Since Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026, every possession claim runs on a ground. For antisocial behaviour there are two — Ground 14 and Ground 7A — and they behave unlike every other ground in Schedule 2: neither one makes you wait.
How much notice do you give for antisocial behaviour?
None.
Ground 14 and Ground 7A are the only Schedule 2 grounds with no minimum notice period. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 sets its notice periods in a table at subsection (4AA), and that table begins “If a notice under this section does not specify Ground 7A or 14” — the two antisocial behaviour grounds are written out of it on purpose. Subsection (4) covers them instead, and asks only that the date in the notice is no earlier than the day you serve it. You can serve and issue proceedings the same day. The separate limit is on the court, not you: it cannot make a possession order until 14 days after the notice was given.
Ground 14 or Ground 7A?
They answer different situations. Ground 7A is for when a court or the police has already acted. Ground 14 is for everything else — which is most real cases.
Ground 14
Discretionary
Nuisance, annoyance, or illegal use
The tenant, or someone living in or visiting the property, has behaved in a way causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to someone in the locality — or to you, or to your agent. It also covers a conviction for using the property for immoral or illegal purposes, or an indictable offence in or near it.
Needs
No conviction required
Notice
No minimum notice
Discretionary means the judge decides whether eviction is reasonable. You can prove every incident and still lose if the court thinks possession is a disproportionate answer. Your evidence is the case.
Ground 7A
Mandatory
Conviction, injunction breach, or closure order
One of five conditions is met — most commonly a conviction for a serious offence at or near the property, a breach of an anti-social behaviour injunction or a criminal behaviour order, or the property being closed under a closure order for more than 48 hours.
Needs
Something already proved elsewhere
Notice
No minimum notice
Mandatory means the court must order possession if the ground is made out. But the ground is not met while an appeal against the conviction, finding or order is still outstanding — and it falls away entirely if that appeal succeeds.
The mistake that costs two weeks
Antisocial behaviour almost always breaches the tenancy agreement as well, so it is tempting to add Ground 12 (breach of a tenancy term) to the notice. It looks like a free second route to possession. It is not free.
Ground 12 carries a two-week notice period. Where a notice cites more than one ground, the longest period applies to the whole notice. So bolting Ground 12 onto a Ground 14 notice turns a claim you could issue today into one you issue in a fortnight. Sometimes the second ground is worth the delay. Decide it deliberately — do not tick every box that looks relevant.
LetCompliance works this out for you: pick your grounds and it applies the correct period from the Section 8 table, tells you the earliest date proceedings may be begun, and prints that date on the notice — so you can see immediately what an extra ground costs you.
Evidence is the case
Ground 14 is discretionary, which means you are not proving a fact so much as persuading a judge that eviction is a reasonable answer to what happened. Landlords lose these claims with true allegations and thin records.
A log written as it happened
Date, time, what occurred, who it affected. Contemporaneous beats reconstructed: a log that starts the week you decided to evict reads exactly like what it is.
Complaints you did not write
Neighbour complaints in writing, from people prepared to attend court. One named witness who turns up outweighs ten anonymous reports.
The warnings you gave
What you told the tenant, when, and how they responded. This is what shows the court that possession is the last step rather than the first.
Anyone official who got involved
Police reference numbers, council noise teams, abatement notices, closure orders. Third-party corroboration is the difference between your word and a record.
The one thing antisocial behaviour lets you skip
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord who has not registered on the PRS Database cannot obtain a possession order. Grounds 7A and 14 are carved out of that bar. Antisocial behaviour is the only door that stays open while your registration is outstanding.
Read that as a warning rather than a loophole. It means every other route — arrears, moving back in, selling — is shut until you register, and it means the one claim you can still bring is the hardest one to win.
Where LetCompliance comes in
The two things that decide an antisocial behaviour claim are a notice that is right on its face and a record that was kept before you needed it.
Section 8 notice builder with the Schedule 2 grounds reproduced verbatim, so what you serve says what the statute says.
The correct notice period applied automatically from the Section 8 table, with the earliest date proceedings may be begun printed on the notice.
A dated document and activity trail per tenancy, so warnings and correspondence are timestamped as they happen rather than assembled afterwards.
The rest of the tenancy in the same login, because antisocial behaviour rarely arrives on its own — arrears and breaches usually come with it.
Can you still evict a tenant for antisocial behaviour after the Renters’ Rights Act?
Yes. Antisocial behaviour is one of the areas the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 left intact, and in one respect strengthened. Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026, so every possession claim now runs on a Schedule 2 ground — but the two antisocial behaviour grounds, Ground 14 and Ground 7A, survived the reform unchanged in substance. They are also the only grounds you can use while your PRS Database registration is outstanding.
How much notice do you have to give for Ground 14 or Ground 7A?
None. This surprises most landlords. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 sets minimum notice periods in a table at subsection (4AA), and that table opens with the words "If a notice under this section does not specify Ground 7A or 14" — the two antisocial behaviour grounds are deliberately excluded from it. Subsection (4) governs them instead, and only requires that the date in the notice is not earlier than the date you serve it. In plain terms: you can issue proceedings the same day. The court, separately, cannot make a possession order until 14 days after the notice was given.
Ground 14 or Ground 7A — which should I use?
Ground 7A is mandatory: if a condition is met and you prove it, the court must order possession. But it needs a conviction, a breached injunction or criminal behaviour order, or a closure order — a court or the police has already acted. Most landlords do not have that. Ground 14 is discretionary: no conviction needed, but the judge weighs whether eviction is reasonable, so it lives or dies on your evidence. In practice you often plead both where 7A might apply, because pleading 14 as well costs you nothing in notice time — both are immediate.
Does adding Ground 12 to my notice slow me down?
Yes, and this catches people out. Ground 12 (breach of a tenancy term) is commonly bolted on to an antisocial behaviour notice because the conduct usually breaches the agreement too. But Ground 12 carries a two-week notice period, and where a notice cites several grounds the longest period applies. So adding Ground 12 to a Ground 14 notice converts an immediate claim into a two-week wait. Sometimes that is worth it for a second route to possession; often it is not. Decide deliberately rather than ticking every box that looks relevant.
Does antisocial behaviour towards me, the landlord, count?
Yes. Ground 14 is usually described as protecting the neighbours, and that is limb (a). But limb (aa) covers conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to the landlord, or to someone employed in connection with the landlord’s housing management functions — your letting agent, your contractor. A tenant who abuses or threatens you or your agent is within Ground 14 on its own terms.
What evidence do I need for a Ground 14 antisocial behaviour claim?
A discretionary ground is an argument about reasonableness, so the evidence is the case. What carries weight: a dated incident log kept contemporaneously rather than reconstructed afterwards; complaints from neighbours in writing, with witnesses willing to attend; copies of the warnings you gave and the tenant’s response; and any police or council involvement, including noise abatement notices. What carries little weight: a summary written the week you decided to evict, hearsay from an unnamed neighbour, and "everyone knows what they are like".
Can I evict for antisocial behaviour if I have not registered on the PRS Database yet?
Yes — this is the single exception. An unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order, with antisocial behaviour Grounds 7A and 14 carved out. So while registration gates a Section 8 arrears claim, it does not gate an antisocial behaviour claim. This is not a reason to delay registering: every other route to possession stays shut until you do.
How long does an antisocial behaviour eviction actually take?
The notice is the fast part and the court is not. You can serve and issue on the same day, but you are then in the county court’s queue, and a contested discretionary ground means a hearing where the judge weighs your evidence against the tenant’s answer. Budget months, not weeks, and expect the strength of your incident log to decide it. The possession claim fee is £415 and a warrant of possession is £152 if you need bailiffs (GOV.UK EX50, checked July 2026).
Built for UK law. Grounds reproduced from Schedule 2, Housing Act 1988.
This page is marketing content, not legal advice. Possession is fact-sensitive and a discretionary ground turns on the judge’s view of your evidence — take advice before you serve.