Behind on rent? How eviction for rent arrears works (England)
Last verified: 9 October 2026 by LexSpeakAI Editorial. Sources: Housing Act 1988, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Housing Act 2004.
Ground 8 is the mandatory rent arrears ground. Where rent is paid monthly, the landlord needs at least three months’ rent unpaid both on the date the notice is served and on the date of the hearing. If both are proved and the procedure was followed, the court must order possession. Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary: there the court also decides whether possession is reasonable.
Two dates decide Ground 8. The arrears must meet the threshold when the notice is served and again at the hearing. Below the threshold on either date, Ground 8 fails, though Grounds 10 and 11 can still be in play.
Check which rules govern your notice and whether its period is long enough, from your own dates.
Use the free notice checkerDoes this apply to you?
- Private tenancy, notice served on or after 1 May 2026. The current rules on this page apply.
- Notice served before 1 May 2026. It only still counts if the landlord asked the court to issue a claim within its applicable period, which ended by 31 July 2026 at the latest and earlier for some notices. If the claim was requested in time, the old rules govern that claim. If not, the notice has lapsed and the landlord would need to serve a new one. How older notices were treated.
- Housing association or other social housing. The old rules, with the old grounds and notice periods, still apply. Housing association tenants.
This covers homes in England. Homes in Wales run on different law, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
What the law says
Ground 8 is in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. It is mandatory: if the landlord proves the arrears threshold on both dates and followed the procedure, the court must make a possession order. The threshold depends on how often rent is due:
- rent paid monthly: at least three months’ rent unpaid;
- rent paid weekly or fortnightly: at least 13 weeks’ rent unpaid;
- rent paid quarterly: at least one quarter’s rent more than three months in arrears;
- rent paid yearly: at least three months’ rent more than three months in arrears.
The notice for Ground 8 must give at least four weeks, beginning with the date of service, and the court can’t dispense with the notice for this ground (Housing Act 1988, s.8). Court proceedings must begin no later than twelve months after the notice was served. Under the current rules there is no accelerated procedure, so a judge decides at a hearing.
The Universal Credit disregard
If you are entitled to a housing amount as part of a Universal Credit award, rent that went unpaid only because you hadn’t yet received that payment is left out when the arrears are worked out. It applies to Universal Credit only, not housing benefit. Whether a particular sum falls within it depends on why it went unpaid, so it is a live point on the figure wherever Universal Credit is involved.
Grounds 10 and 11
Ground 10 (rent unpaid) and Ground 11 (persistent delay in paying rent) are discretionary. Landlords commonly use them alongside Ground 8, because a landlord who can’t prove the Ground 8 threshold at the hearing may still get possession if the court thinks it reasonable. Both need four weeks’ notice. On these grounds your circumstances, your payment history and any plan to clear the arrears are directly relevant.
Bringing the arrears below the Ground 8 threshold before the hearing defeats Ground 8. It does not, by itself, defeat Grounds 10 or 11. There is no Ground 8A: it was in an earlier bill that never became law, and repeated late payment falls under Ground 11.
Deposits
Where you paid a deposit, the court can only make a possession order if the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the scheme’s initial requirements were met, and you were given the prescribed information about it (Housing Act 2004, s.215). That applies to an arrears claim too, unless the deposit has already been returned or a court application about it has been decided, withdrawn or settled.
Key dates and deadlines
| Situation | Rule | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Ground 8, 10 or 11, notice served 1 August 2026 | Four weeks | Period ends 28 August 2026 |
| Rent £900 a month, Ground 8 | Three months’ rent unpaid | At least £2,700 unpaid, on the date of service and at the hearing |
| Arrears below the threshold by the hearing | Ground 8 not made out | Grounds 10 and 11 still decided on reasonableness |
| Notice also relies on a four-month ground | Longest period applies | Four months |
| Any section 8 notice | Start of court proceedings | No later than twelve months after service |
What people in this situation usually do next
Most people start with the figure: what the landlord says is owed, what has actually been paid, and on which dates. With a notice and no court claim yet, many put their position to the landlord in writing. The points tenants commonly raise are:
- disputing the arrears figure;
- the Universal Credit disregard;
- disrepair, set off against the arrears or as a counterclaim;
- whether the notice is valid;
- whether the deposit was protected and the prescribed information given;
- on Grounds 10 and 11, whether possession would be reasonable.
Once court papers arrive, the dates on them matter, and there is free help at court on the day from a duty adviser.
Behind on rent because your employer hasn’t paid you? Unpaid wages and deductions from pay.
Related
The dates on your notice set the pace. A Ground 8 notice gives four weeks, beginning with the date it was served. The arrears must still meet the Ground 8 threshold on the date of the hearing, so the figure, and any payments, matter before then.
A formal written response to your landlord about the arrears and the notice, drafted from your dates and your figures: the arrears figure, the Universal Credit disregard and your deposit, where they apply.
Start with the court duty adviser, who gives free help at court on the day. For the law and your options set out in full, Lex can set up LexSpeak Counsel™.
Arrears cases turn on the figures and the dates. Lex can go through yours with you, in plain English, and set up LexSpeak Agent™ for you on the call if it fits.
Common questions
My rent is monthly and I owe two months. Can my landlord use Ground 8?
Not on those figures. For monthly rent, Ground 8 needs at least three months’ rent unpaid on the date the notice is served and on the date of the hearing. A landlord can still rely on Ground 10 or 11, where the court decides whether possession is reasonable.
If I pay off some of the arrears before the hearing, does the claim fail?
If the arrears are below the Ground 8 threshold at the hearing, Ground 8 fails, because the threshold has to be met on both dates. Grounds 10 and 11 don’t fall away in the same way. On those, the court decides whether possession is reasonable, and the payments you have made are part of that picture.
Does the Universal Credit disregard cover housing benefit too?
No. The disregard is written for Universal Credit only. It leaves out rent that went unpaid only because a Universal Credit housing payment hadn’t yet reached you.
How much notice does a rent arrears notice have to give?
Four weeks for Grounds 8, 10 and 11, beginning with the date of service. If the notice also relies on a ground with a longer period, the longest period applies.
Is Ground 8A a real ground?
No. Ground 8A appeared in an earlier bill that never became law. Repeated late payment falls under Ground 11, a discretionary ground, usually alongside Ground 8 or Ground 10.
Legal information for England, not legal advice. LexSpeakAI® is not a law firm.