Today, 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 comes into force. From this date, the private rented sector in England changes fundamentally and irreversibly. In relation to how to recover possession under the new regime, B P Collins’ property disputes team explains that the section 8 grounds are now the only route to possession, and understanding which grounds are available, and how they work, is the most important practical change for most landlords. In this article they explore the following grounds which are most commonly relied upon and what action landlords need to take now.
- Ground 1 – Landlord or family member intending to occupy (mandatory, four months’ notice): Ground 1 allows a landlord, or a close family member (including parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren), to recover the property for occupation as their only or principal home. It cannot be relied upon within the first twelve months of the tenancy meaning, including the mandatory four months’ notice period, it would be sixteen months from the grant of the tenancy before you can secure possession relying on Ground 1. After possession is recovered, the landlord is subject to a twelve-month prohibition on re-letting the property.
- Ground 1A – Intention to sell (mandatory, four months’ notice): Ground 1A applies where the landlord genuinely intends to sell the property. It cannot be relied upon within the first twelve months of the tenancy meaning, including the mandatory four months’ notice period, it would be sixteen months from the grant of the tenancy before you can secure possession relying on Ground 1A. A twelve-month prohibition on re-letting applies after possession is recovered. A landlord who obtains possession on this ground under false pretences faces civil penalties and potential criminal liability.
- Ground 6 – Redevelopment (mandatory, four months’ notice): Ground 6 allows a landlord to recover possession where it intends to demolish or substantially reconstruct the premises, or carry out works that cannot reasonably be carried out with the tenant in occupation. The landlord must hold the freehold or a leasehold with at least five years to run, and the works must genuinely require vacant possession.
- Ground 7A – Serious anti-social behaviour or criminality (mandatory, no notice required): Ground 7A covers severe anti-social behaviour or criminality, including convictions for serious offences. Uniquely, proceedings can be issued immediately without any notice period. This is the ground to consider where the behaviour of the tenant poses a serious risk.
- Ground 8 – Serious rent arrears (mandatory, four weeks’ notice): Ground 8 requires at least three months’ rent arrears (up from two months) to be outstanding both at the date the notice is served and at the date of the hearing. Any arrears attributable solely to a delay in Universal Credit housing costs are disregarded. Critically, if a tenant reduces arrears below the threshold before the hearing (even on the day) the mandatory ground fails and the landlord is left with discretionary grounds only.
- Ground 8A – Repeated arrears (mandatory, four weeks’ notice): Ground 8A is a new mandatory ground targeting tenants who have been in arrears of two months or more on three or more separate occasions in the preceding three years, regardless of whether those arrears have since been cleared. Unlike Ground 8, it cannot be defeated by a last-minute payment. It is an important tool for landlords dealing with tenants who repeatedly push arrears to the brink and then clear them, but it requires careful rent account records over a three-year rolling window.
What you need to do now
- Understand that your tenancy is now periodic: If you have an existing tenancy, it has converted automatically to a periodic assured tenancy from today. You no longer have a contractual end date to rely on. Your only route to possession is through a valid section 8 notice based on one of the statutory grounds. Familiarise yourself with those grounds and take advice if you are unsure which applies to your circumstances.
- Act on any existing section 21 notice without delay: If you served a valid section 21 notice before today, you must issue possession proceedings in court by 31 July 2026, or within six months of the date you served the notice, whichever is earlier. After that deadline, the notice cannot be enforced, and you will need to rely on the section 8 grounds instead. If you have not yet issued proceedings, do so immediately.
- Provide the government information sheet to all existing tenants by 31 May 2026: The government has published an information sheet explaining the changes made by the Act. You are required to provide this to all existing tenants by 31 May 2026. Failure to do so carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
- Check your deposit protection: Deposit protection remains a threshold requirement for possession. With the exception of certain anti-social behaviour grounds, no possession order can be made unless the deposit has been properly protected in an authorised scheme throughout the tenancy and the prescribed information has been served on the tenant. If you are in any doubt about whether your deposit is correctly protected, check now. An unprotected deposit also exposes you to a separate penalty claim of one to three times the deposit amount.
- Update how you review rent: Any contractual rent review clause in your tenancy agreement (whether in a new tenancy or one that predates today) is no longer enforceable. All rent increases must now go through the section 13 procedure: one increase per year, at least two months’ notice on the prescribed form, and at a ‘market rent’ or lower. Your tenant has the right to challenge any increase at the First-tier Tribunal for free. If you have been relying on a contractual rent review clause to increase rent, you will need to switch to the section 13 process.
- Review how you market your property: You must not advertise your property in a way that excludes tenants in receipt of benefits or with children, either directly or indirectly. Review any standard advertising language, referencing criteria or application policies that may discriminate on these grounds. Breaches are enforceable by local authorities and carry civil penalties.
- Take advice before serving any possession notice: The section 8 notice is now the only route to possession. It must be served on the correct prescribed form, specifying a valid ground supported by the relevant facts, with the correct notice period for the ground relied upon. An invalid notice cannot be corrected retrospectively – it must be withdrawn and the process started again, which can mean months of additional delay.
What comes next
Today’s commencement is not the end of the changes to the private rented sector:
- Phase two (due from late 2026) will introduce the private rented sector ombudsman scheme, which all private landlords will be required to join, and the private rented sector database, on which all landlords and properties will need to be registered.
- Phase three will bring Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector, imposing mandatory timescales for addressing hazards such as damp and mould, and will introduce a new Decent Homes Standard for private rentals.
The direction of travel is clear and the pace of regulatory change is unlikely to slow.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the most significant reform of the private rented sector in England for a generation. If you are a landlord and are unsure how these changes affect you, or if you need to take possession of your property, review your rent, or deal with a tenancy dispute, B P Collins’ property disputes team can help.
The team wants to get to the heart of the issue, understanding the objective and managing the process to analyse the risks and achieve a resolution as swiftly, efficiently and as cost effectively as possible. The team’s ethos is simple: solve the problem. To get in touch, please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk or call 01753 889995.
