With Section 21 gone, every possession claim starts with a question that didn't used to matter much: which ground, and how much notice? The answer now varies from immediate to four months, and getting it wrong doesn't just delay you — an invalid notice means starting the clock again.
Notice periods verified at the review date. Apply them to your dates with the free Tenancy Notice Date Calculator.
The grounds and their notice periods
Mandatory grounds — if proven at the hearing, the court must order possession:
| Ground | Reason | Notice period | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landlord or close family moving in | 4 months | Not usable in the tenancy's first 12 months |
| 1A | Selling the property | 4 months | Not usable in the tenancy's first 12 months |
| 6 | Demolition / substantial redevelopment | 4 months | Interest acquired before tenancy; tenancy 6+ months old |
| 7A | Severe anti-social or criminal behaviour | None — proceedings can start at once | Possession order takes effect no sooner than 14 days after service |
| 8 | Serious rent arrears | 4 weeks | 3+ months' arrears (13+ weeks if weekly/fortnightly) at service and at hearing |
Discretionary grounds — even if proven, the court also weighs reasonableness:
| Ground | Reason | Notice period |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Suitable alternative accommodation | 2 months |
| 10 | Some rent arrears | 4 weeks |
| 11 | Persistently late rent | 4 weeks |
| 12 | Breach of tenancy terms | 2 weeks |
| 13 | Deterioration of the property | 2 weeks |
| 14 | Anti-social behaviour | None — proceedings can start at once; order no sooner than 14 days after service |
| 17 | Tenancy obtained by false statement | 2 weeks |
The three rules that catch landlords out
1. The 12-month protected period
Grounds 1 and 1A — the two grounds most self-managers will actually use — cannot be relied on during the first 12 months of the tenancy. A notice served inside that window is invalid, and the 12 months runs from the tenancy start, not from when you bought the property. If you're buying tenanted, check the tenancy start date before making plans.
2. Ground 8's arrears threshold moved
Serious arrears now means three months' rent unpaid (thirteen weeks for weekly or fortnightly rent) — and the threshold must be met both when you serve notice and at the hearing. A tenant who pays down to two months and thirty days before the hearing defeats the mandatory ground. That's why arrears cases are usually pleaded with Grounds 8, 10, and 11 together: if 8 falls away, the discretionary grounds are still live.
3. Genuine intent is now enforceable
Serving notice on a ground you don't genuinely intend to rely on — claiming you're selling when you're not, for instance — is an offence, and re-letting shortly after recovering possession on Grounds 1 or 1A invites exactly that scrutiny. Use the ground that's actually true.
On Grounds 10–17 the court asks not just "did it happen?" but "is possession reasonable?" — which in practice means your records are on trial: rent ledgers, dated correspondence, repair logs, warnings given. Thin records lose winnable cases.
Tenants' notice, for completeness
A tenant ends an assured periodic tenancy with at least two months' written notice, expiring on the last day of a rent period. This applies to converted tenancies too — a tenant who signed a "fixed term" before 1 May 2026 can still leave on two months' notice. You can always agree an earlier end date in writing.
Before you serve anything
- Confirm the ground is true and you can evidence it
- Check the protected period if you're using Grounds 1 or 1A
- Serve on the prescribed Section 8 form and keep proof of service
- Diarise the notice expiry — proceedings can begin the day after
Sources
Change log: 20 Aug 2026 — first published.
