Section 8 Grounds — Cheat Sheet (post-RRA 2025)

A reference card listing the Section 8 grounds for possession in England as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, with the statutory notice period and whether each ground is mandatory or discretionary.

*Every possession ground, notice period and source — England only*

Last reviewed: 2026-05-28. Next review: 2026-08-28.

Important

Section 21 has been abolished by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. All assured tenancies are now periodic. Possession in England runs through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 only.

Notice periods and ground numbers below reflect the position as published on legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK at the date this PDF was last reviewed. Always confirm against the live legislation before serving notice.

Mandatory grounds (court must order possession)

Discretionary grounds (court decides whether to order possession)

Pre-action requirements you must not skip

• Serve the current RRA Tenancy Information Sheet (the statutory document that replaced the withdrawn How to Rent guide from 1 May 2026).
• Protect any deposit in a government-approved scheme and serve the prescribed information.
• Have a valid Gas Safety Certificate, EICR and EPC and provide them to the tenant.
• Use Form 3A (Notice of Seeking Possession) — get the current version from GOV.UK before serving.
• For Grounds 1 and 1A, you may not re-let the property for at least 12 months from the notice date.

Sources: - legislation.gov.uk — Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2 (as amended) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2 - legislation.gov.uk — Renters' Rights Act 2025 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/contents - GOV.UK — Section 8 / Section 21 possession notices — https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants