Section 8 Notice.

Get the result you deserve in your section 8 matter.

An introduction to our section 8 legal services

Dealing with serious breaches of tenancy requires swift, decisive action. We understand the urgency of fault-based evictions and work efficiently to protect your interests, ensuring all legal requirements are met throughout the possession process.

Draft and serve a section 8 notice
Issue standard possession claims
Application for a warrant of possession
Defence against an eviction notice

Sophie Campbell-Adams

Director

FAQs

Commonly asked questions on Section 8 Notice.

1. What is a section 8?

Section 8 is a form of notice that a landlord can serve a tenant with an assured shorthold tenancy agreement. Additionally, a section 8 notice allows a landlord to terminate the tenancy during a fixed term (usually the first 6 months of tenancy in the UK), as long as there’s a valid ground for doing so.

There are 17 grounds for serving a section 8 notice, which is divided between mandatory and discretionary grounds.

2. What are the section 8 notice grounds?

When it comes to serving a section 8 notice to your tenant, you need to ensure that the reasoning for evicting your tenant falls under at least one of the 17 grounds for eviction.

The 17 grounds are split into both mandatory and discretionary grounds.

Mandatory Grounds	Description	Notice Period
Ground 1	The landlord requires the property in order to use it as their main residence. Note: This ground can only be used if the property was the landlords main residence prior to the tenancy beginning.	2 months
Ground 2	The mortgage lender on the property has served notice to foreclose. Note: In this case the mortgage in question has to predate the start of the tenancy.	2 months
Ground 3	The property was previously used as a holiday let and is required to return to the status of holiday let.	2 weeks
Ground 4	The property is being let by an educational institution and is now required by the students. Note: For this to apply, written notice must be served before the tenancy begins	2 weeks
Ground 5	The property is owned by a religious body and they require possession for a member of their church.	2 months
Ground 6	The landlord wants to demolish and reconstruct, or redevelop all or part of the property and cannot reasonably carry out the work while the tenant reamins in residence. Note: The landlord is required to pay all (reasonable) moving costs to the tenant.	2 months
Ground 7	The current tenant is a tenant heir and is not named on the original tenancy agreement. Note: The landlord must serve a Section 8 notice within 12 months of the death of the named tenant.	2 months
Ground 8	The tenant has failed to pay more than 8 weeks rent in the case of weekly payments or 2 months in the case of monthly payments.	2 weeks

Discretionary Grounds	Description	Notice Period
Ground 9	Suitable accommodation of the same type and quality has been offered to the tenant and refused. Note: The landlord is required to pay all (reasonable) removal costs if possession is granted.	2 months
Ground 10	The rent is in arrears but by no more than 8 weeks in the case of weekly payments or 2 months in the case of monthly payments.	2 months
Ground 11	The tenant is repeatedly late with payments or repeatedly fails to pay their rent until prompted by the landlord.	2 weeks
Ground 12	The tenant has breached any of the terms listed in the tenancy agreement.	2 weeks
Ground 13	The tenant has neglected or damaged the property, or they have sublet the property to another individual who has neglected or damaged the property.	2 months
Ground 14	The tenant is considered a nuisance to neighbours or other tenants and has received complaints concerning their conduct.	2 months
Ground 15	The furniture listed on the property inventory has been misused, damaged, broken or sold by the tenant or any individual living with them.	2 months
Ground 16	The property was let to the tenant as a condition of their employment but the employment has now come to an end.	2 weeks
Ground 17	The property was let on the basis of false information provided by the tenant.	2 weeks

For more information on the valid grounds to serve a section 8 notice, please call our solicitors on 0203 007 5500.

3. How to serve a valid section 8 notice?

When serving a section 8 notice, you must ensure that the notice has been served properly. In instances, where the notice hasn’t properly been served it can invalidate the notice.

Our eviction solicitors advice to serve a section 8 notice in one of the following ways:

Personal delivery
Left at address
Recorded delivery
Process server
First-class post
Email

Proof that you have served the notice is vital, especially if the eviction was to be contested and the case was taken to court. An example of proof maybe a neutral third party witnessing you handing the notice to your tenant.

4. What happens if the tenant doesn’t leave?

The eviction notice date laid out in the section 8 notice isn’t when a tenancy legally ends but more of a date to urge the tenant to move out. In an instance where the tenant hasn’t left by the notice date, you will need to legally enforce the eviction to reclaim possession.

In an instance where your tenant hasn’t left by the date set out in the section 8 notice, you will need to apply for a possession order. If the tenant still hasn’t vacated the premises following the possession order, you will need to apply for a warrant of possession from the courts.

If the warrant of possession is approved, the court will issue the tenant with an eviction notice with a date that they must legally vacate the property by. If the tenant was to ignore this eviction date, a bailiff will go to your property and evict the tenants.

5. How much does it cost to get a section 8?

When it comes to the cost of evicting a tenant through a section 8 notice, it entirely depends on several factors. For instance, whether the tenant vacates the property by the notice date or contests the eviction.

Evicting your tenant through a section 8 notice may be as straight forward as instructing a solicitor to draft and serve notice, and the tenant leaves by the notice date.

Generally, our solicitors will charge the following for section 8 matters:

Service	Price	Disbursements	Notes
Draft and serve a section 8 (excluding nuisance grounds)	£450 plus VAT	N/A	We will need the tenancy agreement and the information supporting the ground for eviction.
Draft and serve a section 8 (nuisance grounds)	Consultation required	N/A	We will need the tenancy agreement and the information supporting the ground for eviction.
Issue standard possession claim	£1,500 plus VAT	£404 (court fee)	Disbursements may be higher if a barrister is required. This price includes completing the claim form, particulars of claim, witness statements, updated witness statements and preparing for the hearing and does not include court representation.
Apply for a warrant of possession	£350 plus VAT	£148 (court fee)	N/A
Serve and enforce section 8	£2,300 plus VAT	£552	This price does not include representation for the hearing.

Recoverable costs – capped at £69.50 for legal fees and the court issue fee of £355. Although we’re offering fixed fees, we must make clear that this is subject to the notes. For any additional work outside of what our service outlines above, we will charge an hourly rate of £300 plus VAT depending on the solicitor.

6. Do you offer legal aid for eviction matters?

Few eviction solicitors offer legal aid and while we would love to, the government only appoints a tiny number of law firms to offer these services. So for the time being, we can only accept privately funded cases.

Meet our expert Section 8 Notice team.

Paul Britton

Managing Director

Sophie Campbell-Adams

Director

Mary Ibrahim

Associate

Alexander Grist

Solicitor

Patrick Rusk

Solicitor

Hanna Batkin

Trainee Solicitor

Adam Geele

Paralegal

Aliya Asif

Paralegal

Jess Hynes

Paralegal

Jessica Soltermann

Paralegal

Hannah Klein

Junior Paralegal

Isabel Matthews

Legal Assistant