Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords
Dealing with antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour is behaviour that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to other people.
Antisocial behaviour can be caused by:
- your tenant
- anyone living with your tenant
- anyone visiting your tenant
- pets at the property
Antisocial behaviour can include both criminal and non-criminal behaviour. Check what counts as antisocial behaviour and how you can report it.
Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger, or if a crime is in progress.
Reporting other serious problems
Some serious issues can be mistaken for antisocial behaviour. For example:
- adults often arguing or shouting could be domestic abuse
- children often making noise could be a safeguarding issue like abuse or neglect
There are different ways to:
Contact the police if you think someone is at immediate risk or a victim of abuse.
Reducing the risk of antisocial behaviour from your tenants
There are things that you can do to reduce the risk of antisocial behaviour from a tenant.
You could ask for a reference from a previous landlord or letting agency.
You could include terms in the tenancy agreement that prohibit antisocial behaviour and help tenants understand their responsibilities. For example, how tenants can:
- let you know if they’ll be making excess noise
- report other tenants committing antisocial behaviour (if you have more than one tenant living in the property)
If your tenant’s behaviour is causing problems
Consider how serious or dangerous the behaviour is. If it is safe to do so, try to resolve any issues with your tenant directly, such as by talking to them about their behaviour.
If you do not feel it is safe to speak to your tenant or you need more support, report the antisocial behaviour to the police or to your local council.
Keep evidence of any antisocial behaviour involving your tenant. This can be used if you need to report your tenant to the police or to the council, or if you need to evict them.
Evidence can include:
- a diary of events including times, dates and impact of the behaviour
- a record of speaking and writing to the person being antisocial
- witness statements
- videos, photos or noise recordings
- information from an antisocial behaviour or noise app, where you can log incidents as they happen
Statements and reports from witnesses and neighbours are usually considered as strong evidence.
If someone has complained, ask for their permission before you use their complaint as evidence. Think about whether they will be easily identified and whether that is appropriate.
You may be able to get a template for an incident diary from your local council.
Talking to your tenant about their behaviour
Contact your tenant and let them know that you are concerned about their behaviour.
Try to give specific examples, using evidence if you have it.
Consider if mediation and dispute resolution could help you resolve their behaviour.
If you cannot resolve antisocial behaviour with your tenant
If you cannot resolve antisocial behaviour with your tenant, you may need to evict them by using the correct procedure. You’ll need to follow the ‘section 8 process’ and use specific ‘grounds for possession’.
The section 8 grounds that you will be able to use to evict tenants for antisocial behaviour are:
- ground 14
- ground 12 - if the tenancy agreement has been breached
- ground 7A
You can use more than one ground.
Grounds are either ‘discretionary’ or ‘mandatory’.
Evicting a tenant on discretionary grounds
A ‘discretionary ground’ means you need to prove antisocial behaviour occurred. The court then decides if it is reasonable to evict your tenant.
Ground 14: nuisance, illegal or improper use
Most antisocial behaviour will come under ground 14.
This behaviour can happen on your property, or nearby. Ground 14 also covers when your tenant commits a serious offence near your property.
The judge will consider all the factors related to the case. This includes:
- the impact the behaviour has had, including continuing impact
- the impact of the behaviour if it is repeated
- the impact on other tenants in a house of multiple occupation (HMO) where accommodation or facilities are shared
- if your tenant has responded to attempts to resolve the behaviour
If you give notice using ground 14, you can immediately apply to court for a possession order.
Ground 12: breach of tenancy
Ground 12 can be used when your tenant has broken one or more of the terms in the tenancy agreement. The court will still need to decide if it is reasonable to evict your tenant.
If you use ground 12, you’ll need to give your tenant 2 weeks’ notice before you apply to court for a possession order.
Evicting a tenant on mandatory grounds
A ‘mandatory ground’ means the court must give you a possession order, if your evidence proves the ground is met.
Ground 7A: antisocial behaviour
If your tenant has engaged in serious criminal behaviour, you will be able to use ground 7A to apply to court for an eviction.
For this ground to be met, your tenant will need to have done at least one of the following:
- been convicted of a serious criminal offence or breached a previous ‘Injunction to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance’ (IPNA)
- breached a criminal behaviour order
- been convicted of causing noise nuisance
The criminal behaviour will need to have taken place either:
- on or near the property
- somewhere that affects you as the landlord, such as the property of someone who lives nearby or who is employed by you
If you rely on a conviction to evict a tenant, you will have 12 months from the date of conviction to give notice that you are seeking possession.
You will also be able to use ground 7A if the council or police have applied for a closure order and access to the premises has been prohibited for more than 48 hours.
Shelter has guidance on what happens if a closure notice is granted.
You will need to give notice within 3 months of the closure order.
It may be easier to evict your tenant if you have already tried to resolve the situation another way, such as by speaking to them about their behaviour or attending mediation.
If you give notice using ground 7A, you can immediately apply to court for a possession order.
If the tenancy began before 1 May 2026
If it was an assured shorthold or assured tenancy, it will become an assured periodic tenancy on this date.
You cannot use section 21 to evict your tenant on or after 1 May 2026, even if the tenancy agreement says you can. You’ll need to use section 8 grounds if you want to evict a tenant for antisocial behaviour.