Ground 8 (Serious Rent Arrears)
Quick answer
The mandatory possession ground for serious rent arrears under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 the threshold is at least three months’ rent unpaid (13 weeks’ for weekly tenancies), up from two months, and the Section 8 notice period is four weeks. The arrears must be at or above the threshold both when the notice is served and again at the hearing, so a tenant who pays below it before the hearing defeats the ground.
At a glance
- Type
- Mandatory (court must grant if proved)
- Threshold
- 3 months’ / 13 weeks’ arrears (RRA 2025)
- Notice period
- 4 weeks
- Form
- Section 8 / Form 3
Full guide
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Open full guideWhy Ground 8 (Serious Rent Arrears) matters for landlords
With Section 21 gone, Ground 8 is the closest thing to certainty left in the possession system: if the arrears are proven at the threshold on both dates, the court has no discretion to refuse. That makes an accurate, dated rent ledger the most valuable document a landlord holds, because a single unlogged part-payment can drop the balance below three months and collapse the claim. It is not, despite a widespread myth, “discretionary” — being defeated by a pay-down on the facts is not the same as a court choosing not to grant it.
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Official sources
LetCompliance editorial reviews this entry every quarter against the sources above. Always confirm specific duties with a qualified solicitor or your local council.
Related terms
Ground Rent
A payment due from a leaseholder to the freeholder. Ground rents on long leases granted on or after 30 June 2022 are capped at a peppercorn (effectively zero) under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.
Accelerated Possession
A fast-track court procedure used under a Section 21 notice in England and Wales. Abolished for new claims from 1 May 2026 because Section 21 no longer exists. Possession is now pursued under Section 8 using a specified ground.
Arrears (Rent Arrears)
Unpaid rent that is past its due date. Ground 8 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 (mandatory) requires at least 3 months of rent arrears under the Renters Rights Act 2025 (previously 2 months). Grounds 10 and 11 remain as discretionary grounds.
Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT)
The single tenancy type that replaced the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. From 1 May 2026 every existing AST automatically converted to a periodic assured tenancy — no fixed term, rolling from period to period — and no new fixed-term ASTs can be granted. The tenant can leave on two months’ notice; the landlord can only regain possession using a Section 8 ground.
Form 3 (Notice of Seeking Possession, Section 8)
The prescribed form a landlord uses to start a Section 8 possession claim under the Housing Act 1988. It identifies the tenancy, the grounds being relied on (Schedule 2 grounds 1–17) and the date by which the tenant must give up possession. Notice periods vary by ground (4 weeks for ground 14 anti-social behaviour, 4 months for ground 1A landlord-sale post-RRA 2025, etc.). A defective Form 3 — wrong ground, wrong notice period, missing prescribed wording — is the most common reason possession claims fail at first hearing.
Mandatory Ground
A ground for possession under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 that the court must grant if proved. Examples include Ground 1 (landlord moving in), Ground 1A (sale) and Ground 8 (serious arrears). Contrast discretionary grounds, where the court decides if possession is reasonable.