The rent-arrears eviction process under the Renters' Rights Act (Ground 8)

General information only, not legal advice. If you are considering possession proceedings, consult a solicitor experienced in housing law.

Section 21 is gone. From 1 May 2026, when Part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force, landlords and letting agents lost the ability to issue no-fault notices and gained something more demanding in its place: a possession system built entirely on Section 8 grounds, several with higher thresholds and longer notice periods than before. For rent arrears, the headline change is straightforward — Ground 8 now requires three months of arrears, not two. But the mechanics underneath that headline are where landlords trip up, and where good record-keeping becomes the difference between a successful possession and a wasted court fee.

What Ground 8 Now Requires

Ground 8 is the mandatory rent-arrears ground. If you prove it at the hearing, the court has no discretion — it must grant possession. That makes it more powerful than the discretionary Ground 10 (which covers any arrears but lets the judge weigh reasonableness). The catch is that the bar to reach it has been raised.

Under the Act, Ground 8 requires:

• At least three months’ rent (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly) to be unpaid at the date the notice is served, and
• That same threshold still to be outstanding at the date of the court hearing.

The notice period itself is four weeks (up from two weeks under the old rules).

Previously, the threshold was two months (or eight weeks for weekly tenancies). That may sound like a modest change, but in practice it adds a further month of financial exposure before a landlord can even begin the process — and that month sits on top of a court timeline. According to Ministry of Justice statistics, the median time from claim to repossession for landlord cases was 27.0 weeks in Q4 2025 (up from 25.0 weeks a year earlier). Add the four-week notice period before you can issue a claim, and a contested Ground 8 case can realistically run to several months from first missed payment to a bailiff appointment.

The Double-Threshold Problem

The most important thing landlords need to understand about Ground 8 is the double-threshold requirement: arrears must meet the three-month level at two separate points in time — when notice is served, and again when the case is heard. If the tenant makes even a partial payment between those two dates that drops the total below three months, Ground 8 falls away, and you are left relying on the discretionary Ground 10.

This is not a theoretical risk. Tenants — or those advising them — are well aware of this mechanic. A payment timed to undercut the threshold at the hearing date is a recognised tactic.

The practical implication: consider pleading Ground 10 alongside Ground 8. Ground 10 covers any amount of rent in arrears and is discretionary, so the court will assess reasonableness; but if a tenant wipes out Ground 8 with a strategic payment, Ground 10 can keep your case alive. Get specialist advice on how to frame both grounds on the same notice.

The Universal Credit Exception

One important carve-out: when calculating the arrears, if the tenant is entitled to receive a housing amount as part of a Universal Credit award, any amount unpaid only because that payment has not yet arrived is ignored for the Ground 8 threshold. In gov.uk’s own words, if a tenant owes three months or 13 weeks’ rent because they have not received their Universal Credit, you will not be able to evict them on this ground. In practice, you need to establish whether any arrears are UC-timing arrears versus genuine non-payment — another reason contemporaneous records matter.

Why Timestamped Rent-Ledger Records Are Now Essential

Under the old Section 21 regime, record-keeping for rent arrears was mostly a financial concern. Under the new system, it is a legal one. Every contested possession claim goes before a judge, who must be satisfied the evidence supports the ground cited. For Ground 8, you need to be able to show:

1. Exactly how much rent was outstanding on the date the notice was served — with dates, not approximations.
2. That the arrears remained at or above the threshold from the notice date through to the hearing.
3. A clear running arrears schedule — practitioners often recommend covering around two years, or from the date of first default, updated to the hearing date.
4. Evidence that the arrears are not solely attributable to a delayed Universal Credit payment.

A spreadsheet updated when you remember to update it will not cut it. You need a system that logs every due date, every payment received, and every balance, with dates that can be verified. PropertyGoose’s referencing platform is built around exactly this kind of structured, timestamped record — and the payment history you build up during a tenancy is the same one you will need if you ever end up in court.

This is also why early flagging is a strategic necessity. The moment arrears reach one month, you want a documented communication trail: written reminders, responses (or lack of them), any agreed payment plans. By the time you serve notice, you want a clean, linear record that leaves a judge in no doubt about what happened and when.

Serve Early, Serve Right

Under the previous regime, many landlords held off serving notice, hoping the tenant would pay. That instinct is understandable, but under Ground 8 it can backfire. Serve before arrears hit three months and the notice will not support the ground. Wait too long and your schedule may be patchy, or the tenant’s circumstances may have shifted in ways that complicate the UC calculation. The four-week notice period must also be counted correctly: it runs from the date of service, so getting service right matters.

The PropertyGoose referencing process flags affordability risk at the outset — a comprehensive reference includes income verification, credit history, and previous tenancy conduct. Landlords who catch warning signs at the start, rather than six months in, are in a fundamentally better position: either they avoid the arrears situation entirely, or they have a clean record to rely on if it does arise. See how our referencing compares to other services in the market.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

A failed Ground 8 claim — whether because the arrears fall below the threshold at the hearing, the notice was served incorrectly, or the evidence is insufficient — means starting again. Another four-week notice. Another court claim fee. Another wait in the queue. At current court timescales, a second attempt can add months to a process already measured in quarters.

The financial logic for keeping immaculate records from day one, running thorough references before keys are handed over, and acting at the first sign of sustained arrears is straightforward. The cost of a solid reference is a fraction of one month’s unpaid rent. The cost of a failed possession claim is several months of it.

The Bigger Picture

The Renters’ Rights Act did not abolish landlords’ ability to recover possession for rent arrears — it made it more expensive to pursue badly. Ground 8 remains mandatory, and that is significant: a well-prepared claim on the right evidence still leads to a court order the judge has no discretion to refuse. The system rewards landlords who reference carefully, communicate promptly, and document everything.

If you have a tenant who is two months in arrears today, start the paper trail now. You may need it in a month’s time.

PropertyGoose offers tenant referencing for UK landlords and letting agents, including full affordability and credit checks. Find out more about our referencing service or compare us to other providers.