Renters' Rights Act 2025 · Schedule 2, Ground 8
Section 8 Ground 8: Rent Arrears
Three things changed on 1 May 2026. The notice period doubled from two weeks to four. The arrears threshold is now tested at both the date of service and the date of the hearing — a tenant who clears the arrears below threshold before the hearing defeats the mandatory ground. And deposit compliance is now a pre-condition: a court cannot make a Ground 8 possession order if the deposit was taken but not properly protected.
⚖ Drafted by UK solicitors · 📜 Aligned with the Bracton April 2026 RRA landlord guide · 🧭 Sourced to Schedule 2, Ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended
What Ground 8 is
Three clarifications before the detail.
Ground 8 is the mandatory rent-arrears possession ground in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. Mandatory means that if the statutory conditions are met, the court must award possession. The judge has no discretion to refuse on the basis that the tenant has a difficult personal situation, that eviction would cause hardship, or that the arrears arose for sympathetic reasons. The only question is whether the statutory threshold is satisfied.
Notice period is four weeks, not two
Before 1 May 2026, Ground 8 required only two weeks' notice. From commencement day the notice period is four weeks. Every old template, blog post, and YouTube video that still states two weeks is now wrong. A Section 8 notice giving Ground 8 with less than four weeks between service and the relevant date is liable to be invalid.
The threshold is tested twice
The tenant must be in at least three months' arrears (or thirteen weeks' if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly) both at the date the notice is served and at the date of the court hearing. A tenant who clears the arrears below the threshold between service and hearing defeats the mandatory ground — even if the arrears were significantly higher at service and even if there is no realistic prospect they will continue paying.
Deposit compliance is now a pre-condition
Where a deposit was taken at the start of the tenancy, the court cannot make a Ground 8 possession order unless the deposit is protected in an authorised scheme, the scheme's initial requirements have been complied with, and the prescribed information has been given to the tenant. This is a substantial change from the pre-RRA regime, where deposit compliance was primarily relevant to Section 21.
The three-month threshold
What counts — and what doesn't.
The threshold is at least three months' arrears, or thirteen weeks' arrears where rent is paid weekly or fortnightly. The arrears must be unpaid — not merely overdue and not subject to a dispute — at the relevant point in time. Two specific exclusions matter.
Universal Credit housing payment delays must be disregarded
Any amount of arrears that is unpaid solely because the tenant has not yet received a Universal Credit housing payment must be disregarded in the calculation. If a tenant on Universal Credit is technically two and a half months in arrears, but the only reason is that DWP has not yet released the housing element, the landlord cannot count that portion. The arrears, for Ground 8 purposes, are the arrears that would exist if the UC payment had been received on time.
Disputed amounts are not arrears
Where the tenant disputes that a particular amount is due — for example because they say the rent was inclusive of bills, or they have a counterclaim for disrepair — the disputed amount is not an arrears figure the court will accept at face value. The landlord may still rely on the undisputed portion if it independently meets the threshold.
The two-checkpoint rule
Tested at service. Tested again at hearing.
The threshold is tested at the date the notice is served and again at the date of the court hearing. Both checkpoints must be satisfied for the mandatory ground to bite.
In practice, this creates a window during which the tenant can defeat Ground 8 by reducing the arrears below the threshold. The window opens when the notice is served. It closes when the court hearing begins. During that window — typically several months — the tenant may pay down the arrears using savings, family support, a rent deposit loan, or a charity payment. If the arrears at hearing fall below three months (or thirteen weeks), Ground 8 fails as a mandatory ground.
The court does not have discretion to overlook a sub-threshold figure at hearing. The statute is clear: the threshold must be met at both points in time. A judge who feels the tenant has manipulated the timing — for example paying down to just below the threshold the day before the hearing — cannot grant possession on Ground 8 regardless. The landlord must rely on another ground or accept that this attempt has failed.
Why Ground 10 almost always runs alongside
Because Ground 8 can be defeated by a last-minute payment, most landlords now combine the notice with Ground 10 (any rent arrears, discretionary). Where Ground 8 falls below threshold at hearing, Ground 10 remains live. The court can still award possession on Ground 10 if it considers it reasonable, but the decision is discretionary rather than mandatory. Combining the two grounds adds nothing to the cost or complexity of the notice and removes a key route the tenant might otherwise use to defeat the claim.
The deposit gate
The most often missed pre-flight check.
Where a deposit was taken at the start of the tenancy, three conditions must be satisfied before the court can make a possession order on Ground 8:
- • The deposit is protected in one of the three authorised schemes (Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme);
- • The scheme's initial requirements have been complied with (even if late — the landlord can remediate before the hearing); and
- • The prescribed information has been given to the tenant.
This is a different test from the old Section 21 deposit rules. Under the pre-RRA regime, late protection of a deposit could disqualify a Section 21 notice but Section 8 possession was not directly barred. Under the new regime, every Section 8 ground except 7A and 14 is subject to deposit compliance. Ground 8 is squarely within the gate.
The good news for landlords who realise late: protection can be done late. A landlord who discovers, on serving the notice or before the hearing, that the deposit was never properly protected can protect it now and serve the prescribed information now and still meet the statutory condition. The tenant may still bring a separate penalty claim for the original non-compliance, but the possession route is not blocked.
The check to run before serving Ground 8 is simple: if a deposit was taken at the start of the tenancy, is it currently protected in an authorised scheme, and has the prescribed information been served on the tenant? If yes, proceed. If no, remediate before issuing proceedings.
Common mistakes
Six errors landlords make.
1. Giving two weeks' notice instead of four
Every old template, blog, and forum post written before 1 May 2026 stated two weeks. Some still do. From commencement day the notice period is four weeks. A notice specifying a relevant date less than four weeks after service is liable to be invalid.
2. Calculating arrears without disregarding Universal Credit delays
Where the only reason the rent is unpaid is that the DWP has not yet released a UC housing payment, that portion must be excluded from the arrears calculation. A landlord who counts a UC delay as part of the arrears can find that the genuine arrears figure is below threshold at service, making the Ground 8 notice fatally weak.
3. Not running Ground 10 alongside Ground 8
Because Ground 8 can be defeated by a sub-threshold payment at hearing, the practical default is to combine Ground 8 with Ground 10. There is no downside to running them together — the form accommodates both, the court fee is the same, and Ground 10 provides a discretionary fallback.
4. Forgetting the deposit gate
A landlord who serves Ground 8 without checking deposit compliance can find at hearing that the court cannot grant possession, regardless of the arrears figure. Late protection is now permitted, but it must be done before the hearing. The check should be the first thing on the pre-flight list, not the last.
5. Treating disputed amounts as arrears
If the tenant disputes that a particular amount is due, the court will not simply accept the landlord's figure. The landlord may still rely on the undisputed portion. Serving a notice citing a global arrears figure that includes disputed sums creates evidential difficulty at the hearing.
6. Issuing proceedings more than 12 months after service
Once a Section 8 notice has been served, proceedings must be issued within twelve months. If they are not, the notice lapses and a new one must be served. This window is the same as the pre-RRA position but easy to overlook where the landlord is negotiating with the tenant during the notice period.
How Bracton handles this
Combined Ground 8 and Ground 10, deposit check flagged.
The Bracton Section 8 Ground 8 notice template generates a compliant Form 3A from the tenancy details. The form enforces the four-week minimum notice period, supports combined Ground 8 and Ground 10 service (the practical default), and flags the deposit compliance check before the notice is generated. Where the deposit was taken but compliance is unclear, the form prompts the landlord to remediate before service rather than after.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
No. Informal notices to quit are now a discrete offence under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Every possession process must go through a Section 8 notice on the prescribed Form 3A, followed if necessary by court proceedings. A landlord who sends a text or email purporting to end a tenancy is committing a potential offence even if the tenant is in significant arrears.
Related
Related explainers and documents.
The 12-Month Protected Period
When Ground 1A and Ground 1 can actually be served. The one-year condition and where the clock starts.
The 12-Month Re-Letting Restriction
What landlords cannot do after using Ground 1A or Ground 1 to recover possession.
Section 13 Rent Increases
The only route to raise rent under the RRA. The once-per-twelve-months ceiling and the tribunal challenge route.
Section 8 Notice — Ground 8 & 10 (Rent Arrears) template
Compliant Form 3A with combined Ground 8 and Ground 10 service. Four-week notice calculated, deposit check flagged.
Next step
Serve the right notice the first time.
Ground 8 is the most common possession route for landlords with arrears tenants, but the new framework has tightened every element. Four-week notice. Two-checkpoint threshold. Universal Credit disregards. Deposit gate. The Bracton template generates a compliant Form 3A with combined Ground 8 and Ground 10 service, the proper notice period calculated, and the deposit check flagged before generation.
Reviewed by Blackwell Advisory, a regulated UK solicitors' practice authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Positions on this page match those in the Bracton April 2026 Renters' Rights Act landlord guide.