A Section 8 Notice ( full name: "Section 8 Possession Notice") may be used by a landlord to terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement during the fixed term if the tenant has failed to pay rent or has breached any other terms of the Tenancy Agreement. The landlord must rely on certain grounds set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, which are listed below.
The landlord cannot evict the tenant without obtaining an order for possession issued by a court, But before applying to the court for such an order, the landlord must serve a Section 8 Possession Notice on the tenant. The notice states that the landlord intends to seek possession of the property and states the ground or grounds on which possession is sought.
The amount of notice required to be given to the tenant will depend on the ground: if the landlord is relying on ground 2, two months' notice must be given. If the landlord is relying on grounds 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14A, 15 or 17, two weeks' notice must be given. Grounds 2 and 8 are mandatory, which means that if a landlord proves that one of these grounds applies, the court has no choice but to award him possession. The other grounds are discretionary and the court will only award possession if it is reasonable to do so.
Ground 2: The property is subject to a mortgage which pre-dates the tenancy and
the lendor wishes to exercise its rights over the property, i.e. repossess it. A
notice under this ground must be served before the creation of the tenancy.
Ground 8: At the date of service of the notice and at the date of the hearing,
the tenant has not paid the rent, and either rent is payable weekly or
fortnightly and at least eight weeks' rent is unpaid; or rent is payable monthly
and at least two months' rent is unpaid; or rent is payable quarterly and at
least one quarter's rent is more than three months in arrears. Note: When
claiming possession under this ground, it is advisable to cite more than one
ground since, if the tenant pays off part of the arrears shortly before the
hearing, this ground can no longer be proved and possession proceedings will
have to be abandoned. It is, therefore, common practice to cite more than one
ground for rent arrears (i.e. grounds 8, 10 & 11), if applicable, and to also
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.
Ground 10: Any amount of rent is in arrears at the date of service of the notice
and remains unpaid on the date on which the proceedings for possession are
begun.
Ground 11: The tenant has repeatedly failed to pay rent.
Ground 12: The Tenant has breached any term of the tenancy agreement (other than
one relating to the payment of rent).
Ground 13: The property has deteriorated due to neglect by the tenant or by
someone living with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.
Ground 14: The tenant or someone living with him has caused a nuisance to
neighbours, visitors or others in the locality or has been convicted of using
the property for immoral or illegal purposes or has been convicted of an
indictable offence committed in the locality.
Ground 14A: The property is occupied by a couple and one of them has left due to
violence or threats of violence from the other partner or from a member of that
partner's family who was living in the property also. This notice can only be
used by a registered social landlord or a charitable housing trust. The tenant
who has left must also be sent this notice.
Ground 15: The furniture has been ill-treated by the tenant or by someone living
with him and the tenant has failed to remove that person.
Ground 17: 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.
This Section 8 Notice can be used in England and Wales where one or more of the above grounds are being relied on.
You can view a sample online of a completed Section 8 Notice by following this link: View Sample.
This document is also included in our Tenancy Package for England and Wales priced at £35.25 including VAT. The package includes both versions of our Tenancy Agreement, the Section 21 Notices, this Section 8 Notice and an Inventory (saving you more than £50 compared to buying the documents individually).
This document is also available as part of a Property Annual Subscription (£70.50) or Full Annual Subscription (£199). These subscriptions give you access to a wide range of documents, packages and forms for a single annual discounted fee.