New Possession Grounds Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025: What Landlords Need to Know
Until 30 April 2026, a landlord who wanted a tenant out could serve a Section 21 notice, wait two months, and file for possession without giving a reason. That option disappears on 1 May.
From that date, every ending of an assured tenancy in England has to rest on a specific legal ground, proven to a judge at a full hearing. The accelerated paper-only route is gone with it. If you let property in England, the question isn’t whether this affects you — it’s whether your evidence will stand up when you need to rely on it.
So what are the grounds, what do they require, and where does the risk sit?
Quick takeaways
- From 1 May 2026, every possession claim requires a proven ground under the rewritten Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
- The new framework has 37 grounds (20 mandatory, 17 discretionary) with five notice-period tiers, from immediate to four months.
- Ground 1A (sale) is entirely new — four months' notice, a 12-month protected period, and a 12-month re-let ban backed by penalties up to £40,000.
- Ground 8 (rent arrears) now requires three months' arrears, up from two, with a Universal Credit carve-out.
- Misusing a ground carries civil penalties up to £40,000, criminal prosecution, and Rent Repayment Orders of up to 24 months' rent.
How does possession work from 1 May 2026?
Every tenancy ending now goes through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 using the new Form 3A. Section 21 is abolished. There are 37 grounds in the rewritten Schedule 2, split into 20 mandatory and 17 discretionary, with five notice-period tiers.
The shift is structural. Under Section 21, the landlord didn’t need a reason — just a valid notice and the right paperwork. Under the new regime, the landlord must identify a specific ground in Schedule 2, serve notice on Form 3A with the correct notice period, then satisfy a judge at a hearing. The accelerated possession procedure (tied to Section 21) is gone. Every claim gets a full hearing.
Two gateways sit in front of most grounds. The deposit must be held in an authorised scheme at the date the Section 8 notice is served (under the amended Section 215 of the Housing Act 2004). And once the PRS Database rolls out, registration must be current. Both gateways are waived for Grounds 7A and 14 (anti-social behaviour) — serious ASB isn’t shielded by landlord administrative failures.
What are the new notice periods for each ground?
Five tiers, from immediate to four months. The longer periods apply where the landlord wants to sell, move in, or recover for mortgage repossession. Arrears and breach grounds carry shorter notice. Anti-social behaviour can be immediate. Section 3(3) of the Act inserts a new Section 8(4AA) into the Housing Act 1988 with the full tiered table:
| Notice period | Grounds | Common uses |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months | 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 4A, 6, 6A, 6B | Sale, family move-in, mortgage, student HMO, redevelopment |
| 2 months | 5, 5A–5D, 5H, 7, 9 | Employment, decant, death of tenant, suitable alternative |
| 4 weeks | 5E–5G, 8, 10, 11, 18 | Supported housing, rent arrears, late payment |
| 2 weeks | 4, 7B, 12, 13, 14ZA, 14A, 15, 17 | Holiday let, breach of tenancy, domestic violence |
| Immediate | 7A, 14 | Serious criminal behaviour, nuisance |
For context: the old Section 21 required two months’ notice. The “no-fault” exit has been replaced by Ground 1A (sale) and Ground 1 (family move-in), both at four months — double the old timeline, with a 12-month protected period and a re-let ban that Section 21 never carried.
Is Section 21 really being abolished?
Fully abolished from 1 May 2026. Section 2 repeals the entire AST regime. Pre-served notices survive only if the claim form is issued by 31 July 2026 at the latest.
This isn’t a suspension or a phase-out. Section 2 removes Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988 entirely. From 1 May, there’s no such thing as an assured shorthold tenancy in England.
If you served a valid Section 21 notice before 1 May, it remains enforceable — but you must issue the court claim by the earlier of six months from service or 31 July 2026 (the hard long-stop in Schedule 6, paragraph 4). Miss that deadline and the notice lapses: the tenancy converts to an assured periodic tenancy, and you’ll need one of the rebuilt Section 8 grounds instead.
Serving a purported Section 21 notice on or after 1 May 2026 is itself a breach under new Section 16I of the Housing Act 1988, carrying a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
What are the new possession grounds?
Every tenancy ending now goes through Section 8. Ground 1A (sale) is new. Ground 1 (family occupation) gets a four-month notice and a 12-month re-let ban. Ground 8 (rent arrears) rises to a three-month threshold. Ground 4A covers student HMOs.
The full list is long (the GOV.UK grounds guidance runs to several thousand words), but five changes matter most for private landlords.
| Ground | Notice | Re-let ban | Penalty for breach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground 1 (family occupation) | 4 months | 12 months | £25k start / £40k max |
| Ground 1A (sale) — NEW | 4 months | 12 months | £25k start / £40k max |
| Ground 2 (mortgage) | 4 months | None | — |
| Ground 4A (student HMO) — NEW | 4 months | None | — |
| Ground 8 (rent arrears) | 4 weeks | None | — |
| Grounds 7A / 14 (ASB) | Immediate | None | — |
Ground 1 — landlord or family moving in
Now requires four months’ notice, can’t be used within the first 12 months, and triggers a 12-month re-let and re-marketing ban. The old pre-tenancy notice requirement is gone. The family definition is exhaustive: spouse, civil partner, cohabitant, parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild (including step and half-blood). Re-let during the restricted period and the penalty starts at £25,000 (£40,000 ceiling), plus a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months’ rent. Not available to company landlords — the occupier must be a natural person.
Ground 1A — sale (new)
Entirely new, same structure: four months, 12-month protected period, 12-month re-let ban. You need to intend a genuine sale of your freehold or leasehold interest. There’s no prescribed evidence, but in practice you’ll want an estate agent instruction, a conveyancer on record, and — from a surveyor’s perspective — an independent valuation showing the property was genuinely marketed at a price consistent with sale intent. If the sale collapses during the restricted period, you face the same £25,000 penalty plus a void property you can’t re-let. The valuation evidence isn’t optional.
Grounds 2, 4A and 8 — mortgage, student HMO, arrears
Ground 2 (mortgage repossession) now carries four months’ notice, and the mortgage no longer needs to pre-date the tenancy — mid-tenancy remortgages qualify.
Ground 4A (student HMO) is new: four months’ notice, possession only available between 1 June and 30 September, and HMOs only (the Commons rejected extending it to one- and two-bed student flats). The landlord must serve a written pre-tenancy statement that Ground 4A may be used; for existing tenancies that statement must be served by 31 May 2026.
Ground 8 (serious rent arrears) now requires three months’ arrears (up from two) for monthly tenancies, or 13 weeks for weekly/fortnightly. Notice rises to four weeks. A new carve-out disregards any unpaid rent attributable to a delayed Universal Credit housing element. Ground 8A (persistent arrears) was dropped entirely during the Bill’s passage. Anti-social behaviour grounds (7A and 14) allow immediate proceedings and are exempt from both the deposit and PRS Database gateways.
Why does Ground 1A need independent valuation evidence?
Because intent to sell is a pleaded fact the landlord must prove. If the sale collapses and a tenant or local authority challenges the claim, evidence fixed before notice service is the strongest defence against a £40,000 penalty. Not all evidence of sale intent carries equal weight — there’s a clear hierarchy.
| Tier | Evidence | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Weakest | Landlord self-declaration | No independent corroboration |
| Weak | Estate agent appraisal | Commission-driven conflict of interest |
| Moderate | Solicitor engagement letter | Shows intent, not value rationale |
| Moderate–strong | Marketing instructions / listing | Evidence of active marketing |
| Strongest | RICS Red Book Market Valuation | Independent, regulated, dated, PII-backed |
An estate agent’s appraisal is weak evidence for a reason: there’s a structural incentive to overstate the price to win the instruction, no regulatory independence, no professional indemnity cover, and it isn’t disclosable the way a formal report is. A RICS Red Book Market Valuation gives you a dated market-value opinion, a comparable-evidence rationale, a record of condition, the valuer’s independence, and PII behind the figure.
The cost-benefit is stark. A valuation fee of £400–£800 sits against £30,000-plus in penalty exposure, a Rent Repayment Order that could reach £48,000 on a £2,000-a-month let, and the risk of criminal prosecution. If you’re planning a sale under Ground 1A, our residential valuation services produce exactly this evidence.
What are the penalties for misusing a possession ground?
Three tiers. Relying on a ground without reasonable belief carries up to £7,000. Knowing or reckless misuse where the tenant leaves within four months is a criminal offence with penalties up to £40,000 or an unlimited fine. Re-letting during the restricted period carries the same.
| Tier | Conduct | Max | Starting point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breach (s.16E) | Rely on a ground without reasonable belief | £7,000 | £6,000 |
| Offence (s.16J(1)) | Knowing/reckless misuse; tenant surrenders within 4 months | £40,000 | £30,000 |
| Offence (s.16J(2)) | Re-let / re-market in restricted period (Grounds 1/1A) | £40,000 | £25,000 |
On top of the penalty itself, Rent Repayment Orders now run to 24 months’ rent (doubled from 12). Local authorities have a statutory duty to enforce under Section 107 of the Act. Criminal conviction carries an unlimited fine on indictment as the alternative to the civil route, and a continuing or repeat breach within five years escalates the figures. The framework is designed to make back-door Section 21s uneconomic.
Common misconceptions about possession after 1 May 2026
That landlords can still evict without a reason, that selling means immediate vacant possession, and that two months’ arrears still trigger mandatory possession. None of these are true.
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| “I can still evict without a reason” | Section 21 is abolished from 1 May. Every claim needs a proven ground. |
| “I can sell with vacant possession any time” | Ground 1A needs 4 months’ notice + 12-month protected period + 12-month re-let ban. |
| “2 months’ arrears trigger Ground 8” | Threshold raised to 3 months. UC delays excluded from the calculation. |
| “I don’t need evidence” | Every ground needs proof. Relying without reasonable belief is a £7,000 penalty. |
| “Accelerated possession still works” | Tied to Section 21. Every claim now requires a full hearing. |
| “Just asking the tenant to leave is fine” | Informal pressure is a civil-penalty breach. If the tenant leaves within 4 months, it’s a criminal offence (£30,000 starting point). |
The shift from Section 21 to Section 8 changes who carries the evidential burden and what the penalty is for getting it wrong. For landlords considering a sale, the practical takeaway is to fix independent evidence of intent before serving notice. A RICS Red Book valuation is the strongest evidence available — and at £400–£800, it’s a fraction of the £30,000 starting point for the penalty it’s designed to prevent.
Selling a tenanted property under Ground 1A?
Fix independent evidence of sale intent before you serve notice. Our RICS Registered Valuers provide dated Red Book market valuations across London, Surrey and Sussex — the strongest defence against a Ground 1A challenge.