How to Serve a Section 8 Notice?

This page includes the following 7 topics which we are going to cover:

1. What is a Section 8 notice?
2. Which tenancies is a section 8 notice applicable to?
3. What are the 17 Grounds under the section 8 notice?
4. When NOT to use a Section 8 notice?
5. Disrepair and counterclaim
6. What notice to serve section 8 or 21 OR maybe both?

What is Section 8 Notice?

A Section 8 notice is a prescribed notice; you must use the latest version; failure to use the correct version may mean your notice is invalid.

A Section 8 Notice is only applicable for let properties in England. It cannot be used for Wales or Scotland.

A section 8 notice is also known as “Form 3”. A section 8 notice has 7 sections that need to be completed, which are:

1. Name of the tenant(s)
2. Full postal address of the let property.
3. Grounds as per the Housing Act that you are relying on. You must use the exact text from the Housing Act; these are already written into the BLA section 8 notice for ease.
4. In this section, you need to stipulate which grounds you are relying on and then write how the ground triggers the particular ground pleaded. 

Example: 

Ground 8: No rent has been paid for 2 months, see rent schedule attached. £2,000 Total rent is due. 

Ground 10: £2,000 rent arrears are now due. 

Ground 11: Tenant has persistently failed to pay rent, and £2,00 rent arrears are due. 

Ground 12: The tenant has breached the tenancy by damaging the kitchen door.

   5. In section 5, you must include the date the notice period expires. This part is essential; you must include the correct period. 

   6. You must sign this section, enter your postal address and date the notice. 

British Landlord Association Members can download a section 8 notice free from our services page.

A Section 8 notice is primarily a notice where a tenant has breached the tenancy. The section 8 notice has 17 grounds, which a landlord may use under section 8. The common grounds used are for rent arrears, damage to the let property or nuisance.

The notice period you need to give to the tenant to do or not do something varies depending on which ground is used.

Landlords must be cautious when pursuing a claim under section 8 if they have had disrepairs. A tenant can make a counterclaim should you issue a claim under section 8.

Which tenancies is a section 8 notice applicable to?

Before you serve a Section 8 notice on your tenant, you MUST first consider what tenancy is in place and if you can serve a Section 8 notice on that type of tenancy.

One presumes the tenancy between the landlord and the tenant is the correct tenancy. For example – if your tenant is a limited company, then it cannot be an assured shorthold tenancy.

The correct tenancy, a limited company, would be a common law tenancy, also referred to as company tenancy.

You cannot serve a Section 8 notice when the tenant is a company or a business.

The only tenancies where a section 8 notice can be used is an Assured shorthold tenancy or an “Assured tenancy”.

What are the 17 Grounds under the section 8 notice?

IMPORTANT: below is an explanation of the grounds from 1 to 17 in plain English so you can see what grounds may apply to your case.

Ground 1 – This ground can be used where a landlord (or his spouse) has occupied the dwelling as his only or principal home at some time and has given notice of his intention to return and now wishes to do so.

Successors in the title may also use this ground provided they did not purchase the dwelling.

Ground 2 – This ground is used by a lender wishing to gain vacant possession to exercise a power of sale. Notice will need to be given to the tenant.

The mortgage must have been taken out before the tenancy began, and the tenant warned about this contingency within the tenancy agreement.

Ground 3 – This ground applies to premises which, within the last 12 months, have been used as holiday lets and have been let on a fixed term of up to 8 months, usually for the winter period.

The notice must have been served that the property is to be returned to holiday let use, generally for the summer period.

Ground 4 – This ground applies to student accommodation owned by educational institutions. Students usually are licensees; this ground applies where the institution has let for a fixed term of up to 12 months.

Ground 5 – This ground applies to properties owned by religious bodies, where, for example, the property was occupied by one of their ministers and is now required for another.

Ground 6 – This ground is like one established in commercial leases (Landlord and Tenant Act 1954) where recovery of possession is allowed where a landlord wishes to demolish or substantially reconstruct or redevelop the building.

Ground 7 – This ground concerns inherited or succession rights to a tenancy. It allows the landlord to claim possession where proceedings are started within one year of the tenant’s death (or later if the court allows), irrespective of whether rent was accepted.

The ground cannot be used against a surviving spouse.

Ground 8 – This ground has been changed by the Housing Act 1996 and concerns arrears of rent. Arrears must exceed 8 weeks if the rent is paid weekly or fortnightly, 2 months if paid monthly, one full quarter if paid quarterly or 3 months if paid yearly.

The maximum arrears in each case must exist at the notice of proceedings and at the hearing itself. The ground must be clearly stated so the tenant knows what he is responding to.

 Discretionary Grounds for Possession:

Ground 9 – The landlord seeks possession because he has offered the tenant suitable alternative accommodation. The tenancy must be on the same basis, for example, if the old one was furnished, the new one must be, and the landlord can be asked for removal expenses.

If the tenant contests, it is often based on what is suitable as an alternative accommodation.

Ground 10 – This ground covers arrears of rent in arrears less than the times specified in mandatory ground 8. This grounds also, with the court’s consent, allows rent to be recovered by distress.

Ground 11 – This ground covers persistent delays in rent payment. However, being a discretionary ground, the court will consider factors outside the tenant’s control, for example, delays in housing benefit payments.

Ground 12 – This ground covers the tenants in breach of their contractual (lease or tenancy) agreement conditions, other than rent payments.

Ground 13 – This ground covers waste, neglect or default concerning damage to the tenant’s accommodation or common parts. This ground also covers the acts of sub-tenants, lodgers, tenant’s family, or visitors.

Ground 14 – The landlord can seek possession where a tenant, sub-tenant, lodger, or visitor is causing a nuisance to neighbours or is using the property for illegal or immoral purposes. The ground also covers cases of domestic violence where one partner has left and is unlikely to return.

Ground 15 – This ground covers cases where the landlord’s furniture has been ill-treated.

Ground 16 – This ground covers cases where the tenant was an employee of the landlord and has since left his employment. This case is rarely used as most resident employees are licensees and, therefore, not covered by the housing acts.

Ground 17 – This final ground was introduced by the Housing Act 1996. It covers cases where the tenancy has been created due to a false statement knowingly having been made by the tenant or someone acting on his behalf.

It is worth noting the importance of a Tenancy Application and credit and referencing, which seeks information from the tenant.

Note: The above explains the grounds only; they are not the exact text from the Housing Act that you are legally required to stipulate.

The text below is the exact text under the Housing Act that you must use for the grounds in the section 8 notice. Please check to see if the text below is up to date, correct and relevant before using.

Members of The BLA can ring the landlord helpline on 01293 855700.

Ground 8: both at the date of the service of the notice under section 8 of this act relating to the proceedings for possession and at the date of the hearing –

 (a) if rent is payable weekly or fortnightly, at least eight weeks of rent is unpaid.

 (b) if rent is payable monthly, at least two months’ rent is unpaid.

 (c) if rent is payable quarterly, at least one quarter’s rent is more than three months in arrears, and

 (d) if rent is payable yearly, at least three months’ rent is more than three months in arrears.

 And for the purpose of this ground “rent means rent lawfully due from the tenant.

Ground 10: Some rent lawfully due from the tenant –

 (a) is unpaid on the date on which the proceedings for possession are begun, and

 (b) Except where subsection (1) (b) of section 8 of this act applies, it was in arrears at the date of the service of the notice under that section relating to those proceedings.

Ground 11: whether or not any rent is in arrears on the date on which proceedings for possession are begun, the tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, which has become lawfully due.

Ground 12: any obligation of the tenancy agreement (other than one related to the payment of rent) has been broken or not performed.

Ground 14: The tenant or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling house-

 (a) has been guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to a person residing, visiting, or otherwise engaging in a lawful activity in the locality or

 (b) Has been convicted of –

 (1) Using the dwelling – -house or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes, or

 (11) An arrestable offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house.

Ground 17: the tenant is the person, or one of the persons, to whom the tenancy was granted, and the landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by-

 (a) The tenant, or

 (b) A person acting at the tenant’s instigation.

When Not to use a Section 8 notice?

• The threat of a Deposit counterclaim
• If you have Disrepairs, consider whether you should serve a section 8 or not.
• If the tenant is on housing benefits, you will unlikely recover rent arrears or legal fees. If a Section 21 route is available, you should consider this route.

Disrepair and counterclaim

Disrepair counterclaims can be a protracted, complex, and expensive procedure.

You are unlikely to recover your legal fees or rent arrears even if you are successful in your claim against the tenant.

Once you issue a claim under section 8 and the tenant files a counterclaim. Then, even if you wanted to discontinue your claim, the counterclaim would still stand on its head.

What notice to serve section 8 or 21 or maybe both?

Many landlords ask if they should serve a section 8 or 21 notice. If you do not have disrepair, you should serve a section 8 and 21 notice, if possible.

If you issue a possession claim under section 8, you can also plead section 21 within the section 8 possession claim as an alternative ground.

This blog and the video are for educational purposes only. We do not recommend you draft a section 8 notice yourself unless you are confident you know what you are doing.

The notice period for rent arrears under section 8 is currently 14 days.

Download Section 8 Notice 

You can download a Section 8 Notice from the services tab on the main navigation bar at the top below our main banner. On this page, you can go to “Eviction Notices & Template Letters (Residential)” and download the required notice. You can also download free template letters.

Proof of service for Section 8 Notice

When serving a Section 8 notice, you should ensure you keep evidence of how, when and by whom the notice was served. This may be required if you need to rely on it later in court.

The evidence you need will vary, but depending on the type of service, your evidence can include:

• Copy of Section 8 that has been signed by the tenant;
• DateTime-stamped photograph of the Section 8 notice being posted through the door of the let property;
• Evidence of postage to the correct address;
• Certificate of service (N215 form) download by clicking. This will be required if going to court

You should always retain a copy of the Section 8 notice that you served on your tenant.

You can use Landlord Advice UK, which charges £120, to draft and serve the notice on the tenant by first-class post and 1st-class recorded delivery. 

The British Landlords Association is a national landlords association for residential & commercial landlords. Join us today. Membership for the year is only £79.95

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