A landlord can start possession proceedings against the tenant of a property let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy by giving a Section 8 notice, technically known as a notice seeking possession or notice of proceedings for possession. The notice states the landlord’s intention to start possession proceedings after a certain date and for a specific reason. The reasons for seeking possession are called grounds and are specified in the Housing Act 1988.
The Section 8 Eviction Notices vs Section 21 Process
The Renters’ Rights Bill announced by the new Labour Government in the King’s Speech has reaffirmed the legislative intention to abolish Section 21 no-fault eviction notices previously contained in The Renters’ Reform Bill. These notices allow residential property owners to evict their tenants without a specific reason, or ground for possession. However, they present significant technical challenges and limits for private landlords.
While the new Bill starts afresh its journey through Parliament to become law, we thought to remind landlords and mortgage lenders that they can use the Section 8 possession procedure to regain possession of their properties.
Section 8 notices require property owners to state why they want the property back. The applicable procedure differs depending on the reason for seeking possession and the behaviour of the renter. For many reasons, Section 8 notices present less uncertainty for the landlords and offer fewer defences to unwanted tenants.
Who Can Use the Section 8 Procedure?
Any landlord wanting to recover possession of a property let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy can start proceedings by giving a Section 8 notice to the occupiers of the property.
Occupiers of the property include tenants and people occupying the property unlawfully, such as individuals obtaining the tenancy with dishonesty, or family and the original tenants who remained in the property without the right to do so,
Landlords include private individuals, companies and charities, specified educational institutions, employers where accommodation is provided under the terms of an employment contract, social landlords such as councils and housing associations, and mortgage lenders such as banks and building societies.
Form and Content of a Section 8 Notice
A Section 8 notice must be in the form prescribed by law, or in a form that contains the same wording and content. The current prescribed form is called Form 3: notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy and is available on Gov.uk.
Form 3 requires the landlord to specify the grounds on which possession is being sought and explain in detail how the ground applies to their specific circumstances. It must accurately name the tenants or occupiers being asked to leave, specify the precise address of the property, state the date after which court proceedings can start, and be signed by the landlord or their agent. If the form contains insufficient or incorrect details, the court can declare the notice invalid and strike out the possession claim.
In certain cases, the court can dispense the landlord from the requirement to serve notice or give the landlord permission to add or alter the particulars if it is just and equitable to do so. For example, where a tenant has caused considerable nuisance to neighbours, or where the amount of rent arrears stated in the notice is incorrect due to an administrative error. The factors that the court might consider when deciding to dispense or give permission to alter the particulars include the effect of the notice not being served on the tenants and whether the tenant has raised the defect in the notice promptly.
How Can a Landlord Serve a Section 8 Notice
A landlord can give the notice to the tenant or occupier in any way as provided in the tenancy agreement, for example by hand to the tenant’s property, registered post, recorded delivery, email, or text. However, if the tenant does not acknowledge service, the landlord will need to prove that the notice was served so it is important to choose a safe method.
If more than one person is named in the tenancy agreement, the notice must be served on all the joint tenants, and all the tenants must be named on the Section 8 notice, even if they no longer live in the property.
Section 8 Grounds for Possession and Notice Periods
The reasons relied upon by the landlord when seeking possession of an assured or assured shorthold tenancy under Section 8 are listed in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. These are called grounds for possession and are referred to by the number given to them in the Schedule.
There are 21 different grounds for possession that can be claimed cumulatively, in other words, a landlord can rely on more than one reason for wanting the property back. For example, the landlord might seek to recover the property because the tenant owes rent arrears and has been convicted of antisocial behaviour, or if the property requires redevelopment and substantial repair. It is important to have a clear possession strategy in mind and select all the appropriate reasons, so that if one ground fails the possession claim can continue on the alternative ground.
Each ground requires a different notice period to be clearly stated to the tenant as the deadline for the end of their right to occupy the property. Notice periods range from two weeks to two months after which court proceedings against the occupier can be commenced. A landlord must start court proceedings within 12 months from the service of the notice on the tenants. A section 8 notice expires 12 months after service and a landlord wanting to start court action after that period needs to serve a new notice.
Some of the grounds are mandatory, meaning that the court must grant possession if the landlord proves the ground. Other grounds are called discretionary and require the landlord to prove the ground for possession and satisfy some additional conditions before the court can grant possession. For example, when it is reasonable to evict the tenant or occupier because they have suitable accommodation to move to.
Detailed discussion of each ground for possession and relative rules can be read in our separate blogs on Section 8 and Mandatory Grounds for Possession and Section 8 and Discretionary Grounds for Possession.
How We Can Help
The service of a Section 8 notice requires diligent legal oversight to prevent technical errors in the notice and unnecessary delays in the recovery of the property. If a Section 8 notice is declared invalid by a court, the landlord will need to serve a new one afresh and start the possession process from the start. If the grounds are not proven, the possession claim will fail. An experienced Landlord and Tenant Law Practitioner will ensure matters run smoothly and minimise risks of errors and delays.
As experts in residential property law, Witan Solicitors can provide expert advice and representation on all insolvency matters. Contact us on 0330 173 6983 or send us an email for more information.
