern Ireland are governed by their own legislation, the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.

In Scotland, the private residential tenancy is open-ended and lasts until you wish to leave the let property or your landlord uses one or more of 18 grounds for eviction. All eviction grounds in Scotland are discretionary, which means the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) can take all circumstances into account when deciding whether or not it is reasonable to grant an order for eviction. In Wales, section 174 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 says the date specified in a notice under section 173 may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder.

If your landlord can prove a mandatory ground, the court must usually give them a possession order to start the process of evicting you. Your landlord can apply for a possession order straight away after the notice period has ended.

Ground 1, landlord or close family wants to move in

If your landlord or their close family member need to move into the property, they can use this ground. Your landlord must give you 4 months' notice. Your landlord can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 months have ended.

Ground 1A, landlord wants to sell

Your landlord can use this ground if they intend to sell their property. Your landlord must give you 4 months' notice. If you had an existing assured tenancy that was not an assured shorthold tenancy before 1 May 2026, your landlord cannot use this ground, and most social landlords cannot use it either.

Ground 2, mortgage lender wants to sell

A lender, for example a bank, can use this ground to gain possession of the property to sell it if your landlord has missed their mortgage payments. 4 months' notice must be given to you before your landlord or the lender can apply to the court for a possession order.

Ground 6, redevelopment

Your landlord can use this ground if they need to redevelop or demolish the property and you cannot live there whilst this is happening. Usually, your landlord cannot evict you on this basis in the first 6 months of your tenancy but the exact requirements can vary. Your landlord must give you 4 months' notice.

Ground 7, tenant has died

A person can inherit a tenancy when a tenant passes away and leaves the tenancy to them, for example in a will. If you inherited a tenancy and you did not live in the property before the tenant passed away, your landlord can use this ground to try to evict you. Your landlord cannot usually start the process to evict you if 12 months has passed after the death of the original tenant. An assured tenancy is automatically passed on to spouses, civil partners or cohabitees who also lived in the property, and your landlord cannot use this ground to evict you if you succeeded to a tenancy in this way. Your landlord must give you 2 months' notice.

Ground 7A, severe antisocial or criminal behaviour

If you or a person living with you or visiting you is convicted of criminal behaviour or breached an order to prevent antisocial behaviour, your landlord can evict you using this ground. Your landlord can also use this ground if the council or police have applied for a closure order, which means you have not been able to access the property for more than 48 hours. Your landlord does not need to give a notice period and can apply immediately to the court to start the process to evict you once they have given you notice. However, the court cannot make a possession order for 14 days from the date your landlord gave you notice.

Ground 7B, no right to rent

If you have no right to rent under immigration law, the Secretary of State will give notice to your landlord. Your landlord must give you 2 weeks' notice. Our right to rent guide covers what a right to rent check involves.

Ground 8, rent arrears

Your landlord can use this ground to evict you if you owe them at least 3 months' rent when you pay rent monthly, or at least 13 weeks' rent when you pay weekly or fortnightly. You will need to owe that rent on the day your landlord gives you the notice and at the date of the hearing. Your landlord must give you 4 weeks' notice.

GOV.UK also lists mandatory grounds for specialist situations, including Ground 4 for student accommodation, Ground 5 for ministers of religion, Ground 6A for decant accommodation and Grounds 2ZA to 2ZD where a superior lease ends. Under Ground 6B the court can order your landlord to get the property back if they have been investigated for breaking the law, and the court can tell your landlord to pay compensation to you if it applies. Your landlord must give you 4 months' notice. You can get free legal advice through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service as soon as you receive a written notice of possession.

If your landlord is seeking possession through the courts on a discretionary ground, it will be up to the court to decide whether it is reasonable to evict you even if there is evidence against you. Landlords can also continue to use the discretionary rent arrears grounds, for example if rent is repeatedly late.

• Ground 9, suitable alternative accommodation: your landlord can try to evict you if you have been offered other accommodation that is suitable for you.
• Ground 10, any rent arrears: if you owe your landlord rent, your landlord can try to evict you before you owe them 3 months' rent, but they will only get a possession order if the court believes it is reasonable.
• Ground 11, persistent arrears: your landlord can try to evict you if you have repeatedly delayed paying your rent.
• Ground 12, breach of tenancy: if you have broken one or more terms in the tenancy agreement that is not related to paying rent, your landlord can try to evict you.
• Ground 13, deterioration of property: your landlord can try to evict you if you have allowed the condition of the property to get worse.
• Ground 14, antisocial behaviour: your landlord can use this ground if a person that lives with you or a person who visits you commits antisocial behaviour. This also applies when you or a person living or visiting you has committed a serious offence near the property.
• Ground 14A, domestic abuse: if your landlord is a social landlord they can try to evict you for carrying out domestic abuse, but only if your partner or a person living with you has left and is unlikely to come back.
• Ground 14ZA, rioting: if you or another adult living with you has been convicted of an offence during a riot, your landlord can try to evict you.
• Ground 15, deterioration of furniture: your landlord can try to evict you if you have allowed the condition of the furniture to get worse.
• Ground 17, false statement: if you or someone acting on your behalf gave false information to get the property, your landlord can try to evict you.
• Ground 18, supported accommodation: your landlord can only use this ground if the property was rented to you for supported accommodation, and if your landlord believes you have not co-operated with the support, they can try to use this ground to evict you.

The notice must give a reason and the correct notice period, and the notice period depends on the reason your landlord has used. Your landlord cannot apply to court until the notice period has ended, except for Grounds 7A and 14.

• No notice period, for Grounds 7A and 14: your landlord can apply to the court straight away once they have given you notice, but the court cannot make a possession order until 14 days from the date your landlord gave you notice.
• 2 weeks' notice: Grounds 4, 7B, 12, 13, 14A, 14ZA, 15 and 17.
• 4 weeks' notice: Grounds 5E, 5F, 5G, 8, 10, 11 and 18.
• 2 months' notice: Grounds 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5H, 7 and 9.
• 4 months' notice: Grounds 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2ZA, 2ZB, 2ZC, 2ZD, 4A, 6, 6A and 6B.

In the first 12 months of the tenancy, your landlord cannot start the process to take back possession because they intend to sell the property, or because they or one of their close family members intends to move in. However, they can give you a notice telling you that they intend to use one of these grounds before the 12 months has passed.

• This applies to Ground 1 and Ground 1A: your landlord can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 months have ended.
• The 12 months does not include the first day of the tenancy or the day the notice expires.
• For Ground 6 (redevelopment), usually your landlord cannot evict you on this basis in the first 6 months of your tenancy but the exact requirements can vary.

The defence form lets you contest the landlord's claim, for example if your landlord has not followed the correct procedure or if the reasons that your landlord wants to take back possession are invalid.

Ways to challenge a possession claim:

• Your landlord has not followed the correct procedure, or the reasons your landlord wants to take back possession are invalid.
• Your landlord has not protected your deposit in a government approved tenancy deposit scheme, which means the court will not be able to make a possession order.
• A counterclaim, which is when you tell the court that the landlord has broken the law or not followed the rules, for example if your tenancy deposit was not protected, if repairs were not made to the property or the landlord has discriminated against you. If you make a counterclaim you will need to pay a fee.
• The court case can be dismissed if your landlord has not followed the correct procedure or has failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim, or if the grounds for possession are not proven or are invalid.

If the landlord claims for rent arrears under Ground 8:

• You will need to owe your landlord 3 months or 13 weeks rent on the day they give you the notice and at the date of the hearing.
• You cannot be evicted under this ground if you pay off what you owe or owe less than the amounts above by the time you get to court.
• If your landlord uses both mandatory and discretionary grounds, the court will first check if the mandatory grounds are proved. If not, they will review the discretionary grounds and make a decision based on those.
• If you can't pay the full amount, pay the maximum you can afford. If you pay an amount regularly, this may help you to keep your home if the case goes to court.

What the judge can decide:

• The judge could make an outright possession order, which means you will have to vacate the property by a date they set.
• The judge could make a suspended possession order, which means you will have to vacate the property if you do not comply with certain conditions which the judge will set out. If you do not keep to the conditions after the date for possession in the order, your landlord can ask the court for a warrant of possession to evict you.
• The judge could adjourn the hearing or dismiss the court case.
• If you can prove that you would be in extreme hardship, the judge may agree to delay possession for up to 6 weeks.

If you do not leave by the date in the order, your landlord can ask the court to grant a warrant of possession, which means that a court bailiff will evict you. You will usually be given at least 14 days' notice of the eviction date. If you do not leave by the end of the notice period and the landlord still wants possession, they must apply to court for a possession order within 12 months, starting on the date they served the notice. If they do not, the notice will expire and the landlord cannot use it to start possession proceedings.

Evidence you may want to bring to the hearing includes:

• A copy of your tenancy agreement.
• Bank statements showing money in your bank account.
• Proof that you have paid the rent and do not owe the amount of rent that your landlord says you do.
• Proof that the landlord did not serve you the correct notice or give the correct notice period.
• Photos or videos of the condition of the property.