Section 21 Is Gone: A Landlord's Guide to Section 8 Possession Grounds

For over thirty years, Section 21 gave landlords in England a straightforward way to recover their property — serve two months' notice, no reason needed. Since 1 May 2026, that's gone. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 entirely.

That doesn't mean you can't recover your property. It means you now need a specific reason, and you need to follow the right process. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 is your only route, and the grounds available have been restructured and expanded under the RRA — there are now 37 in total. The prescribed form is also new: Form 3A replaces the pre-RRA Section 8 form. Using the old form for a notice served from 1 May 2026 onwards invalidates the notice.

This guide covers the commonly used grounds. For the complete breakdown of all 37 grounds and the new Form 3A, see our comprehensive Section 8 guide.

How Section 8 works

To recover possession through Section 8, you must serve a notice on the tenant specifying which ground or grounds you're relying on. Different grounds have different notice periods, ranging from two weeks to four months. After the notice period expires, if the tenant hasn't left, you apply to the court for a possession order.

Some grounds are mandatory — if you prove the ground is met, the court must grant possession. Others are discretionary — the court decides whether it's reasonable to grant possession even if the ground is proven.

Getting the notice wrong — wrong form, wrong ground, insufficient evidence, wrong notice period — means starting again. This is where most possession claims fail.

The mandatory grounds

These are the grounds where the court has no discretion. If you prove the ground is made out, you get your property back.

Ground	Reason	Notice Period	Notes
Ground 1	Landlord wants to move in	4 months	Advance notice required at start of tenancy. Cannot use in first 12 months.
Ground 1A	Landlord wants to sell	4 months	New ground introduced by the RRA. Cannot use in first 12 months.
Ground 2	Mortgage possession	2 months	Mortgage must pre-date the tenancy. Lender requires possession.
Ground 4A	Student accommodation	2 months	Purpose-built or managed student accommodation. Advance notice required.
Ground 5	Minister of religion	2 months	Property needed for a minister of religion. Advance notice required.
Ground 5A	Agricultural worker	2 months	New ground. Property needed for an agricultural worker.
Ground 6	Redevelopment	4 months	Landlord intends to demolish or substantially redevelop. Cannot use in first 12 months.
Ground 6A	Enforcement action	2 months	New ground. Local authority enforcement requires vacant possession.
Ground 7	Death of tenant	2 months	Tenancy passed by succession. Proceedings must begin within 12 months of death.
Ground 7A	Serious criminal / antisocial behaviour	Immediate	Proceedings may begin immediately (no notice period). Court cannot order possession within 14 days. Deposit protection failures don't block this ground.
Ground 8	Serious rent arrears	4 weeks	At least 3 months' rent owed at notice and at hearing (threshold raised by the RRA from 2 months). Universal Credit housing-element delays are excluded from the calculation. Mandatory — court must grant if numbers are met.

The discretionary grounds

These grounds require the court to consider whether it's reasonable to grant possession. Even if you prove the ground, the judge might decide it's not fair in the circumstances.

Ground	Reason	Notice Period	Notes
Ground 9	Suitable alternative accommodation	2 months	You can provide the tenant with suitable alternative housing.
Ground 10	Some rent arrears	4 weeks	Rent overdue when notice served and when court proceedings began (notice period raised by the RRA from 2 weeks).
Ground 11	Persistent late payment	4 weeks	Pattern of paying rent late, even if not currently in arrears (notice period raised by the RRA from 2 weeks).
Ground 12	Breach of tenancy terms	2 weeks	Breach other than rent — e.g. damage, subletting, unauthorised use.
Ground 13	Property deterioration	2 weeks	Condition deteriorated due to tenant's behaviour or neglect.
Ground 14	Nuisance or antisocial behaviour	Immediate	Nuisance to neighbours or illegal use of property. Deposit protection failures don't block this ground.
Ground 14ZA	Domestic abuse against tenant	2 weeks	Landlord seeks possession from remaining tenant after the abuser has left.
Ground 17	False statement	2 weeks	Tenancy granted based on a false statement by the tenant.

Important restrictions

The twelve-month rule. Grounds 1, 1A, and 6 cannot be used during the first twelve months of the tenancy. This prevents landlords from letting a property and then immediately seeking possession to sell or move in. Plan accordingly — if you know you might need the property back within a year, consider your options before granting a tenancy.

Advance notice requirements. Grounds 1, 2, 4A, and 5 require you to have notified the tenant at the start of the tenancy that you may rely on that ground. If you didn't include this notice in your tenancy agreement or a separate written notice before the tenancy began, you may not be able to use the ground. This is why getting your tenancy agreement right from the start matters.

Deposit protection. For most grounds, you cannot begin possession proceedings unless the deposit is properly protected in an approved scheme and the prescribed information has been served on the tenant. The only exceptions are Grounds 7A and 14. If your deposit handling isn't in order, fix it before you try to use any other ground.

Re-letting restrictions. If you recover possession using Ground 1 (move in) or Ground 1A (sell), there is a 12-month re-letting restriction afterwards. Re-letting in breach is a criminal offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £40,000. These grounds must be used in good faith — Trading Standards and council enforcement teams do check.

Practical steps

Keep evidence. Every ground requires proof. For arrears, keep a clear payment record. For antisocial behaviour, keep dated notes and any correspondence. For breach of terms, document the breach and any warnings you've given. The paper trail starts long before you serve notice.

Use the correct form. Section 8 notices must use the prescribed form. Since 1 May 2026, that's Form 3A — using the old pre-RRA Section 8 form on a notice served after that date invalidates the notice.

Get the notice period right. Different grounds have different notice periods. If you're relying on multiple grounds in one notice, you must give the longest notice period that applies to any of the grounds you've cited.

Consider the tenant's response time. After the notice period expires, the tenant may still not leave. At that point you apply to the court. Court timelines vary but expect several weeks to several months. Factor this into your planning.

The loss of Section 21 means more preparation, better record-keeping, and more precise paperwork. It's not the end of your ability to recover your property — it's a higher bar for how you go about it.