Section 8 Grounds under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

With Section 21 abolished from May 1st, the only way your landlord can end your tenancy is by using a Section 8 ground for possession. That means going to court, naming a specific reason, and proving it to a judge.

This is a fundamental shift and one of the headline changes the Renters' Rights Act introduces. Under the old system, your landlord didn't need a reason. Now they need a solid one, and the court has the power to say no in most cases because most of the grounds are discretionary.

What is Section 8 of the Renters’ Rights Act?

Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 is the legal process a landlord must use to take back a property from a tenant. It has been around since 1989, but until now, it lived in the shadow of Section 21, which let landlords skip the hassle of proving a reason and just serve two months' notice instead.

With Section 21 gone, Section 8 is the only route left. Your landlord has to name a specific ground for wanting possession, serve you with a notice on the prescribed Form 3A, and then prove that ground in court if you don't leave voluntarily. The court decides whether the ground is made out, and on many grounds, whether eviction is actually reasonable in the circumstances.

Mandatory vs discretionary grounds

Every ground falls into one of two categories: mandatory or discretionary: 

• Mandatory grounds require the court to grant possession if the landlord proves the ground is made out. The judge has no discretion to refuse, even if the circumstances seem harsh.
• Discretionary grounds give the court a choice. Even if the landlord proves the ground, the judge must also decide whether the eviction is reasonable. Courts can adjourn, attach conditions, or refuse possession altogether.

On discretionary grounds, showing up, engaging with the process, and demonstrating you've taken steps to fix the problem (e.g.,  agreeing on a repayment plan for arrears) can make the difference between keeping your home and losing it.

What are the Section 8 grounds?

The Renters' Rights Act significantly expands the list of grounds from 17 to over 30. Most of the new additions are niche grounds aimed at social housing, supported accommodation, agricultural tenancies, and student halls. The ones that affect private renters are a much shorter list, and we’ll cover those in more detail later. 

Section 8 mandatory grounds

Below are all the mandatory grounds as they stand from May 1st, 2026. On these grounds, the court must grant possession if the landlord proves the ground is made out; there’s no reasonableness test. 

• Ground 1 — Landlord or family member moving in (4 months’ notice). This ground is for when your landlord wants to use the property as a home for themselves or a close family member (spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, or grandchild). It can’t be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy, and landlords are banned from re-letting or marketing the property for 12 months afterwards.

• Ground 1A — Landlord wants to sell the property (4 months’ notice). Your landlord intends to sell the freehold or leasehold, or grant a lease of over 21 years. The same restrictions as Ground 1 apply. The landlord doesn't need a "good reason" to sell, but they do need to show genuine intention. Evidence like instructing an estate agent is what courts will look for. 

• Ground 1B — Sale under a rent-to-buy agreement (4 months’ notice). Applies to properties let by private registered providers of social housing under rent-to-buy schemes, and is unlikely to affect most private renters. 

• Ground 2 — Mortgage lender repossession (4 months' notice). The landlord's mortgage lender is exercising its power of sale and needs vacant possession. The mortgage no longer needs to predate the tenancy, and the landlord no longer needs to have warned you in writing that this ground might be used.
  

• Grounds 2ZA-2ZD — Superior lease ending (4 months' notice). Various grounds for when a superior lease above the landlord's interest expires or is terminated. Mostly affects the social sector and long-lease arrangements. 

• Ground 4 — Student halls (2 weeks' notice). This applies to student accommodation owned by an educational institution and has a very narrow scope.

• Ground 4A — Student HMOs (4 months' notice). HMOs let to full-time students where the landlord needs possession for the next academic-year cohort. This ground has a transitional two-month notice period for summer 2026 only. 

• Ground 5 — Minister of religion (2 months' notice). Property held for occupation by a minister of religion. Also includes grounds 5A (agricultural workers), 5B (social-sector key workers), 5C (employment ended where the tenant was employed by the landlord), 5D (social-sector eligibility), and 5E-5H (supported and temporary accommodation, such as homelessness accommodation). 

• Ground 6 — Demolition or redevelopment (4 months' notice). The landlord intends to demolish or substantially reconstruct the property, and the work can't reasonably be done with you living there. Tightened under the new Act: the landlord must have owned the property before your tenancy started, and the tenancy must have been running for at least 6 months.

• Ground 6A — Decant accommodation (4 months' notice). Allows a registered provider to recover possession of temporary accommodation provided to a tenant during the redevelopment of their original home. Social housing sector only. 

• Ground 6B — Enforcement compliance (4 months' notice). Possession is needed because the landlord must comply with enforcement action (e.g., HMO licence refused or revoked, banning order, overcrowding notice). The court may order compensation to the tenant. 

• Ground 7 — Death of tenant (2 months' notice). The tenancy has passed by will or intestacy following the tenant's death. Proceedings must be brought within 12 to 24 months.

• Ground 7A — Serious criminal or antisocial behaviour (no notice). Triggered by a qualifying conviction for a serious offence, breach of an injunction to prevent nuisance and annoyance (IPNA), a criminal behaviour order, or a closure order lasting more than 48 hours. 

• Ground 7B — No right to rent (2 weeks' notice). The tenant has no right to rent under immigration law, confirmed by a Home Office notice.

• Ground 8 — Mandatory rent arrears (4 weeks' notice). The tenant owes at least 3 months' rent (or 13 weeks for weekly/fortnightly tenancies) both at the date of the notice and at the date of the court hearing. If the tenant pays down arrears below the 3-month threshold before the hearing, the court can't grant possession under this ground. The threshold has been raised from 2 months under the old rules.

Section 8 discretionary grounds

On these grounds, the court may grant possession, but only if it also decides that eviction is reasonable in the circumstances. The judge can adjourn, attach conditions, or refuse possession altogether. 

• Ground 9 — Suitable alternative accommodation (2 months' notice). The landlord can show that suitable alternative accommodation is available for the tenant.
• Ground 10 — Any rent arrears (4 weeks' notice). Any amount of rent is unpaid as of the date of the notice and the hearing. Because this is discretionary, the court must decide whether the eviction is reasonable. Tenants who have agreed a repayment plan and are sticking to it are unlikely to lose on this ground.
• Ground 11 — Persistent late payment (4 weeks' notice). The tenant has persistently paid rent late, even if there are no significant arrears at the time. The court must consider whether the eviction is reasonable.
• Ground 12 — Breach of tenancy (2 weeks' notice). The tenant has broken a term of the tenancy agreement other than the obligation to pay rent.
• Ground 13 — Deterioration of property (2 weeks' notice). The condition of the property has deteriorated because of the acts or neglect of the tenant or anyone living with them.
• Ground 14 — Antisocial behaviour or nuisance (no notice). Behaviour by the tenant, someone living with them, or their visitors that causes or is likely to cause nuisance or annoyance, or use of the property for illegal or immoral purposes, or conviction of an indictable offence. The Act adds new factors the court must consider, including the impact on other occupiers (particularly in shared houses) and whether the tenant has co-operated with the landlord's attempts to stop the behaviour. .
• Ground 14ZA — Riot offences (2 weeks' notice). The tenant or another adult at the property has been convicted in the Crown Court of an indictable offence committed during a riot.
• Ground 14A — Domestic abuse (2 weeks' notice). The property was occupied by a couple, one partner has fled due to domestic abuse, and the landlord needs possession to rehouse them. Applies to social-sector landlords only
• Ground 15 — Deterioration of furniture (2 weeks' notice). Furniture provided under the tenancy has deteriorated due to the tenant's ill-treatment.
• Ground 17 — False statement (2 weeks' notice). The tenancy was obtained by a knowingly or recklessly false statement by the tenant.
• Ground 18 — Refusal to engage with support (4 weeks' notice). Only applies to a supported-accommodation tenant who has refused to engage with the support being provided.

Grounds that private renters are most likely to face

There’s no denying that this is an exhaustive list of grounds. Fortunately, the ones that private renters are most likely to face make for a much shorter one.

Grounds 1 and 1A (mandatory)

These are the two grounds that replaced Section 21 as the main "I want the property back" route for landlords. Both are mandatory with 4 months' notice, and both come with the same restrictions.

Neither ground can be used in the first 12 months of your tenancy, and the 12-month clock runs from the original tenancy start date, not from May 1st. If your tenancy started in March 2025, you're already past the threshold. If it started in November 2025, however, you're protected until November 2026. Your landlord can serve the 4-month notice before the 12-month anniversary, as long as the notice itself doesn't expire before that date.

After possession, the landlord is banned from re-letting or marketing the property for 12 months from the earliest possession date in the notice. Combined with the 4-month notice period, that's at least 16 months of restricted use from the date notice is served.

If your landlord uses either ground and then re-lets within 12 months, that's a criminal offence under the new Section 16J of the Housing Act 1988. The local authority can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000, and you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. For repeat offenders, the Tribunal must award the maximum.

The landlord doesn't need to prove a "good reason" for selling or moving in, just a genuine intention. Courts will look for concrete evidence, such as instructions to an estate agent, a family member's current living situation, and removal of the property from letting platforms.

Ground 8: rent arrears (mandatory)

To successfully prove this ground, your landlord must demonstrate that you owe at least 3 months' rent at two separate points: 1. when the notice is served, and 2. at the court hearing. Both thresholds must be met. If you owe 3 months when the notice is served, but pay it down to 2 months before the hearing, Ground 8 can’t be proven.

That means if you’re in arrears and you receive a Ground 8 notice, every pound you pay before the hearing date reduces the landlord’s chance of succeeding. There’s also a carve-out for Universal Credit: If part of your arrears exists only because your UC housing element hasn’t been paid, that amount is excluded from the calculation. Your landlord can't use the DWP's processing delays against you.

Even if Ground 8 fails because you've paid down, the landlord may still rely on discretionary Ground 10 (any arrears) if it was cited in the same notice. But on Ground 10, the court has to decide whether eviction is reasonable, and a tenant who's actively repaying arrears is in a much stronger position.

Ground 10: rent arrears (discretionary)

Any amount of unpaid rent at the notice date and the hearing technically engages this ground. But because it's discretionary, the court weighs everything up in deciding reasonableness: how much is owed, why the arrears built up, whether you've agreed a repayment plan, whether you're sticking to it, and whether eviction is proportionate. Judges regularly refuse possession on Ground 10 where the tenant has made genuine efforts to repay.

Ground 12: breach of tenancy (discretionary)

Covers any breach of your tenancy agreement other than rent. Subletting without permission, unauthorised alterations, and persistent noise complaints from neighbours are all examples of breaches, but they’re not guaranteed to lead to an eviction. As with all discretionary grounds, the court must consider whether eviction is a proportionate response to the breach.

Summary of key grounds for private renters

Received a Section 8 notice?

A Section 8 notice is not an eviction. It's the first step in a process that takes months to complete.

Your landlord must serve notice on the new Form 3A, naming the ground and giving the required notice period. That doesn’t mean you have to leave; you can stay in the property and wait for your landlord to apply to the county court. A Section 8 notice lapses if the landlord doesn't start court proceedings within 12 months of serving it.

If your landlord files a claim, you'll receive the claim form and a defence form. You then have 14 days to file your defence (e.g., your deposit isn’t protected, your landlord didn’t serve notice on Form 3A, or the ground can’t be proven), and the court will send information about free advice services.

A hearing will then be scheduled at your local county court, where the judge can dismiss the claim, adjourn it, make an outright possession order, or make a suspended order with conditions. Suspended orders are common in rent arrears cases: you may be allowed to stay if you pay current rent plus an agreed amount towards the arrears.

If a possession order is made, it normally takes effect 14 days later, or up to 6 weeks if you can show exceptional hardship. If you don't leave by that date, the landlord must apply for a warrant of possession. Only bailiffs can carry out the eviction, and your landlord cannot change the locks, cut off utilities, or remove your belongings. That is an unlawful eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

The entire process from notice to bailiffs typically takes several months. Court waiting times vary by region, and with the old accelerated possession procedure gone, most claims will take longer than they used to.

Deposits must be protected for a Section 8 eviction

It’s important to note that from May 1st, 2026, the court cannot grant a possession order on any Section 8 ground (except Grounds 7A and 14) unless your deposit is properly protected in one of three government-backed schemes at the time the notice is served.

That covers almost every ground on the list. If your landlord wants to evict you to sell, to move in, for rent arrears, for breach of tenancy, or on any other ground outside the two antisocial behaviour exceptions, they need your deposit to be in a scheme first. If it isn't, the Section 8 notice is automatically invalid, and possession cannot be granted. 

If you think your deposit isn't protected, check with all three schemes using your tenancy details. 

If you were served a Section 8 before May 1st

If your landlord served a Section 8 notice before May 1st, 2026, the old rules still apply to that notice, such as the old Ground 8 threshold (2 months' arrears) and old notice periods. But your landlord must file the court claim by July 31st, 2026, at the latest, or the notice lapses and a new one will need to be issued. 

From May 1st, only the new Form 3A and the new grounds can be used. Any old-form Section 8 notice served on or after that date is invalid.

Where to get free help

If you've been served a Section 8 notice, Shelter's helpline is available on 0808 800 4444. Citizens Advice can help online or through your local bureau. If you're facing court action, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) provides free housing-specific legal advice. Duty advisers are available at most county courts on possession hearing days.