Download the New Section 8 Notice

Section 8 Notice template where can I download it from?

You can download a free section notice template from our website under the services page. 

The section 8 Notice template well as the Section 21 Notice template is free to download including the template covering letters. 

A section 8 notice will only be valid if the tenancy is an “assured or assured shorthold tenancy” or “an assured tenancy”. 

Section 8 and Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the rules a landlord needs to follow to legally obtain a residential property possession. 

Section 8 notices an ‘eviction notice’ used by landlords in England and Wales to terminate an assured shorthold tenancy when a tenant has breached the agreement or fallen into rent arrear. 

Under the DA 2015, Section 8 notice was updated. As of 1st December 2016, the section 8 notice (England Only) has been updated again as a consequence of the Immigration Act (2014 & 2016) which means you must use the new section 8 notice.

The provisions apply to private sector landlords and to social landlords.

The provisions under the new Act include a new criminal offence under Section 39. This will apply to landlords and agents who know or have reasonable cause to know, that the premises are being occupied by persons disqualified from occupying under the residential tenancies because of their immigration status. 

The penalties include up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine. The criminal penalties will apply to all tenancies, no matter when they started.

Section 40 creates a new route for eviction where all occupiers of a property have no right to rent. The appropriate notice is served on the landlord by the Secretary of State. 

Landlords wanting to use this route will need to use the prescribed form of notice that can be found here. Section 40 also inserts an implied term into certain tenancy types (including secure & non-assured/non-secure tenancies). This allows the landlord to terminate the tenancy where premises are occupied by someone with no right to rent. 

This does not apply to assured tenancies (including assured shorthold tenancies).

Section 41 inserts new mandatory ground (Ground 7B) into the Housing Act 1988, which landlords can use where some or all occupiers have no right to rent. As a result, a new prescribed form Section 8 Notice Seeking possession will come into force on 1st December 2016. 

This has been amended to include a reference to the new mandatory Ground 7B. This new notice should be used by landlords seeking to evict tenants no matter what grounds are being relied on and can be found here

Section 8 notice or Section 21?

Suppose you’re looking to evict your tenant. In that case, it will be necessary to serve either a Section 21 or Section 8 notice under the Housing Act 1988.

A Section 21 notice of possession is served to give ‘notice of possession’ to the tenant. This means you can take back possession of your property at the end of a fixed-term tenancy agreement or trigger an agreed break clause.

Importantly, you don’t have to provide any reason to claim possession when you serve a valid Section 21 notice.

What is a Section 8 eviction notice?

This is served when you have grounds for eviction, for example, the tenant has not paid the rent, damaged the property or is causing a nuisance. In such cases, you can terminate the tenancy during its fixed term if the tenant has breached the tenancy agreement.

But your tenant may dispute it, and it could go to the court where you’ll need evidence of the reason for the eviction.

Even if you have solid grounds for evicting your tenant, it might be more useful to serve a section 21 notice. For example, if the fixed term tenancy is coming to an end or the tenancy agreement includes a break clause which you may be able to trigger to terminate the tenancy.

However, you can serve both a Section 21 notice and a Section 8 notice at the same time—issue court proceedings based on section 21 notice or under section 8 notice (fixed date hearing). 

Under section 8 claim (fixed date hearing – PCOL) you plead section 8 grounds, and as an alternative at the same time within the same claim, you plead section 21 too. We advise you should seek professional legal advice as the procedure is complicated.

How to serve a section 8 notice

Landlords must include the names of tenants in the notice, and the names of the parties and the address should match those in the tenancy. 

If the tenant is renting a room in a shared house, the landlord must specify the room (e.g., ‘room 1’) rented by the tenant and the full property address. 

You can download a free section 8 notice template from our website under the services page. 

In the case of ground 14A, proceedings can be started immediately after serving the notice. This ground has no waiting period. 

Ground 14: anti-social behaviour Used when the tenant has caused problems with neighbours, visitors, or anyone else; has used the property for illegal or immoral purposes and received a conviction for this; or has received a conviction for an indictable offence in or near the property. 

Ground 14a: domestic violence is used when the property is occupied by a couple. One member of the couple has left due to violence or threats from the other partner towards the partner who has left or a member of their family residing on the property. 

IMPORTANT: Under COVID-19 legislation the notice period for rent arrears grounds is now 6 months unless the rent arrears are 6 months or more. Then the notice period is 4 weeks. Please check the notice period as this is likely to change again due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

The section 8 Notice template on our website is the latest COVID-19 section 8 notice template.  

Landlord Advice UK is an expert in this area of law and is a service provider to the BLA members. you can contact them to obtain free legal advice or if you are a member you can contact our free helpline.

The British Landlords Association is a free national landlords association, why not join us today for free

Related Pages & Resources:

How Much Does It Really Cost to Let a Property?

Section 8 Notice Template

Restriction on evictions extended again for another six weeks

How do you serve a valid Section 21 notice?

How to Manage the Risks of Abandoned Property for Landlords

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