You can sometimes stop or delay eviction.

But sometimes your eviction cannot be stopped. It depends on the possession grounds.

Grounds are the legal reasons for eviction.

Has your landlord used the right form?

The right form depends on when your landlord gave you the section 8 notice.

Your landlord should have used:

• Tenancy form 3 - if you were given notice before 1 May 2026

• Tenancy form 3A - if you were given notice on or after 1 May 2026

Can your landlord still use the notice?

Your landlord usually has a year to ask the court for an eviction order.

After this, the section 8 notice is not valid and your landlord cannot use it.

There are different rules for students if your notice mentions ground 4A.

Is your notice valid?

A notice is valid if:

• it gives the right amount of notice

• it tells you why the landlord wants to evict you

The notice must say what possession grounds the landlord is using, and include the legal wording of the ground.

A judge might ignore small mistakes on the notice. For example, spelling mistakes. Or they might let the landlord fix a mistake.

You cannot be evicted if your landlord applies to court too late. This means more than a year after giving you notice.

Is your deposit protected?

Landlords must protect your tenancy deposit with a scheme.

In some cases, you cannot be evicted if your landlord has not:

• protected your deposit before the hearing

• given you the right information about your deposit

More on what should happen when you pay your deposit.

But you could still be evicted in any of these situations:

• you got your section 8 notice before 1 May 2026

• your landlord protects your deposit or gives it back before the hearing

• you're being evicted for antisocial behaviour

Do you owe rent?

Check if your notice mentions ground 8.

Your landlord will probably use this ground if you owe a lot of rent.

The court might have to evict you if your rent arrears are still high at the hearing.

Try to pay off arrears before your hearing.

The amount of rent you must owe for ground 8 changed after the Renters' Rights Act. But the old rules still apply if you got your notice before the law changed.

Table: Ground 8 on the notice

You could stop your eviction if you can get the rent you own below the amounts in this table.

The court can stop or delay your eviction if you:

• owe less than the amount in the table

• can pay off some of your arrears each month

The judge can make a suspended order.

This means you can stay in your home if you keep to the conditions in the order.

Does your notice mention other grounds?

Read more advice on these grounds:

• your landlord or their family want to move in (ground 1)

• your landlord wants to sell (ground 1A)

• your landlord's lender wants to sell after mortgage repossession (ground 2)

• it's a student house share and your landlord wants to rent to other students (ground 4A)

• you have inherited a tenancy that has been passed on before after a death (ground 7)

The court has to make a possession order if your landlord can prove any of these grounds. But they can only be used in some situations.

Fill in your defence form

Your defence form is in the letter from the court.

You could get free legal help with the form.