Section 8 Possession Grounds: Which One Applies, and What It Requires

Since Section 21 was abolished, every possession claim in England runs through Section 8 - and Section 8 requires you to name a reason and prove it.

That is a bigger change than the headlines suggested. Under the old route you did not need a reason. Now the ground you pick determines your notice period, your evidence, and whether the judge has any choice in the matter at all.

Mandatory or discretionary - the distinction that decides everything

Before the specific grounds, the split that matters more than any of them:

A mandatory ground is not a stronger version of a discretionary one. It is a different kind of thing. On a mandatory ground the tenant's hardship is legally irrelevant - but so is your reasonableness, and any missed condition is fatal. On a discretionary ground a sympathetic tenant can defeat a perfectly genuine claim.

Where the facts support a mandatory ground, use it.

The grounds you are most likely to need

Grounds 1 and 1A: moving in, or selling

Both are mandatory, both need four months' notice, and both carry the same two restrictions:

• Not in the first 12 months. The tenancy must have run a year by the date the notice expires - so you can serve at around month eight. The clock runs from the original start of the tenancy, not from 1 May 2026
• No re-letting for 12 months afterwards, running from the later of notice expiry or the date proceedings were issued. Breaching it is an offence

Ground 1 now covers a wider family group than before - spouse or civil partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild, including half-blood relations. It is not available where the landlord is a limited company, since a company cannot move in. Worth knowing before you incorporate.

You must satisfy the judge you genuinely intend to move in or sell. The Act does not prescribe the evidence, which cuts both ways - keep the paper trail.

Ground 8: the arrears ground, and the trap inside it

This is the ground most landlords will actually reach for, and the one that changed most.

Now the part that catches people. The arrears must be at or above the threshold on two separate days: the day you serve the notice, and the day of the hearing.

A tenant who pays enough to drop below three months before the hearing defeats the ground entirely - even if they have been chaotic for a year, even if they are still substantially in arrears. This happens, and it is not a loophole so much as the design.

Two consequences worth planning for:

1. Landlords commonly plead Ground 8 alongside 10 and 11. If the arrears drop below the Ground 8 threshold, the discretionary grounds may still stand. Losing the mandatory ground then does not end the claim
2. Your rent record is the case. Not a bank statement - a schedule showing what was due, what arrived, and on what date. "Roughly three months behind" is not something a court can work with, and reconstructing it later is miserable

Everything in When the Rent Stops about acting in week one applies with more force now: three months is a long way to let something run before you have a mandatory ground.

The paperwork that defeats a good ground

This is where genuine claims fail, and it has nothing to do with which ground you chose.

A court can refuse possession where your compliance is not in order, however strong the ground. Serving these documents is no longer a precondition for the notice being valid, as it was under Section 21 - but the failure can still sink the claim, and some failures cannot be cured after the event.

Before you serve anything, check you can evidence:

• Deposit protected in time, and prescribed information served - see Tenancy Deposits
• Gas safety record given to the tenant, particularly before they first moved in
• EPC and electrical report provided
• The Renters' Rights Act information sheet, which existing tenants should have received by 31 May 2026
• Database and Ombudsman registration current

Safety Certificates covers building the calendar that keeps this straight. The recurring theme: holding the certificate is half the obligation, and proving you served it is the other half.

What happens after the notice expires

Notice expiring does not end a tenancy. If the tenant stays:

1. Apply to court for a possession order. The notice alone gives you nothing
2. Attend the hearing with your evidence - the rent schedule, the served documents, proof of service
3. If possession is granted, the tenant is given a date
4. If they still do not leave, enforcement is by county court or High Court bailiff

At no point may you change the locks, remove belongings, or cut off services. That is unlawful eviction - a criminal offence that converts your possession claim into their damages claim, and it is the single most expensive mistake a frustrated landlord makes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use more than one ground?

Yes, and it is common. Pleading Ground 8 with 10 and 11 is standard where there are arrears. Where grounds carry different notice periods, the longest generally governs when you can issue.

What if I get the notice wrong?

You serve again, correctly, and the clock restarts. That is the real cost of an error - months, not a fine. It is why the notice is worth an hour of a solicitor's time.

Do I need a solicitor?

Not legally. But a defended claim, any ground touching anti-social behaviour, or arrears where compliance is imperfect are all situations where the fee is small against the cost of losing. Straightforward, well-documented arrears with clean paperwork is the case landlords most often run themselves.

Can the tenant just pay off the arrears to stop it?

Under Ground 8, effectively yes - dropping below the threshold before the hearing defeats it. The discretionary grounds are not escaped so simply, which is exactly why they are pleaded alongside.

How long does it take?

Longer than the notice period suggests. Four months' notice plus court listing time plus enforcement can run well beyond half a year, and court backlogs vary by region. Budget for the void as though it were a long one.

Can I ask them to leave without any of this?

You can always ask. A tenant who agrees to go, on a date recorded in writing, saves everyone a great deal - and a modest sum toward their moving costs is frequently cheaper than the process above. That is a commercial decision, not a legal one, and it is often the right answer.

The evidence you cannot reconstruct

Every ground above turns into the same question at the hearing: show me. What was due, what arrived, what was served, and when.

The Rental Property Tracker keeps rent received against rent due per property, month by month, which is the schedule a court asks for - and the one nobody can build accurately eighteen months after the fact. $27 once, up to twenty properties.

General information for landlords in England, not legal advice. Grounds, notice periods, thresholds and procedure changed on 1 May 2026, guidance is still developing, and the courts have only begun interpreting the new regime. Check the current gov.uk guidance and take advice from a qualified housing solicitor before serving any notice - an error here costs months, and unlawful eviction is a criminal offence.