Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 - Notice to Quit - Grounds for Eviction
- Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 has 17 grounds for evicting a tenant –
- the first 8 are
- Mandatory i.e. the judge has no discretion and must grant eviction.
- Grounds 9 to 17 are
- discretionary - the judge will act as s /he sees fit and fair.
- Do not confuse this with a section 8 tenant - an American tenant in receipt of housing cost assistance. This is not a UK concept.
- A Section 8 Notice to Quit will lapse (expire) 12 months after served on a tenant.
- minimum notice periods are required prior to the end of the initial tenancy term depending on the ground .
- Section 8 notice to quit are served using Form 3
- Grounds for eviction:
- 1-8 Mandatory;
- 1 Owner principle former home returning
- 2 HA’88 mortgagee default s.101 LPA 25
- 3 Fixed term < 8 months AND former holiday let
- 4 Term < 12 months etc.
- 5 Minister of religion e.g. manse required.
- 6 Renovation works render uninhabitable
- 7 Former tenant of Deceased
- 8 Rent Arrears according to rent frequency
- 9-17 Discretionary:
- 9 Suitable alternative accommodation available
- 10 Some unpaid rent on date of service
- 11 Persistent late rent
- 12 Unperformed obligation or default tenancy
- 13House deterioration
- 14 Nuisance annoyance / immoral illegal conduct
- 14Aa Tenant departure unlikely to return
- 15 Furniture deterioration
- 16 Employed tenant no longer employed
- 17 Misleading statement inducing tenancy (HA 1996)
See also
- Section 8 requires one of 17 grounds to evict (not to be confused with Section 21 (aka) Accelerated Notice to Quit (as it is quicker) requiring no grounds to evict. Get it wrong and the judge will throw it out. Eviction will require the legal process to start all over again and can take months.
- (A Section 21 Notice uses Form 6A and will lapse (expire) 6 months after served on a tenant).
- Notice periods
- Acts of Parliament
Published: 11 November 2013
Last Updated: 5 December 2021