Following on from Part 1: Abolition of Section 21 Notices, this article looks at the specific changes made to the grounds for possession under Schedule 2 Housing Act 1988 by the Renters Rights Act 2025.
This article outlines the new grounds of possession and how they differ from the current grounds of possession.
Updated Grounds for Possession
The current framework under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (“the Housing Act”) divides possession grounds into either mandatory grounds whereby the court must grant possession if the ground can be made out, and discretionary grounds whereby the court has complete discretion as to whether to grant a possession order irrespective of whether the ground has been met. The Renters Rights Act 2025 (“the Act”) will continue to have mandatory and discretionary grounds for possession.
The government has issued guidance in respect of how the grounds in the Housing Act will be amended when the Act comes into force on 1 May 2026. Below is a summary of some of the bigger changes to the grounds for possession.
A. Mandatory Grounds for Possession
| Grounds of possession | Notice Period | Requirements | Important things to note |
| Ground 1 – Occupation by landlord or family. | 4 months – but cannot be issued until month 8 of the tenancy to expire at month 12. | If landlord requires the property back for themselves or a close family member they can rely on this ground. Must be able to evidence this. | Cannot re-let the property for 12 months and can be fined up to £7000 (per property). |
| Ground 1A – Sale of dwelling house. | 4 months – but cannot be issued until month 8 of the tenancy to expire at month 12. | The landlord must have a genuine intention to sell the property and be able to evidence this. | Cannot re-let the property for 12 months and can be fined up to £7000 (per property). |
| Ground 4A – Properties rented to students for occupation by new students. | 4 months – must be given to expire on the 1 June of each academic year. | The property must be a house of multiple occupation (HMO), be let to full time students and is needed for new students in line with the academic year. | This ground cannot be used if the tenancy was agreed more than 6 months in advance. |
| Ground 6 – Redevelopment. | 4 months – cannot be used in the first 6 months of a tenancy. | Landlord needs to evidence a genuine intention to redevelop the property and that in doing so the tenants will not be able to live at the property. | |
| Ground 6B – Compliance with enforcement action. | 4 months. | Landlords can use this if they need to make improvements to a property to comply with law enforcement. | If this ground is used the landlord may be required to pay compensation to the tenant. |
| Ground 7 – Death of a tenant. | 2 months. | Landlords can use this ground if someone not living in the property succeeds the tenancy following the death of a tenant (or someone who has recently moved into the property but does not meet the statutory conditions to succeed). | This does not apply. |
| Ground 7A – Severe antisocial behaviour. | Immediate. | A landlord can use this ground if they have evidence that a tenant/person occupying/visiting the property is convicted of criminal behaviour, if someone has breached an antisocial behaviour order or to prevent antisocial behaviour. | A court cannot issue a possession order for the first 14 days following service of the notice. |
| Ground 8 – Rent arrears. | 4 weeks. | A landlord can use this ground if the tenant is in at least 3 months rent arrears (13 weeks if rent is paid weekly/fortnightly). | If any of the rent arrears is due to non-payment of benefits (Universal Credit or similar) this will not count towards the 3 months arrears. |
B. Discretionary Grounds for Possession
| Ground of possession | Notice period | Requirements | Important things to note |
| Ground 10 – Any rent arrears. | 4 weeks. | Can be issued by a landlord when there is any amount of arrears. | |
| Ground 11 – Persistent arrears. | 4 weeks. | Can be issued at any time when a tenant is persistently in rent arrears over a period of time but the arrears have not reached 3 months. | |
| Ground 14 – Antisocial behaviour. | Immediate. | A landlord can use this ground if they have evidence that a tenant/person occupying/visiting the property commits antisocial or a serious offence near the property. | A court cannot issue a possession order for the first 14 days following service of the notice. |
C. Other Grounds for Possession
Ground 3 will be repealed as landlords can no longer issue fixed term tenancies.
Grounds 12 and 13 will remain largely the same and the notice period will remain at 2 weeks.
For many of the amended grounds, the key to serving them correctly will be in ensuring you have sufficient evidence to support your use of the ground.
What next?
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 marks a significant change in how landlords can regain possession of rented properties however, with the wider grounds that can now be used landlords should still feel comfortable in the new regime with the knowledge that if possession is required, this can still be achieved.
If you would like more information relating to the new grounds of possession and how this may affect you as a landlord, please get in touch with our Property Litigation team. We will soon be producing a Part 3 in our Renters Rights series on the process under the Renters Rights Act 2026.