Guidance

Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents

Updated 1 May 2026

Applies to England

This guidance applies to: 

• private landlords and all other landlords that let properties on an assured tenancy

• Private Registered Providers (PRPs) of social housing in relation to assured tenancies that are not social housing

This guidance does not apply in relation to social housing tenancies provided by Private Registered Providers (PRPs). For these tenancies, PRPs should use the notice periods and grounds in the possession guidance.  

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes will only apply in relation to assured tenancies of social housing provided by PRPs from 2027. Social housing is defined in part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. Most affected social housing will be low-cost rental accommodation as defined in section 69 (which includes being let at a rent below market rate).

There will be different reasons, or grounds, under which you can seek to end a tenancy. You must give your tenant the correct amount of notice for each ground.  

If a tenant does not leave during the notice period, you can apply to evict them through the courts. You can apply using more than one ground. 

The court will not be able make a possession order to evict your tenant if you have not protected their deposit in a government approved tenancy deposit scheme.  

Mandatory grounds 

These grounds are mandatory which means if you can prove the ground, the court will give you a possession order to start the process of evicting your tenant. 

You can apply for a possession order straight away after the notice period has ended. 

Ground 1 - occupation by landlord or family

If you or a close family member need to move into the property, you can use this ground. 

You cannot ask your tenant to leave for this reason within the first 12 months of a new tenancy.   

Ground 1 notice period  

You must give 4 months’ notice before applying to court for a possession order to evict your tenant. You or a close family member can only move into your property after evicting your tenant. You can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 months has ended.

Ground 1 example 

A landlord has started renting out a property to a new tenant 6 months ago. The landlord decides they would like their daughter to live in the property. The landlord waits to give notice under ground 1 until 8 months into the tenancy. The notice will then expire after the 12 month ‘protected period’. The tenant moves out when the notice expires, and the landlord’s daughter moves in.

Ground 1A - sale of dwelling house

You can use this ground if you intend to sell your property. You cannot ask your tenant to leave within the first 12 months of a new tenancy for this reason.  

You cannot use this ground if your tenant has an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy. These non-shorthold tenancies are sometimes known as assured ’lifetime tenancies’.

Most social landlords cannot use this ground.

Ground 1A notice period  

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. You can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 month period has ended.

Ground 1A example 

A landlord has a tenanted property with tenants renting it, but wants to sell it. The current tenancy only began 4 months ago. This means it is in the 12 month ‘protected period’ where a landlord cannot use ground 1A. The landlord can serve a notice at any point, but it must not expire until the first 12 months of the tenancy have expired. This means the landlord may need to give more than 4 months’ notice. The tenant then moves out when the notice expires, outside the protected period.

Ground 1B - sale of dwelling house that is part of Rent to Buy

This ground applies to Private Registered Providers (PRPs) of social housing only.

If the property is part of a Rent to Buy scheme you can use this if you have offered your tenant the opportunity to buy the property at the end of the scheme. If they do not buy it, you can use this ground to try and evict your tenant.

Ground 1B notice period 

You must give your tenant 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict them. 

Ground 2 - sale by mortgagee

A lender, for example, a bank, can use this ground to gain possession of the property to sell it if you have missed mortgage payments. Your tenant will have to leave on the date mentioned in the court order. 

Ground 2 notice period 

4 months’ notice must be given to your tenant before you or the lender can apply to the court for a possession order to evict them. 

Ground 2ZA - possession when superior lease ends

When you lease your property from another person or organisation and sublet, the agreement is referred to as a ‘superior lease’. If the superior lease is ending within 12 months, you can apply to court to evict your tenant. You can only use this ground if you: 

• are an agricultural landlord 

• rent out supported accommodation  

• represent a company that a council owns half of or more 

• are a private registered provider of social housing (PRP)

Ground 2ZA notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice to your tenant before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict them. 

Ground 2ZB - possession when fixed term superior lease ends

When you lease your property from another person or organisation and then sublet, this is referred to as a ‘superior lease’. You can use this ground to apply for a possession order if the lease is not going to be extended, has ended or will end within 12 months. You can only use this ground if the lease was for a fixed term of over 21 years. 

Ground 2ZB notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 2ZC - possession by superior landlord

When you lease your property from another person or organisation and then sublet, your lease with that person or organisation is referred to as a ‘superior lease’.  After a superior lease ends, the landlord under that superior lease can become your tenant’s landlord. They can apply to court for a possession order to start the eviction process. That person can only use this ground if you, as the original landlord, rented out the property under an assured tenancy and you were: 

• an agricultural landlord 

• providing supported accommodation  

• a company that the council owns half of or more 

• a Private Registered Provider of social housing (PRP)

Ground 2ZC notice period 

The superior landlord must give 4 months’ notice before they can apply to the court for a possession order to evict the tenant. 

Ground 2ZD - possession by superior landlord (fixed term)

When you lease your property from another person or organisation and sublet, this is referred to as a ‘superior lease’. After a superior lease ends, the freeholder referred to as a ‘superior landlord’ can become your tenant’s direct landlord. The superior landlord can apply to court for a possession order to evict the tenant. 

This ground can only be used if the lease was for a fixed term of over 21 years and has expired. The superior landlord or freeholder will have up to 6 months, from the date the lease reverted to them to apply to court using this ground.  

Ground 2ZD notice period 

The superior landlord must give 4 months’ notice before they can apply to the court for a possession order to evict the tenant. 

Ground 4 - student accommodation

This ground will only be able to be used by universities and colleges, and it will only apply to student accommodation. The property will need to have been let to students within 12 months before the start of the tenancy. 

Ground 4 notice period 

The university or college will need to give 2 weeks’ notice before they will be able to apply to the court for a possession order to evict the tenant. 

Ground 4A - properties rented to students for occupation by new students

Your property is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) if: 

• at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than 1 household 

• your tenants share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen 

You can use this ground if your HMO is let to full-time students and is needed for a new group of students in line with the academic year between 1 June and 30 September. However, you cannot use this ground to evict your tenants if the tenancy was agreed more than 6 months before the tenancy started. You will need to have given advance notice that you intend to use the ground. 

Ground 4A notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5 - ministers of religion

If you have rented out a property that is usually used to house a minister of religion, you can use this ground if the property is needed for that purpose again. 

Ground 5 notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5A occupation by agricultural worker

You can use this ground if you need to house someone who will work for you as an employed or self-employed agricultural worker.

Ground 5A notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5B - occupation by person who meets employment requirements

This ground applies to PRPs only.  

You can use this ground if you usually use the property to let to a tenant based on their employment, for example, key workers. If your tenant does not meet the employment criteria, and you want to let it to a person who does, you can use this ground to evict your tenant.  

Ground 5B notice period  

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5C - end of employment by the landlord

If your tenant was employed by you and your property was rented out as part of their employment, you can use this ground if your tenant is no longer your employee. 

You can also use this ground if the tenancy was not meant to last the duration of your tenant’s employment and the property is needed for a new employee. 

You will also be able to use this ground when the property is let to police constables who are not classed as employees. 

Ground 5C notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5D -  end of employment requirements

This ground applies to PRPs only.  

As a Private Registered Provider of social housing, you may be renting the property out based on employment criteria. From 2027, if your tenant no longer meets the conditions, you will be able to use this ground. For example, they are no longer a key worker. 

Ground 5D notice period 

You will need to give 2 months’ notice before you will be able to apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5E - occupation as supported accommodation

If the property is usually used as supported accommodation and is currently let to private tenants, you can use this ground to evict your tenant to rent it out again as supported accommodation.  

You can only use this ground if the type of supported accommodation the property is usually used for meets the correct definition in the Renters’ Rights Act. 

Ground 5E notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5F - dwelling-house occupied as supported accommodation

You can use this ground if you rented out the property as supported accommodation. You can use this ground for a range of reasons. Some of these include if the support has stopped or funding for the support has ended. You can use this ground if the supported accommodation is no longer suitable for your tenant because their support needs have changed.  

You can only use this ground if the type of supported accommodation you are providing meets the correct definition in the Renters’ Rights Act.  

Ground 5F notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 5G - tenancy granted for homelessness duty

This ground applies if your property was used as temporary accommodation to house tenants when they were statutorily homeless. If the council has told you that the housing is no longer needed, you can apply to the court to start the process to evict your tenant. You will need to start the process within 12 months of the council notifying you.  

Ground 5G notice period 

You must give your tenant 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. You will have 12 months to give your tenant this notice once you have been told by the council that the tenant no longer needs to be housed. 

Ground 5H - occupation as ‘stepping stone accommodation’

You can only use this ground if you are a Registered Provider of social housing or a charity. 

The tenant needs to have met eligibility criteria that was included in a written tenancy agreement and paid rent that is lower than 80% of market rent.  

The tenancy agreement should have told your tenant what the eligibility criteria they needed to meet. These can only be that your tenant is: 

• a particular age or within a particular age range  

• in work or actively looking for work.  

You cannot try to use other types of eligibility criteria for the purposes of using this ground.  

The property was provided for a period of time to help your tenant to rent privately or transition to independent living.  

You can use this ground if your tenant no longer meets the eligibility criteria, or if the property was let to them for a period of time, which has now ended.  

Ground 5H notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 6 - redevelopment

You can use this ground if you need to redevelop or demolish the property, and your tenant cannot live there whilst it is being demolished or redeveloped. Usually, you cannot evict someone on this basis in the first 6 months of the tenancy but the exact requirements can vary. 

If you are a social landlord you may also need to provide alternative accommodation. If so, the accommodation will need to meet specific conditions. It must be affordable, in an appropriate location and house the people in your tenant’s household without overcrowding. 

However, you do not not need to provide alternative accommodation if you gave your tenant notice before the tenancy started that you intended to use ground 6.  

Ground 6 notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 6A - decant accommodation

This ground applies to relevant social landlords only. 

If you let out social housing and your tenant has been housed in alternative accommodation, you can use this ground. This will apply if where they were living before was or is being redeveloped.

Alternative accommodation must be available for when your tenant is evicted. The accommodation could be the tenant’s previous home (that was redeveloped) or other accommodation. It must be a separate dwelling, be secure and affordable. If it is accommodation other than the tenant’s previous home, it must be in an appropriate location and not overcrowded. 

Ground 6A notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 6B - compliance with enforcement action 

The court can order you to get your property back if you have been investigated for breaking the law. Under this ground, the court can also tell you to pay compensation to your tenant. 

Ground 6B notice period 

You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 7 - death of tenant

In cases where a person inherits a tenancy and they were not living at the property immediately before the former tenant’s death, you can use this ground to try to evict them.  

You cannot usually start the process to evict the person if 12 months has passed after the death of your tenant.  

If the tenant who inherited the tenancy was living in the property before the former tenant’s death, then you can use this ground if: 

• the tenant who passed away had inherited the tenancy from someone else 

• it is a ‘special tenancy’, which includes where the tenancy is social housing, a rent to buy agreement, let as supported accommodation or granted because the tenant who passed away was considered statutorily homeless

An assured tenancy is automatically passed on to spouses, civil partners or cohabitees who also lived in the property, which is known as ‘succession’. You cannot use this ground to evict a tenant who has succeeded to a tenancy in this way.

Ground 7 notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict the person. 

Ground 7A - severe antisocial or criminal behaviour

If your tenant or a person living with them or visiting them is convicted of criminal behaviour or breached an order to prevent antisocial behaviour you can evict them using this ground. You can also use this ground if the council or police have applied for a ‘closure order’ which means your tenant has not been able to access the premises for more than 48 hours. 

You do not need to give a notice period as you can apply immediately to the court to start the process to evict your tenant once you give them notice. However, the court will not be able to make a possession order for 14 days from the date you gave notice. 

Ground 7B - no right to rent

If your tenant has no right to rent under immigration law, the Secretary of State will give notice to you. For more information refer to the Right to Rent guidance. 

Ground 7B notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 8 - rent arrears

You can use this ground to evict your tenant if they owe you at least 3 months’ rent, if they pay rent monthly or at least 13 weeks’ rent, if the rent is paid weekly or fortnightly. 

Your tenant will need to owe you 3 months or 13 weeks rent on the day you give them the notice and at the date of the hearing. 

Your tenant cannot be evicted under this ground if they pay off what they owe or owe less than the amounts above by the time you get to court.  

If your tenant owes 3 months or 13 weeks rent because they have not received their Universal Credit, you will not be able to evict them. Benefits are not counted when a tenant owes rent. 

Ground 8 notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Discretionary grounds 

If you seek possession through the courts on a discretionary ground, it will be up to the court to decide whether it reasonable to evict your tenant.  

For discretionary grounds, the court will be able to consider if eviction is reasonable even when there is evidence against your tenant. 

Ground 9 - suitable alternative accommodation

You can try to evict your tenant if they have been offered other accommodation that is suitable for them. 

Ground 9 notice period 

You must give 2 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 10 - any rent arrears

If your tenant owes you rent, you can try and evict them before they owe you 3 months’ rent. However, you will only get a possession order to evict them if the court believes it is reasonable. 

Ground 10 notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 11 - persistent arrears

You can try to evict your tenant if they have repeatedly delayed paying rent. 

Ground 11 notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 12 - breach of tenancy

If your tenant has broken one or more terms in the tenancy agreement that is not related to paying rent, you can try and evict them using this ground. 

Ground 12 notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 13 - deterioration of property

You can try and evict your tenant if they have allowed the condition of the property to get worse. 

Ground 13 notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 14 - antisocial behaviour

You can use this ground if your tenant, a person that lives with them or a person who visits them commits antisocial behaviour. This will also apply when your tenant or a person living or visiting them has committed a serious offence near the property. The behaviour does not need to have been in the property, it could have happened nearby.  

Ground 14 notice period 

You do not need to give your tenant a notice period as you can apply to the court straight away for a possession order to evict your tenant. However, the court will not be able to make a possession order for 14 days from the date you gave notice. 

Ground 14A - domestic abuse

This ground applies to social landlords only. 

You can try and evict your tenant for carrying out domestic abuse. You can only do this if their partner or a person living with them has left and is unlikely to come back.  

Ground 14A notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 14ZA - rioting

If your tenant or another adult living with them has been convicted of an offence during a riot, you can try and evict them. 

Ground 14ZA notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 15 - deterioration of furniture

You can try and evict your tenant if they have allowed the condition of the furniture to get worse. 

Ground 15 notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 17 - false statement

If your tenant or someone acting on their behalf gave false information to get the property, you can try and evict your tenant. 

Ground 17 notice period 

You must give 2 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant. 

Ground 18 - supported accommodation

If your tenant is in supported accommodation and you think that they are not co-operating with the support, you can try and evict them.  

You can only use this ground if the type of supported accommodation you are providing meets the correct definition in the Renters’ Rights Act.  

Ground 18 notice period 

You must give 4 weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant.