Ground 8 arrears

Ground 8 is the rent-arrears ground that landlords care about most because it is mandatory: if the arrears reach the threshold both when notice is served and at the hearing, the court has no discretion and must order possession. That is what separates it from the discretionary arrears grounds. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which abolishes Section 21 and reshapes Section 8 from 1 May 2026, tightens Ground 8: the threshold rises from two months’ to three months’ rent for a monthly tenancy (and from eight to thirteen weeks for a weekly one), and the notice period before you can issue proceedings rises from two weeks to four.

The calculation is mechanical but easy to get wrong. Take the rent for one period and the total lawfully-due balance that is unpaid right now. For a monthly tenancy, three full months’ rent must be outstanding; for a weekly tenancy, thirteen weeks’. A tenant £100 short of three months is below the mandatory ground even though they are clearly in serious arrears. This tool expresses the balance owed as a number of months or weeks of rent and tells you how far above or below the threshold you are, in pounds.

The "both dates" rule is the trap that defeats more Ground 8 claims than any other. The arrears must hit the threshold when the Section 8 notice is served, and still hit it at the hearing weeks later. A tenant who scrapes together a payment that drops the balance just under three months before the hearing collapses the mandatory ground: the judge can no longer be obliged to grant possession, and you fall back on the discretionary grounds. Experienced landlords therefore keep meticulous, dated rent statements and often plead Grounds 8, 10 and 11 together as a safety net.

Those discretionary grounds matter when you are below the threshold. Ground 10 covers any rent lawfully due and unpaid at the date of service. Ground 11 covers persistent delay in paying rent, even if little or nothing is owed at the moment of the hearing: the serial late-payer who always clears the balance at the last minute. Under both, the court weighs reasonableness: the tenant’s circumstances, the history, whether you complied with your own obligations, and whether possession is a proportionate response. There is no guaranteed outcome, which is why landlords prefer to reach the Ground 8 line where they can.

Benefit-related arrears are a recognised soft spot in Ground 8. Where the arrears are caused by a delayed or maladministered Universal Credit payment rather than the tenant withholding rent, courts have shown willingness to adjourn or to decline the mandatory ground, and the direction of travel under the 2025 reforms reinforces protection for tenants caught by benefit delays. If part of the balance is unpaid Universal Credit housing element, expect that portion to be contested, and gather evidence of the cause before relying solely on Ground 8.

Getting the notice itself right is as important as the maths. A Section 8 notice must cite the correct grounds, state the arrears accurately, give the right notice period (four weeks for Ground 8 under the 2025 rules), and be served properly with proof. An error in the grounds or the figures can force you to start again, adding months. The practical workflow is: confirm the threshold with a dated rent statement, serve a correctly drafted notice, keep chasing and recording payments through to the hearing, and bring an up-to-date statement to court so the judge can see the threshold is still met.