A section 8 notice is a legal document that your landlord must give to you from 1st May if they want to evict you from your privately rented home. 

It is the first step that your landlord has to take to evict you. 

The section 8 notice is the way they tell you they are planning to go to court for an order to evict you, called a ‘possession’ order, if you don’t leave. 

1. The section 8 notice must be ‘valid’

Often landlords give tenants section 8 notices that are not actually valid for some reason. Here, ‘valid’ means legally enforceable - a section 8 notice is only legally enforceable if it meets all the legal requirements about how it is prepared, written and given to a tenant. So, it’s really important to work out if your section 8 notice is valid – for more help on this go to Reasons your section 8 notice might not be valid.

2. Getting a section 8 notice does not mean that your landlord can force you out straight away 

There is a legal process they must follow. This gives you a bit of time to get some advice. The sooner you get advice the better the outcome will be for you!

3. You are immediately entitled to free legal advice 

There is a free government advice scheme to help you if you are given a section 8 notice. Go to Find a legal aid adviser and put in your postcode and click on ‘Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service’.

4. A section 8 notice does not end your tenancy 

Your tenancy does not end until the date that a bailiff comes to your home and enforces a court warrant that allows them to evict you. They can only evict you if they give you the correct notice and come on the date that the warrant allows them to come. But, if you leave voluntarily after you get a section 8 notice or after the court makes a possession order, your tenancy will end on that date.

5. Just because you have been given a section 8 notice, you can’t stop paying your rent

You need to keep paying your rent, and any arrears if you possibly can, until the end of the tenancy. If you need help with debt issues, go to More help and advice. If you stop paying your rent, your landlord can ask the court for an order to evict you and, at the same time, start a money claim against you. This means they can ask the court to order you to pay any rent you owe, plus the arrears that have built up and their legal costs.

6. If the section 8 notice is valid and you don’t leave the property your landlord can ask the court for a possession order 

If you don’t leave by the date in your section 8 notice, your landlord can apply to court and ask for a possession order. If your landlord is successful, the court can also order that you have to pay your landlord’s costs.
 

Reason 1 – you are not given the correct form 

There will be a specific new form that your landlord must use, called a Form 3A. They cannot let you know they want you to move out by just telling you face to face. Your landlord might give you something called a ‘notice to quit’. This can only be used in a few situations and if you rent your home from a private landlord this will be the wrong form. If you do get a notice to quit, be sure to get legal advice to check that it is the wrong form. 

Reason 2 – you are given a section 8 notice too early in your tenancy

If your landlord says they want to sell or move into the property they can only give you a section 8 notice for this reason 12 months after the start of the tenancy. Any time before this and the section 8 notice will be invalid. 

Reason 3 – not enough information or incorrect information in the section 8 form

Your landlord needs to have all the key information correctly included in the section 8 form for it to be valid. For example, they must include your full name, the address and the reason or reasons they want to evict you. The form must be detailed and clear enough for you as a tenant to understand what you might be able to do to avoid being evicted. So, if the issue is rent arrears, where you have fallen behind on your rent payments or you are regularly late paying your rent, your landlord needs to provide details of the arrears so you can try and sort out the problem. 

Reason 4 – you have not been given enough notice 

Your landlord needs to put the date they can first apply to court to evict you in the section 8 notice. This is often called ‘notice’. How much notice you get depends on the legal reason your landlord is using to apply for a possession order. For more on this go to Legal reasons landlords can use to evict you.

Reason 5 – the section 8 notice has expired 

Your landlord must apply to court within 12 months of giving you a section 8 notice. If they do not do this, the notice runs out and they will need to prepare and give you a new one. 

Reason 6 – your deposit has not been put in a tenant deposit protection scheme

Your landlord must protect your deposit in a tenancy deposit protection scheme. If they haven't done that, the court can't make a possession order (unless the possession claim is about anti-social behaviour). But the landlord can rectify this by protecting the deposit just before the hearing.
 

After 1st May your landlord will have to use one or more legal reasons in a section 8 notice to ask the court to evict you. These legal reasons are called ‘grounds’. There is a long list of different grounds that landlords can use. Here we focus on the most commonly used ones. 

Landlords must be clear on the details of the legal reason they want to use. You need to get legal advice, if you can, to understand if your landlord can use the reason they have put in the section 8 notice and what you might be able to do to challenge it. 

Be aware that landlords are allowed to use more than one ground in the section 8 notice and often will if they think this will make it more likely that they get a possession order. 

Landlords must also be careful to use a legal reason that they believe they are actually entitled to use – rather than just pick one they fancy to get you out as quickly as possible. 

In some situations, the council can fine your landlord. For example, if they use a ground in a section 8 notice that, given all the facts of the situation, it would be unreasonable for them to believe they can use and you leave within four months of getting the notice, the council can fine them. If they use a ground that they know they cannot use, the council can give them a much bigger fine. 

Mandatory and discretionary grounds 

Some of the legal reasons that landlords can use are easier to challenge than others. This is because with some of the reasons, if your landlord can provide evidence and the court accepts it, the judge must make a possession order. This is called a ‘mandatory’ ground. 

Some other legal reasons are easier to challenge. This is because even if your landlord’s evidence is accepted by the court, the judge can still take into account your personal situation and if they decide it is ‘reasonable’ to do so, they can refuse to make an order or they can make an order that gives you more time to put things right and avoid being evicted. 

Next, we explain the different legal reasons your landlord might be able to use. We have put them into the two types – mandatory and discretionary. 

Mandatory grounds  

Discretionary grounds 

How to work out notice periods correctly

The notice period starts on the date the law says you received the section 8 notice – this is not always the same date that you actually receive it. How long you then have till the date your landlord can go to court depends on the legal reason they use. 

Example (set in the future!) 

Rachael and Colin rent their home from a private landlord. The landlord decides they want to sell the property. They have to give Rachael and Colin 4 months’ notice. 

Their tenancy agreement says that notices can be sent by first class post and will be assumed to arrive the next day. 

Their landlord sends a section 8 notice to them on 1st July 2026 which says the earliest date the landlord can apply to court for a possession order is 31st October. The notice will be treated as arriving on 2nd July (even if it arrives later than that). Their landlord has not given them enough notice. It is two days short of the required 4 months and so the notice is not valid. 

Rent arrears 

Due to the new laws in May, it is likely that many landlords will use a legal reason linked to rent arrears. 

If your landlord is using a rent arrears reason in the section 8 notice, don’t give up. There are things you can do!

1. Get in touch with your landlord as soon as possible and suggest a repayment plan to start reducing the amount of rent you owe. This must only be an amount you really can manage though otherwise the plan will quickly become unmanageable. Get help from a debt adviser on this beforehand.
2. If your landlord is using Ground 8 rent arrears, try and get what you owe below the amount of 13 weeks or 3 months’ rent. Get help as soon as possible.  
3. You might get some benefits already but there could be other benefits you aren’t getting but that you are entitled to. Again – get help on this as soon as you can as it takes time to make a new claim.
4. If you get UC but the DWP are making deductions and this problem is adding to your difficulties in paying your rent, you might be able to negotiate smaller deductions with the DWP.  
5. If you have rent arrears and your home is in a bad condition with problems like mould, damp or a broken boiler, you may be able to make a counter claim against the rent arrears for ‘disrepairs’. You must tell your landlord about the problem, keep a record that you have told them (like the email or a photocopy of any letter) and take photos of the problem and any medical evidence you have of the how the problem is affecting you or anyone else who lives with you. Get free legal advice on this if you possibly can. If you can’t, take what evidence you can to court, with copies, and show it to the judge. 

Get free legal advice on your exact situation as soon as you can. Go to the section called More help and advice and read our guide on preparing to see a solicitor or adviser so you get the most out of your advice session. 

It may well be that your section 8 notice is not valid or you might be able to challenge the possession claim due to your particular situation. Or, if your home is in a bad condition and you need repairs doing you may be able to ask the court to take this problem into account when it looks at your landlord’s possession claim. This is called a ‘counter claim’.  You will need evidence to show problems with the condition of your home. Try and get urgent legal advice if you want to make a counter claim. 

Legal advice is essential to help you work all this out. 

Think about the pros and cons involved in challenging the section 8 notice before you make any big decisions. 

Pros 

If you decide to challenge your landlord’s application for a possession order and you are successful you get to stay in your home – great news! But be aware that your landlord could give you another section 8 notice at a later date, especially if they only made an administrative error in the form – they may re-apply just a few months later. 

If there is any chance that your local council will accept you as homeless and find you somewhere to live, they will ask you to challenge your landlord’s possession claim if they are aware that there is a reason you can do this. You can ask your council to help you do this. 

Cons

If you are not successful, the court will order you to pay the landlord’s costs and you will still have to leave the property. But even in this situation, you will have got a bit more time, while the court process happens, to hopefully find somewhere else to live. 

You may not get a positive or any reference from your landlord.
 

If you have got legal advice and you have decided to challenge your landlord’s application, try and get more help to deal with the process. Here we have a short overview of the process so you can feel a bit more prepared. 

Do I have to leave my home on the date in the section 8 notice? 

No, you do not. You only have to leave if your landlord successfully applies to court for a possession order. The order will state the date you have to leave by. If you do not leave by that date, your landlord can ask for another order which allows a bailiff to come on a set date and force you to leave. The bailiff must give you two weeks’ notice of the date they are going to come. 

What happens if my landlord puts my home back up for rent after evicting me to sell?

Your landlord cannot put the property back on the rental market for 12 months if they get an order to evict you because they want to sell it. If they do, the council can fine them. If you have evidence of your landlord doing this, you can report them to your local council. 

I can’t manage my rent. What can I do? 

If you are in this situation, it is really important you get help from a debt adviser and a benefits adviser. A debt adviser can help you make a repayment plan that you can suggest to your landlord to prevent you from being evicted. A benefits adviser can look at any benefits you get now and see if you are entitled to others or the same ones at a higher rate. Go to More help and advice to get help as soon as possible. 

Can I get help from the council with my housing? 

It is likely that you can get some help from the council to find somewhere else to live. How much help they have to give you depends on your particular situation. You need to meet certain immigration requirements to get help. If you meet these requirements, and you are at risk of becoming homeless in the next 56 days (8 weeks), the council need to help you. This includes if you have been given a valid section 8 notice and the date in the notice is within the next 56 days. 

The help the council has to give you depends on your situation. It could be help with a deposit for another private rented home or it might be you are entitled to emergency accommodation. Go to our Housing and homelessness section for more help. 

The local authority has told me that I need to wait until I have gone to court and the bailiff comes to my house before they are able to help me, is this correct? 

No. Your local authority (often called ‘the council’) has a duty to help you avoid homelessness and usually it will not be reasonable for you to stay in your home until the bailiff comes and forces you out.

Your local authority must help you if: 

• you are at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days (8 weeks) – this includes being given a valid section 8 notice where the date in the notice is in the next 56 days, and
• you meet certain immigration requirements. 

For more support on getting help from your council housing team, see What to do if you are threatened with homelessness. 
 

Legal advice and support 

Legal aid 

You should get legal aid through a housing law solicitor if you possibly can. This is because the solicitor will then be able to help you through your case and apply for extra legal aid funding to represent you if you have to go to court. If you have to go to court, having legal aid can often give you some protection against paying your landlord’s costs too, if you lose your case. 

To find a housing law solicitor who does legal work, go to Find a legal aid adviser and put in your postcode and click on the box called ‘Housing’.

Free legal advice for housing problems (Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service) 

Under the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service anyone facing the loss of their home can get free initial legal advice on what to do. 

So, if you get a section 8 notice, a housing expert can help you with: 

• illegal eviction,
• disrepair and other problems with housing conditions,
• rent arrears,
• welfare benefits payments, and
  debt.

If you have to go to court, a housing adviser may be able to give you free legal advice and representation at the court hearing. 

To find an adviser who can help you via this scheme, go to Find a legal aid adviser. Put in your postcode and then tick the box called Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.

Shelter 

The charity Shelter has lots of useful information on their website and a webchat service. Call their helpline if you:

• are homeless,
• have nowhere to stay tonight,
• are worried about losing your home in the next two months, or
• are at risk of harm or abuse.

You can call Shelter's Free housing advice helpline on 0808 800 4444. The line is open Mondays to Fridays 8am – 6pm, closed on Bank Holidays. Calls are free from UK landlines and all major UK mobile operators. They also offer a webchat service.

Shelter also has some advice centres in England where you can go to get personal, face-to-face advice from a housing specialist. Use your postcode in their search option at Find your closest Shelter service.

Citizens Advice 

Citizens Advice have advice centres in local communities. Scroll down their homepage to search for a centre near you.

Law Centres 

Law centres employ solicitors and other workers who specialise in helping people with housing problems. You can search for your nearest Law Centre on the Law Centres Network website. 

LawWorks 

LawWorks is an organisation that connects people in need of legal advice with volunteer lawyers. You can find a local legal advice clinic using your postcode on their website. 

Community organisations 

Some local community organisations offer housing advice, and sometimes in languages other than English. If there’s a community organisation near you, it’s worth asking them if they can help. If you don’t know whether there is one, ask your local council if they know of any.

Tenancy Relations Service 

Contact your local council to find out if they run a tenancy relations service. Many do. If so, ask to speak to a tenancy relations officer and they should be able to advise you about your eviction notice, for free. They can also help if it seems you are being asked to leave your home unlawfully and with illegal eviction or harassment. In some councils the tenancy relations service operates via a Housing Advice Centre or the Housing Options Team. If your local council says they don’t have a tenancy relations service, ask them if they have a housing advice centre or housing options team instead.

Renters' unions 

There may be a local renters union near you that you can go to for help. Renters unions are member led. You join the union and sometimes pay a small fee. The union can help with different housing issues such as illegal evictions, repairs problems and bad practice by landlords. Find out more at Shelter – how renters unions can help.

Debt advice

National Debtline 

National Debtline can give you free, confidential advice and information about debt problems via their free helpline. Call the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. Open Monday to Friday 9am - 8pm, Saturday 9.30am - 1pm. If you are calling from abroad, Call the National Debtline on 0121 227 4780. Calling from abroad is not free of charge. Webchat opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 8pm and Saturday 9:30am - 1pm. You can also speak to an adviser via webchat during the same hours.  

StepChange 

StepChange Debt Charity can give you free, confidential advice about debt problems via their free helpline. Call StepChange on 0800 138 1111. Open Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm, Saturday 9am – 2pm. Alternatively, go to the website to access their online debt advice tool, available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Debt Advice Foundation 

The Debt Advice Foundation can give you free, confidential advice about your debt problems over the phone. Call the Debt Advice Foundation on 0800 043 40 50. Open Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm. 

MoneyHelper has lots of information about managing your money with online tools and a service to find a debt adviser need you. They have lots of different ways for you to get in touch, depending on what suits you best. For more information go to MoneyHelper get in touch.

Benefits help

Advicelocal

Advicelocal can help you with questions relating to welfare benefits and tax credits. You just enter a postcode and choose an advice topic to find tailored information for your area, including details of independent advice organisations who can help you get the advice and support that you need.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice is the national body for local Citizens offices. Scroll down their homepage to search for a Citizens Advice near you. Citizens Advice also runs a free national phone service, Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm (closed on public holidays). If you live in England call Citizens Advice on 0800 144 8848. If you live in Wales call them on 0800 702 2020. Calls to their national helpline are free from mobiles and landlines. Citizens Advice also has an online chat service that you can find on their Contact us page. 

Turn2Us

Turn2Us provides free a benefits calculator and grants search tool to check what benefits users might be able to claim and what grants they might be able to apply for.

Civil claim 

A non-criminal legal case involving individuals, organisations or companies about a particular legal right.

Claimant 

Person, organisation or company who starts the case.

Claim form 

The form your landlord must fill in to apply for a possession order. In a possession claim 

Counter claim 

Where the person who has the case brought against them makes their own claim against the person who started the case. In possession claims, if the property is in a poor condition and needs repairs doing, the tenant may be able to make a counter claim. The court can order the landlord to pay compensation to the tenant which can be taken off the rent arrears, and may even be more than the rent arrears.

County Court 

A local court that deals with legal cases that are not to do with crimes. Judges in county courts make legally binding decisions about legal issues like disputes between landlords and tenants, unpaid debts, family disputes, probate and bankruptcy.

Defence 

This is a legal reason or explanation that you can give to the court to argue against the making of an order.

Defence form 

The form you need to fill in if you want to tell the court that you do not agree with the possession order being made. You need to give reasons as to why you disagree. 

Defendant 

The person, organisation or company the civil claim is brought against. 

Discretionary

In this situation, ‘discretionary’ means the judge can decide how to deal with the landlord’s application for a possession order. They do not have to automatically make an order to evict you, even where the landlord have successfully proved their case against you.

Grounds 

A legal reason that your landlord needs to use to be able to ask for a possession order.

Lettings agency

A company which manages properties for private landlords. This may include finding a tenant, collecting the rent and sometimes maintaining the property.

Local authority or council

Local branch of government, which is responsible for managing local services, for example, schools, libraries, care homes and roads. Some are also responsible for looking after people who are homeless in their area - offering advice, helping those who are homeless, running their own housing for people in need and dealing with landlords who break the law.

Mandatory

Something that must be done because the law requires it.

Outright possession order 

This is a possession order that the court can make that means you must leave your property on a set date – usually 2 weeks’ later. 

Particulars of claim

The form your landlord must use to set out details of their evidence to ask the court for a possession order. In possession claims this is the N119 form.

Possession order  

This is an order made by the court ordering a tenant to leave their landlord’s property on a particular date. Once this order is made, if you do not leave on the date in the order, your landlord can apply to have the court bailiff evict you.

Private landlord

An individual or company who offers a property for rent. These landlords are different to social landlords like your local council, housing associations or charities. These bodies provide housing but not to make a profit. 

Private rented sector

Homes that are rented out by private landlords to people who pay rent to the landlord or their agent. It does not include homes rented by housing associations or local councils.

Section 8 eviction notice 

A section 8 notice is a legal document that your landlord must give to you from 1st May if they want to evict you from your privately rented home. It gets its name from the section of the Act of Parliament that created it. You may also hear it called a ‘notice seeking possession’.

Section 21 notice 

This is the name given to the paperwork your landlord gives you to tell you that they want you to leave their property and the date you have to leave. A section 21 notice gets its name from the section of the Act of Parliament that created it. You may also hear it called a ‘notice requiring possession’.

Suspended possession order 

This is a possession order with some conditions attached to it. Your landlord cannot enforce possession order (get bailiffs to make you leave) as long as you stick to the conditions set out in the order. For example, as long as you pay the current rent plus an amount toward the arrears every week or month. If you don't do this, your landlord can then apply to have the court bailiff evict you. 

Tenancy agreement 

A contract between you and your landlord. It sets out what rights and obligations you and your landlord have. This will include, for example, how much and how often you will pay rent.

Tenant

A person who rents accommodation from a landlord.

Valid 

In this situation, ‘valid’ means legally enforceable - a section 8 notice is only legally enforceable if it meets all the legal requirements about how it is prepared, written and given to a tenant.

Disclaimer

The information in this guide applies to England only. The law is complicated. We have simplified things in this guide. Please don’t rely on this guide as a complete statement of the law. We recommend you try and get advice from the sources we have suggested.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

Acknowledgements

This guide was written and produced by Advicenow thanks to funding from the Ministry of Justice via the Online Support and Advice Grant.

Advicenow would like to thank all those who provided advice and feedback on this guide, in particular Diane Astin of Brunel University, David Thomas and Rhiannon Hughes.