Section 8 Eviction Process for Landlords in England

At a glance

• Section 21 is gone. Since 1 May 2026, when Part 1 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force, landlords in England can no longer serve a Section 21 'no-fault' notice. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 is the only route to possession of a privately rented home.
• New form. Section 8 notices must now be served on Form 3A, which replaced the previous Form 3 from 1 May 2026.
• More grounds. Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 now sets out 37 grounds for possession: 26 mandatory and 11 discretionary, up from 17 grounds before the reform.
• Rent arrears threshold raised. The mandatory arrears ground (Ground 8) now needs at least 3 months' arrears (or 13 weeks' if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly), held both at the date of the notice and at the date of the hearing.
• Notice periods vary widely — from no minimum period at all for the most serious antisocial or criminal behaviour grounds, up to 4 months for grounds like the landlord selling or moving in.
• Standard court fee to apply for a possession order: £415 (correct as at July 2026 — this fee has changed before, so check the current amount on GOV.UK before applying).
• England only. This guide covers assured tenancies in England. Wales has used a different system, occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, since December 2022; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate frameworks.

What is a Section 8 notice, and why does it matter now?

A Section 8 notice is the formal way a landlord tells a tenant they intend to seek possession of the property, and sets out the reason why. The legal framework sits in the Housing Act 1988, with the grounds themselves listed in Schedule 2 to that Act.

Section 8 is fault-based: you are saying the tenant has done something, or a specific circumstance applies, that entitles you to ask the court to end the tenancy. That has always been true, but until 1 May 2026 most landlords ending a tenancy without a specific reason simply used the 'no-fault' Section 21 route instead. That option no longer exists. Since 1 May 2026, Section 8 is the only way to recover possession of a privately rented home in England, whatever the reason.

Some grounds are 'mandatory', meaning the court must grant possession if they are proved. Others are 'discretionary', where the judge weighs up whether it is reasonable to make the order. The notice period before you can issue court proceedings depends entirely on which ground you use, and getting this wrong remains one of the most common reasons possession claims fail.

Section 21 is gone: what changed on 1 May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in autumn 2025. Its tenancy reforms, in Part 1 of the Act, commenced on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026. From that date:

• Landlords can no longer serve a Section 21 notice. GOV.UK's own guidance states plainly that landlords "cannot use section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to seek possession of their property."
• Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies stopped being available for new lettings. Most tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies, and several grounds that used to depend on a fixed term (including the old Ground 3 for short holiday lets) were removed or rewritten to fit a periodic tenancy instead.
• Schedule 2 was substantially rewritten: several existing grounds were amended, and new grounds were added, including Ground 1A (landlord selling), Ground 1B, the 2ZA–2ZD group (superior lease situations), Ground 4A (student HMOs), Ground 6B (compliance with enforcement action), and others.
• Section 8 notices moved onto Form 3A, and section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 was amended to set out a new table of notice periods by ground, in section 8(4AA).

Transitional and saving provisions applied to notices served, or proceedings already under way, before 1 May 2026, but that transitional window has now closed. If you are starting a new claim today, you are working entirely under the post-reform framework described in this guide.

This guide covers England only. Wales replaced assured shorthold tenancies with 'occupation contracts' under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 back in December 2022, well before the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and the Housing Act 1988 possession grounds do not apply there in the same way. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate systems.

The grounds for possession

Schedule 2 splits the grounds into mandatory grounds, where the court must order possession once the ground is proved, and discretionary grounds, where the court decides whether eviction is reasonable. The tables below summarise the current grounds and notice periods, as published by GOV.UK.

Mandatory grounds

| Ground | What it covers | Notice period | |---|---|---| | 1 | Landlord, or a close family member, needs to move in (not within the first 12 months of a new tenancy) | 4 months | | 1A | Landlord intends to sell the property (not within the first 12 months) | 4 months | | 1B | Rent-to-Buy sale by a registered provider of social housing | 4 months | | 2 | Mortgage lender needs vacant possession in order to sell | 4 months | | 2ZA | Landlord's own superior lease is ending within 12 months (specific landlord types only) | 4 months | | 2ZB | Fixed-term superior lease of more than 21 years is ending within 12 months | 4 months | | 2ZC | A superior landlord takes over as landlord after a superior lease ends | 4 months | | 2ZD | A superior landlord takes over after a fixed-term superior lease of more than 21 years ends | 4 months | | 4 | University or college needs its student accommodation back | 2 weeks | | 4A | HMO let to students, needed for a new group of students in line with the academic year | 4 months | | 5 | Property needed to house a minister of religion | 2 months | | 5A | Property needed to house an agricultural worker | 2 months | | 5B | Registered social housing provider needs the property for a tenant meeting employment criteria | 2 months | | 5C | Tenancy was tied to employment by the landlord, and that employment has ended | 2 months | | 5D | Registered social housing provider: tenant no longer meets employment-linked criteria (from 2027) | 2 months | | 5E | Property usually used as supported accommodation, needed for that purpose again | 4 weeks | | 5F | Supported accommodation no longer suitable, or the support or funding has ended | 4 weeks | | 5G | Temporary accommodation provided under a homelessness duty, no longer needed | 4 weeks | | 5H | 'Stepping stone' accommodation (registered providers or charities): eligibility period has ended | 2 months | | 6 | Landlord needs to redevelop or demolish the property | 4 months | | 6A | Social landlord needs 'decant' accommodation back after redevelopment | 4 months | | 6B | Landlord must recover the property to comply with enforcement action (for example a prohibition order) | 4 months | | 7 | Tenancy passed on the tenant's death to someone not living there (limited circumstances) | 2 months | | 7A | Tenant, or someone living with or visiting them, convicted of a serious offence or breached an antisocial behaviour order | No minimum, but the court cannot make an order within 14 days of the notice | | 7B | Tenant has no right to rent under immigration law and the Home Office has given notice | 2 weeks | | 8 | At least 3 months' rent arrears (13 weeks' if paid weekly or fortnightly), held at both notice and hearing | 4 weeks |

Discretionary grounds

| Ground | What it covers | Notice period | |---|---|---| | 9 | Suitable alternative accommodation has been offered to the tenant | 2 months | | 10 | Some rent is owed, but below the Ground 8 mandatory threshold | 4 weeks | | 11 | Tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, even where not currently in arrears | 4 weeks | | 12 | Tenant has breached a term of the tenancy agreement other than paying rent | 2 weeks | | 13 | Tenant has allowed the condition of the property to deteriorate | 2 weeks | | 14 | Antisocial behaviour by the tenant or someone living with or visiting them | No minimum, but the court cannot make an order within 14 days of the notice | | 14A | Domestic abuse by the tenant (social landlords only) | 2 weeks | | 14ZA | Tenant, or another adult in the household, convicted of an offence during a riot | 2 weeks | | 15 | Tenant has allowed the landlord's furniture to deteriorate | 2 weeks | | 17 | Tenant, or someone acting for them, gave false information to obtain the tenancy | 2 weeks | | 18 | Tenant in supported accommodation is not cooperating with the support provided | 4 weeks |

If you rely on more than one ground in the same notice, section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988 requires the date given in the notice to be no earlier than the longest of the periods that apply to the grounds cited (Grounds 7A and 14 are treated separately, since they carry no fixed minimum period of their own).

Serving a valid Section 8 notice

1. Identify the right ground or grounds. Work out which Schedule 2 ground genuinely fits your situation. Rent arrears (Ground 8 or 10), the landlord selling (Ground 1A), and breach of the tenancy agreement (Ground 12) are among the most commonly used, but each has its own evidence requirements and notice period. Relying on a ground the facts don't support will undermine the whole claim.
2. Use Form 3A. Section 8 notices must be served on Form 3A, or a form substantially to the same effect, not the older Form 3. GOV.UK publishes Form 3A alongside a companion document setting out the exact legal wording for each ground; you are expected to set out the full statutory wording, not a paraphrase, along with your reasons for believing the ground applies.
3. Check the deposit is protected. For most grounds (not Grounds 7A or 14), the court cannot make a possession order unless the tenant's deposit was placed in a government-approved deposit protection scheme, the scheme's requirements were met, and the tenant was given the prescribed information about it — or the deposit has since been returned or resolved through the court.
4. Give the correct notice period. Use the tables above to work out the minimum period for the ground or grounds relied on, and if using more than one ground, the longest applicable period. Getting this wrong is one of the most common reasons notices are found invalid.
5. Serve it correctly and keep evidence. Name all tenants, serve the notice in line with the tenancy agreement, and keep clear evidence of when and how it was delivered. A flawed or badly evidenced notice often means starting again from scratch.

Making a possession claim at court

If the tenant has not left by the end of the notice period, the next step is applying to the county court.

• Rent-arrears-only claims can use the Possession Claim Online (PCOL) service, which lets you complete the forms online and track progress. You will need to show proof of payments due and received for up to two years.
• All other claims, and rent-arrears claims if you prefer, use the paper process: the standard possession claim form (N5) and the particulars of claim form (N119), sent to the county court that covers housing in your area.
• The court fee to apply is currently £415. This has changed before (it rose from £404 in July 2026), so check the current fee on GOV.UK before applying, and consider whether you are eligible to apply for help with court fees.
• The tenant then has 14 days to file a defence once served with the claim.
• At least 14 days before the hearing, you should send the court copies of all your case documents, including any evidence supporting your claim and a copy of the tenant's defence if one was filed.

At the hearing

At the hearing, the judge considers whether the notice was valid, whether the ground relied on is made out on the evidence, and, for discretionary grounds, whether it is reasonable to grant possession. The judge might adjourn the hearing, dismiss the claim, or make an outright or suspended possession order.

• An outright possession order on a mandatory ground usually requires the tenant to leave within 14 days, though the court can extend this to up to 6 weeks if the tenant would otherwise suffer extreme hardship. On a discretionary ground, the court has more flexibility to delay the date.
• A suspended possession order sets a date for possession but allows the tenant to stay if they meet conditions, typically paying off arrears at an agreed rate. If they break the conditions, you can apply for a warrant.
• A money judgment can be added to either type of order, covering rent arrears, court fees and legal costs.

If the tenant still does not leave: warrants and bailiffs

A possession order alone does not physically remove a tenant. If they remain in the property after the date in the order, or break the conditions of a suspended order, you will need to apply for a warrant of possession:

• Form N325 for an outright order, or N325A for a suspended order, currently costing £152 to apply. County court bailiffs then carry out the eviction, giving the tenant at least 14 days' notice of the appointment.
• Transferring to the High Court for enforcement is often quicker but costs more: currently £123 to apply for permission to transfer (Form N244) and a further £80 to seal the writ (Form N293A), plus High Court enforcement officer fees.

County court bailiffs cannot help you recover rent arrears or damage costs directly — that requires a separate money claim. Court fees change periodically, so always check the current amounts on GOV.UK before applying.

Common pitfalls

1. Using the old Form 3 instead of Form 3A, or an out-of-date template that still assumes Section 21 is available.
2. Getting the notice period wrong when relying on more than one ground — remember to use the longest applicable period, not the shortest.
3. Forgetting the deposit protection precondition. For most grounds, an unprotected or improperly protected deposit will stop the court making a possession order, regardless of how strong the underlying ground is.
4. Letting Ground 8 arrears drop below the threshold before the hearing. Because the 3-month/13-week threshold must be met at both the notice date and the hearing date, a partial repayment by the tenant can defeat a mandatory Ground 8 claim, even where discretionary Ground 10 might still succeed.
5. Assuming Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland guidance applies. This framework is England-only; Wales in particular has used an entirely different system since December 2022.

Related reading

For the matching eviction walkthrough, see How to Evict a Tenant in England (2026).

This guide provides general information about the Section 8 possession process for landlords in England. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026, reflects the framework as it applies since 1 May 2026, and remains subject to further change as later stages of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 commence — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the current position before acting.

Last reviewed: August 2026 · Next review due: February 2027, or sooner if further Renters' Rights Act 2025 commencement regulations are made.