Section 8 notice: grounds, notice periods and how to serve it
A section 8 notice starts a possession claim under the Housing Act 1988. It must name the Schedule 2 grounds, set out the facts, and give the correct notice period for the longest ground relied on.
Published ·3 min read
A section 8 notice — formally a notice seeking possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 — is the document a landlord serves on an assured tenant to start a possession claim. It must state which grounds in Schedule 2 are relied on, give the facts behind each, and specify the earliest date court proceedings may begin. Since section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 it is the only route to possession in England, and a defect in the notice usually means starting again.
Mandatory and discretionary grounds
Mandatory grounds oblige the court to order possession if the ground is proved. Discretionary grounds leave the court free to refuse if it is not reasonable to make the order. Most notices in practice rely on one of these:
| Ground | Type | What it covers | Notice period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | mandatory | serious rent arrears at the statutory threshold | four weeks |
| 10 | discretionary | some rent lawfully due and unpaid | short |
| 11 | discretionary | persistent delay in paying rent | short |
| 12 | discretionary | breach of a tenancy obligation | applies |
| 14 | discretionary | nuisance or anti-social behaviour | none — proceedings may begin immediately |
| 1 / 1A | mandatory | landlord moving in / selling the property | four months |
Notice periods are set by statute and have been changed by regulation more than once. Check the current period for your ground before you fix the date — a period that was right last year may not be right today.
Four rules that decide whether the notice works
1. The arrears ground needs the arrears at two moments. The mandatory serious-arrears ground requires the statutory threshold (broadly three months' rent) to exist both when the notice is served and at the hearing. A tenant who pays down to just below the threshold the day before defeats it — which is why notices commonly plead Grounds 10 and 11 alongside it.
2. Multiple grounds take the longest notice period. If you rely on anti-social behaviour (no minimum period) together with a breach ground that has one, the earliest-proceedings date must satisfy the longest.
3. The landlord-use grounds are restricted. Grounds 1 and 1A require four months' notice, generally cannot be used during the first 12 months of the tenancy, and bar re-letting for a set period afterwards. Serving them prematurely is the fastest way to lose a claim and an expensive one to repeat.
4. Facts, not labels. "The tenant is in arrears" is not a ground; "£4,200 outstanding as at 12 June 2026, equal to approximately three months' rent" is. Vague particulars are the single most common reason notices fail.
The notice does not evict anyone
Serving a section 8 notice does not end the tenancy and does not make the tenant a trespasser. If they do not leave, the landlord must apply to the court for a possession order, and if that order is not complied with, enforcement is by county court or High Court bailiffs. Changing the locks, removing belongings or cutting off services is unlawful eviction — a criminal offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, quite apart from the civil claim that follows.
Before you serve: the compliance file
A possession claim will expose whatever was skipped at the start of the tenancy. Have ready: deposit protected within the statutory deadline and prescribed information given, current How to Rent guide, EPC, EICR, gas safety certificate where relevant, and the Right to Rent check. Gaps here limit the grounds you can actually run.
Serve it properly and keep the proof
Use the prescribed form, serve it in a way the tenancy agreement permits, and keep dated evidence — certificate of posting, hand delivery witnessed, or the method your agreement specifies. Possession hearings turn on service almost as often as on merits.
Draft it correctly
Our guided template builds the notice from the ground you select: arrears figures, breach particulars, landlord-use grounds, the earliest-proceedings date, and validation that flags a date which is too early for the ground you have chosen.
→ Section 8 Notice (Seeking Possession)
Related: section 21 is gone — how possession works now · what your tenancy agreement must say.