February 2019

There are a number of different ways that a Landlord can recover possession of a property when the tenant has been served with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST). One way a Landlord can recover possession is to serve a Section 8 notice (S8), Housing Act 1988 as amended. This notice is served if a tenant has breached one or more terms of the tenancy agreement. The notice is usually for a period of 2 weeks, although some of the grounds (set out below) require more than 2 weeks notice. Each tenant must have a copy of the Section 8 notice. They must be notified the grounds that the landlord is relying upon, and why they have breached those grounds. The tenant then has 2 weeks in order to rectify the breach, or agree reasonable terms with the Landlord. if the Landlord does not hear from the tenant, or the terms are totally unreasonable, then after the notice has expired, the Landlord should apply for a Court order. You cannot insist that a tenant vacates without a court order, even if the notice has expired. The notice must be served in the prescribed form, we can assist you by providing you with a pro-forma for the notice. You can then either complete the form yourself, ask us to complete the form and serve the notice and provide a certificate of service, or you can simply ask for 40 minutes advice on how to complete the form for £60.00. Our fee for completing the form and serving it, is only £75.00 plus vat. So you may feel it is money well spent to make sure that the notice is valid. Please be aware, there are discretionary grounds (where the Judge can use his/her discretion to order possession) or mandatory grounds. We have set the grounds out below.

These are the mandatory grounds 1 - 8

Ground 1: The Landlord requires possession as he used to occupy the property as his main home or he now wishes to occupy the property as his main home.

Ground 2: The property is subject to a mortgage and the mortgagee is now entitled to exercise a power of sale.
Ground 3:The tenancy is a fixed term of not more than 8 months and the property was previously a holiday let.
Ground 4: The tenancy is a fixed term of not more than 12 months and the property is student accommodation let out of term.
Ground 5: The property is that of a minister of religion.
Ground 6: The property requires redevelopment.
Ground 7: The tenant has died.
Ground 8: The tenant is in rental arrears.

These are the discretionary grounds 9 - 17

Ground 9: Suitable alternative accommodation is available for the tenant upon possession.
Ground 10: The tenant is in arrears of rent.
Ground 11: The tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, whether or not the rent is currently in arrears.
Ground 12: Any obligation of the tenancy has been broken, other than payment of rent.
Ground 13: Due to the tenant’s conduct, the property has deteriorated.
Ground 14: The tenant is causing a nuisance or annoyance to people residing at the property or visiting the property. The tenant is convicted in engaging in illegal or using the property for immoral purposes.
Ground 15: The tenant has allowed the landlords’ furniture to deteriorate due to ill-treatment.
Ground 16: The tenant occupies the property due to his former employment by the landlord.
Ground 17: The Landlord granted the tenancy as a result of a statement made by the tenant which is later found to be false.

If you do not use the correct statutory grounds with the notice and the prescribed form, the Court will probably dismiss your application and this will result in a claim for costs made against you, further, whilst you re-serve the notice in the correct format, you are suffering from ever mounting rent arrears. Under the Legal Service Act 2007, only a Landlord in person, or a regulated Solicitor, can appear before the County Court in housing disputes, therefore, we would not suggest that you ask a friend or your agent to represent you as it may also result in your claim being dismissed. Please call our housing team, if you require any further advice and assistance. Click here to Download a Free Section 8 Form.

Section 8 grounds for possession (section 8 eviction process)

These are the mandatory grounds 1 - 8

These are the discretionary grounds 9 - 17

Disrepair: Clamp down on rogue landlords

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These are the mandatory grounds 1 - 8

These are the discretionary grounds 9 - 17

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