The housing Act 1988 provides 17 grounds which a landlord may use to recover possession under section 8. You must specify in the notice which grounds you intend to use. You must give particulars of the grounds which apply to support your claim; you must serve a notice of your intention to seek possession.

Briefly, the requirements of section 8 are:

Generally, the section 8 route is used where there is some default on the tenant’s part. The most common type of default during the term of the tenancy are usually non-payment of rent, but any breaches within the terms of the tenancy agreement can also precipitate possession proceedings (e.g. damage to the property, pets, nuisance to neighbours etc.) using this route. The court will require that the landlord, or his agent, is able to show adequate evidence of the default before it will order the tenant to move out of his rented home.

It is important therefore, when using the section 8 route, for the claimant to understand clearly the different grounds and which will apply. Some grounds require that the court automatically award possession if the ground is proven, whereas, in others, the court may exercise its discretion. In rent arrears cases, it is normally straightforward to prove default (by supplying a rent schedule detailing the missing payments) whereas in other cases (damage or noise nuisance), it will be important to show that the tenant is in breach of his tenancy agreement, and carefully record the damage or complaint in the possession claim.

When claiming possession under section 8, it is possible and, in many cases, advisable, for you to cite more than one ground in your claim.

Some of the grounds are mandatory, which mean that if you prove that one of the grounds applies, then the court must award you possession. The other grounds are discretionary, and the court will only award possession if it is reasonable to do so. Some of the mandatory grounds, called 'prior notice' grounds, can only be used if the landlord informed the tenant in writing before the tenancy started that he intended one day to ask for his property back using those grounds.

Non Payment of Rent

For rent arrears, you can rely on either one or a combination of grounds 8, 10 and 11.

Ground 8:
that the tenant owed at least two months rent (in the case of a monthly tenancy) both when the landlord served notice that he wanted possession and still owes two months' rent at the date of the court hearing. If the rent is payable weekly, quarterly or yearly the ground requires that there are rent arrears of eight weeks, three months and six months respectively.

Ground 10:
that the tenant was behind with his rent when the landlord served notice that he wanted possession, and when he began court proceedings

Ground 11:
that, even if the tenant was not behind with his rent when the landlord started possession proceedings, he has been persistently behind with his rent.

Ground 8 is a mandatory ground and the most powerful ground to use; the court must grant possession if this ground is proved. However, the drawback with relying on this ground alone is that the tenant can pay off part of the arrears shortly before the hearing, which means the ground can no longer be proved and thus the possession proceedings will have to be abandoned. It is, therefore, common practice to cite multiple grounds of possession for rent arrears (i.e. grounds 8, 10 & 11) if applicable although it may not be possible to rely on ground 8 if the rent arrears have not accrued to a sufficient extent when the notice was served. If ground 8 is not yet applicable, due to insufficient arrears, the landlord will then have to make a decision between starting the possession proceedings under the discretionary grounds 10 & 11 (where the court may order possession if it is 'reasonable' to do so), or incur a further delay until ground 8 will apply (where the court must order possession).

It is advisable to wait until at least two months' rent (or eight weeks in the case of a weekly tenancy) is unpaid before issuing the section 8 notice so that the chances of successfully obtaining the possession order are maximised. However, in many cases of rent default, some landlords have been successful in relying on grounds 10 & 11 alone.

b. Other breach of Contract

There are four other discretionary grounds which deal with situations of misconduct on the part of the tenant:

Ground 12:
that the tenant has broken one or more of his obligations under the tenancy agreement.

Ground 13:
that the condition of the premises or any of the common parts has deteriorated because of the behaviour of the tenant, his subtenant, or any other person living with the tenant.

Ground 14:
that the tenant or someone living in or visiting the property has been guilty of conduct which is, or is likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours. Or that a person residing or visiting the dwelling house has been convicted of using the property or allowing it to be used, for immoral or illegal purposes or has committed an arrest able offence in, or in the locality of, the dwelling house. Note: This ground allows you to apply to the court for possession after you have served the notice without any waiting period.

Ground 15:
that the condition of the furniture has deteriorated because it has been ill-treated by the tenant, his subtenant, or someone living there.

This is a summary of the grounds - the full wording of each Ground is given in The Housing Act 1988

Other Mandatory Grounds (Prior Notice)

The Act also makes provision for possession to be granted on the following grounds:

Ground 1:
that the landlord used to live, or intends to live in the property as his only or principal home.

Ground 2:
that the mortgagee is claiming possession. NB this can only be of use where the mortgage predates the tenancy.

Ground 3:
that the tenancy is a holiday let and was previously let for a holiday

Ground 4:
that the tenancy is a student let and was previously let by an educational establishment to students

Ground 5:
that the property is held for use by a minister of religion

This is a summary of the grounds - the full wording of each Ground is given in The Housing Act 1988

In the above cases a court will generally require that the landlord has served notice of the respective ground on the tenant prior to or at the beginning of the tenancy. However, for grounds 1 & 2, a court has a discretion to dispense with this requirement if it considers it just and equitable to do so.

d. Other Grounds

A number of other grounds are also open to the landlord:

Ground 6:
where the landlord intends to redevelop the property - a mandatory ground

Ground 7:
that the former tenant has died (unless there is a person with a right to succeed) - a mandatory ground

Ground 9:
that suitable alternative accommodation is available - a discretionary ground

Ground 16:
that the tenant was granted the property in order to properly fulfill her employment duties and is no longer employed by the landlord - a discretionary ground

Ground 17:
that the landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by either the tenant or a person acting at the tenant's instigation