Section 8 notices

A landlord can serve a valid section 8 notice on an assured or assured shorthold tenant to start the possession process. The landlord must have a reason for evicting the tenant, called a ground for possession.

Most private renters and housing association tenants have an assured tenancy. Find out more about assured tenancies.

There are different section 8 notice rules for private and social tenancies. Private tenancies include tenancies with a private registered provider landlord which are not social housing tenancies. For example, where the tenancy is let at a market rent. Find out more about housing association tenancies.

The landlord must:

• list the possession ground or grounds

• give reasons for using the ground or grounds

• use the prescribed form

• give the tenant the right amount of notice

The court can dismiss the landlord's possession claim if the landlord did not serve the tenant with a valid section 8 notice. In some cases, the court can dispense with the requirement for the landlord to serve valid notice where it is just and equitable to do so.[1]

A section 8 notice must list the ground on which the landlord is seeking possession and explain how it applies to the tenant.[2] The landlord can state more than one ground on the notice.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 amended private assured tenancy grounds for possession and makes new grounds available for landlords. These new rules apply for notices served on or after 1 May 2026.

Private landlord served notice on or after 1 May 2026

Grounds 1 to 8 are mandatory grounds. The court must order possession if it is satisfied the conditions for the grounds are met. Mandatory grounds include a ground for serious rent arrears.

Find out more about mandatory grounds for possession from 1 May 2026.

Grounds 9 to 18 are discretionary. If the landlord uses a discretionary ground, the court must decide if both:

• the landlord has proven that the ground applies

• it is reasonable to evict the tenant

These include grounds for delays in paying rent and breaching tenancy conditions.

Find out more about discretionary grounds for possession from 1 May 2026.

Private landlord served notice before 1 May 2026

There were different grounds for private section 8 notices served before 1 May 2026.

Ground 1 to 8 are mandatory grounds. Find out more about assured mandatory grounds for private tenancies before 1 May 2026.

Grounds 9 to 17 are discretionary grounds. Find out more about assured discretionary grounds for private tenancies before 1 May 2026.

A section 8 notice must list the ground on which the landlord is seeking possession and explain how it applies to the tenant.[3] The landlord can state more than one ground on the notice.

Mandatory grounds

Ground 1 to 8 are mandatory grounds. The court must order possession if it is satisfied the conditions for the grounds are met. Mandatory grounds include a ground for serious rent arrears.

Find out more about assured mandatory grounds for social tenancies.

Discretionary grounds

Grounds 9 to 17 are discretionary. If the landlord uses a discretionary ground, the court must decide if both:

• the landlord has proven that the ground applies

• it is reasonable to evict the tenant

These include grounds for delays in paying rent and breaching tenancy conditions.

Find out more about assured discretionary grounds for social tenancies.

A section 8 notice must be in the prescribed form or a form substantially to the same effect which contains the same information.[4]

What the section 8 prescribed form looks like

The prescribed form is Form 3. It includes information for the tenant and sections for the landlord to complete.

Find out assured tenancy forms on Gov.uk.

The form is sometimes updated. The court could dismiss a claim if the landlord has not used the correct version.

Landlord must state the ground in full

The notice must specify the ground for possession and include the wording of the ground in full. Where the landlord uses more than one ground, this applies to each ground.

Where the notice does not follow the exact form of words set out in the ground, the court must decide if it is similar enough to be substantially to the same effect.

For example, ground 8 includes the words 'rent lawfully due.' The Court of Appeal held that:

• a section 8 notice was not valid when it omitted these words, and did not include the requirement that the rent was unpaid at the date of service and the hearing date[5]

• the words 'rent owed' were similar enough and the section 8 notice was valid[6]

Landlord must explain how the ground applies

The landlord must give reasons for relying on the ground for possession. This is called the particulars. The particulars should give the tenant enough information to rectify the problem. The court can strike out the claim if the landlord does not give enough information.[7]

A landlord can ask for permission to add to or change the particulars. The court should only give permission where it would be just and equitable to do so.[8]

If the form includes inaccurate information, such as rent arrears figures, the court can allow the claim to proceed or order the particulars to be amended.[9]

When the notice is not in the prescribed form

If a landlord does not use the prescribed form, it can be valid if the notice is substantially to the same effect.[10]

The court should consider how a reasonable recipient would understand the notice and whether it includes the same information as the prescribed form.[11] The court can consider covering letters that accompany the notice.[12]

The court might dismiss the possession claim if it decides the notice is not substantially to the same effect as the prescribed notice.

When the notice contains an error

Where there is an error on the form, the court can consider whether the tenant could reasonably be expected to understand that there has been a mistake and find the correct information. For example, where the information is in a cover letter.

For example, where a notice should have expired in November 2018 but gave a notice period ending in November 2017, the Court of Appeal found that the tenants would understand the intention. The court held the notice was valid.[13]

Who needs to sign the notice

A valid notice must be signed by the landlord or the landlord's agent.

The Court of Appeal held that a valid section 8 notice can contain the name and address of the landlord's agent instead of the landlord's details.[14]

A section 8 notice can be signed by an employee of the landlord if the landlord is a company. It does not have to be signed by a director of the company.[15]

The notice must state a date for the tenant to leave.[16] After this date, the landlord can start court possession proceedings.

The notice period depends on the ground used and when the notice was served.

Private landlord serves notice on or after 1 May 2026

Grounds 8, 10 and 11 can be used to evict a tenant with rent arrears. The landlord must give at least four weeks' notice on a rent arrears ground.

Find out more about rent arrears possession.

For most other grounds, the landlord must give between two weeks' and four months' notice depending on the ground.

Find a list of mandatory grounds 1 to 8 and discretionary grounds 9 to 18 with notice periods.

Notice served before 1 May 2026 or by a social landlord

Grounds 8, 10 and 11 can be used to evict a tenant with rent arrears. The landlord must give at least two weeks' notice on a rent arrears ground.

Find out more about rent arrears possession.

For most other grounds, the landlord must give two weeks' or two months' notice.

Find a list with notice periods of:

• assured mandatory grounds for private tenancies before 1 May 2026 and social tenancies

• assured discretionary grounds for private tenancies before 1 May 2026 and social tenancies

A landlord must give the tenant the section 8 notice to start the possession process. This is called serving the notice.

How a landlord should serve a section 8 notice

A landlord is not required to serve the section 8 notice in any particular way.

Where the tenant does not acknowledge that they were served with the notice, the court must consider whether it was received by the tenant or came to the tenant's attention on the balance of probabilities.[17]

Service by post does not prove service unless the tenancy agreement allows this. The tenancy agreement could specify that notice can be served in line with section 196 Law of Property Act 1925. This allows valid service by registered post, recorded delivery, or personal delivery to the tenant's property.[18]

Service on joint tenants

All joint tenants must be named on the notice, even if some are not resident.[19]

When the landlord uses ground 7A or ground 14A

A landlord can seek possession on mandatory ground 7A when an antisocial behaviour condition is met. The landlord must serve the notice within a certain time, depending on the condition relied on. For example, within 12 months of a conviction for a serious offence.

A landlord can seek possession on discretionary ground 14A when one member of a couple has left the property due to domestic violence from the other partner. The landlord must try to serve a copy of the notice on the partner who has left.[20]

Court dispenses with requirement for service

The court can dispense with the requirement for the landlord to serve valid notice where it is just and equitable to do so.[21] This means the court allows the possession claim to proceed even though the landlord did not serve a valid notice.

When deciding whether to proceed without notice, the court should consider the harm caused to both landlord and tenant, and the effect of the notice not being served.[22]

The court does not have the power to dispense with the requirement for service when a landlord uses either:[23]

• ground 7A: antisocial behaviour

• ground 7B: tenant does not have a right to rent

• ground 8: serious rent arrears

Where a social landlord serves a section 8 notice, the landlord must start possession proceedings within 12 months from when the notice was served.[24]

Find out more about the possession proceedings process.

A private landlord must start possession proceedings within a time limit to obtain possession under a section 8 notice. The time limit depends on when the notice was served.

Notice served before 31 July 2025

Where a private tenant received a section 8 notice before 31 July 2025, the landlord must start possession proceedings within 12 months from when the notice was served.[25]

Notice served between 1 August 2025 and 30 April 2026

Where a private tenant received a section 8 notice between 1 August 2025 and 30 April 2026, the landlord must start possession proceedings by 31 July 2026.[26]

Notice served after on or after 1 May 2026

Where a private tenant received a section 8 notice on or after 1 May 2026, the landlord must start possession proceedings within 12 months from when the notice was served.[27]

Table: Private sector section 8 time limits

What the landlord must do before the deadline

The landlord must request that the court issue a claim form to start possession proceedings within the time limit.

If the landlord requests the court issue a claim form before the deadline, the notice remains valid until possession proceedings are concluded.

Where the notice was served on a private assured shorthold tenant, the tenant remains an assured shorthold tenant until possession proceedings are concluded or time barred. They then become an assured tenant.[28]

If the landlord does not start possession proceedings in time

The landlord must serve a new section 8 notice if they do not start proceedings in time. The original notice is no longer valid.

Where the notice was served on a private assured shorthold tenant, the tenant becomes an assured tenant on the date the section 8 notice validity expires.

Find out more about assured tenancies.

For section 8 notices served on private tenants on or after 1 May 2026, the court cannot make a possession order while any of the following apply:

• the deposit is not held in an authorised scheme[29]

• the landlord has not complied with the requirements of the deposit scheme[30]

• the landlord has not given the tenant, or any relevant person, the prescribed information[31]

• the deposit is something other than money

This does not apply to assured tenancies that started before 1 May 2026.[32]

The court is not restricted from making a possession order where there is a breach of deposit protection rules if the order is made on antisocial behaviour grounds 7A or 14.[33]

When the court can make a possession order

The court can make a possession order where the landlord has not complied with deposit protection rules at the time of serving a section 8 notice if, before the order is made, any of the following apply:

• the landlord protects the deposit, even if it's protected outside of the required time limits[34]

• the landlord returns the deposit to the tenant in full or with agreed deductions[35]

• a section 214 financial compensation application has been determined, withdrawn or settled[36]

• property is returned where the deposit was something other than money[37]

Find out more about tenancy deposit protection.

A local authority can issue a fine to a landlord where the landlord purports to end an assured tenancy with a notice to quit.[38]

This applies to private sector notices served on or after 1 May 2026.

Find out more about notices to quit.

An authority can fine a landlord where all of the following apply:[39]

• the landlord relies on a ground for possession

• the landlord does not reasonably believe they can obtain a possession order on that ground

• the tenant surrenders the tenancy within four months

For example, where the landlord uses a ground claiming they want to sell the property but intends to re-let to another tenant.

Find out more about rent repayment orders and financial penalties.