How do you evict in 2026? Section 8 + Form 3A.

The prescribed form is Form 3A, published on GOV.UK. The regulations that prescribe it (SI 2026/354, regulation 3(1)(c)) also allow ‘a form substantially to the like effect’, and that is what LetCompliance generates: a notice in the form of Form 3A, with its sections, questions and notes, filled in from your tenancy where the details are held. You still check it before serving, because only you know the facts. The generator is inside the dashboard and is part of the paid plans.

Form 3A is the “notice seeking possession” prescribed for assured tenancies and assured agricultural occupancies in the private rented sector under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Complete it accurately and serve it by a valid method. Notice periods vary by ground and are not all two weeks: Grounds 7A and 14 need no notice at all, most grounds need two or four weeks, Ground 7 needs two months, and the sale and move-in grounds need four months.

Both exist, and picking the wrong one invalidates the notice. GOV.UK publishes Form 3A for the private rented sector and Form 3 for social housing. If you are a private landlord letting on an assured tenancy, you need Form 3A. The same split applies to rent increases: Form 4A is the private-sector Section 13 notice, Form 4 is the social-housing one. Always download the current version from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page rather than reusing a stored copy.

Ground 8 is a mandatory rent-arrears ground, but only if the threshold is met at BOTH the date the notice is served and the date of the hearing. Since 1 May 2026 that threshold is three months’ rent unpaid where rent is monthly, or thirteen weeks’ where it is weekly or fortnightly, and the notice period is four weeks. Arrears that are outstanding only because the tenant has not yet received the housing element of their universal credit are ignored in the calculation. You must prove the figures from a rent account, and a tenant who pays the balance down before the hearing defeats the ground.

Historically Section 21 allowed “no-fault” possession in England with Form 6A, subject to extensive preconditions. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, so Section 8 (proving a specific ground such as arrears or breach to the court) is now the route to possession. Compliance evidence and paperwork quality matter more under Section 8.

The in-app generator covers 14 grounds: 1, 1A, 7, 7A, 7B, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14A (for social landlords), 15 and 17, each with a short plain-English hint. Schedule 2 as amended contains more grounds than this (including several narrow ones for student lets, agricultural and supported housing), so if the ground you need is not listed, take advice rather than forcing the closest match. You can tick every ground that might apply; rent arrears fields appear when you select 8, 10 or 11.

The generator is part of the paid LetCompliance plans, from £7.99 a month; the free plan and the 14-day trial do not include it. There is no per-notice or per-download fee: on a paid plan you can produce as many notices as your tenancies need, as PDF or plain text, and email them to the tenant from your account.

This page and tool are for England, where possession runs under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Assured shorthold tenancies were abolished on 1 May 2026, so every private let is now an assured tenancy. Scotland and Wales have different housing law, notices and tribunals. Do not use this notice outside England without local advice.

No. LetCompliance provides software and educational summaries only. Possession claims are high-risk; use a qualified adviser for disputed arrears, anti-social behaviour, licensing, deposit issues or accelerated procedures.