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The Section 8 Notice

If you are a landlord you will be familiar with the term “Section 8 Notice”. This is the notice which is used to give a tenant notice of the termination of their tenancy if they have breached the terms of their tenancy or if you have reason to do so under the prescribed grounds (reasons). This is often issued when there is one or more breaches of the terms of the tenancy on the part of the tenant and the landlord wishes to gain possession of the property before the end of the fixed term tenancy agreement.

The main reason or “ground” for landlords issuing a Section 8 Notice is rent arrears. However, any breaches of the terms of the tenancy agreement can also precipitate possession proceedings, and other grounds such as damage to the property and nuisance to neighbours or having previously lived in the property can be used. There are 17 Grounds (reasons) why a landlord may issue a Section 8 Notice.

What You Need To Know

A Notice of Possession is required before evicting a tenant or possession of a property can be obtained. The precise notice which can be used depends on many things, such as how the tenancy was set up, whether the tenancy is still within the fixed term period and many other reasons. The Section 8 is the notice a landlord must issue if they want to bring to an end a fixed term tenancy during the fixed term period. Notice periods depend on the Ground being selected, Ground 8 which relates Rent Arrears has a Notice period of 2 weeks, whilst Ground 1, which relates to the landlord having previously lived in the property, has a notice period of 2 months.

There are many reasons why a landlord may wish to gain possession of their property; whether the tenant has breached the terms of the tenancy, such as delaying or missing rent payments, or the landlord simply wishes to have their property returned to them, the first thing which must happen is for the tenant to be put on notice, and this is what we refer to as serving the notice of possession.

Unlike a Section 21 Notice, where the landlord does not need to give a reason for wanting possession of their property, the landlord must have a reason or reasons for issuing a Section 8 Notice. If your reasons do not match one of the 17 “Grounds” then you cannot issue a Section 8 Notice.

  • The Landlord must give a reason why they wish to gain possession of their property
  • If the landlords reason cannot match one of the 17 Grounds (reasons) then the landlord cannot issue a Section 8 Notice
The Section 8 Notice is one of the two notices prescribed by law which must be served on a tenant to terminate the tenancy, the other being the Section 21 Notice, you simply cannot walk into a property and ask the tenants to leave, that would be breaking the law and dangerous and costly thing to do, landlords have been fined thousands of pounds for doing this. There are a number of reasons why you would select a Section 21 Notice over a Section 8 Notice and visa-versa but in essence, the Section 8 Notice is used where there is a solid reason or “Ground” for the termination of the tenancy.

Despite the fact that tenant may have breached the terms of the tenancy, (for example by missing on delaying their rent), many landlords and letting agents prefer to issue a Section 21 Notice for gaining possession of their property rather than issuing a Section 8 Notice. However, a Section 21 cannot be issued to bring to an end a fixed term tenancy during the term of the fixed term, in other words, you cannot end a tenancy early using a Section 21 where you can by using a Section 8 Notice.

  • Section 8 – An official notice which must be completed correctly and provide the tenant with reasons why the landlord wants possession.
  • Can be issued to bring to an end a fixed term tenancy during the fixed term of the tenancy.
The Section 8 Notice does not come without its own complications. Since its inception, there have always been rules governing the issuing of a Section 8 Notice. A Section 8 Notice must be compliant in all aspects for it to be enforceable, the tenant must be provided with proof of the breach of the tenancy and they must be given the right to reply.

You can issue a Section 8 Notice any time during the fixed term tenancy, and even into a periodic tenancy. The length of the notice period depends on the specific reason you have requested possession for. Unlike the Section 21 Notice, a Section 8 Notice can be issued even if the landlord hasn’t complied with the terms of the tenancy deposit scheme or terms of the De-Regulation Act.

  • You can issue a Section 8 Notice if you haven’t complied with certain rules of the tenancy (Deregulation Act 2015)
  • You can issue a Section 8 Notice is you haven’t placed a tenancy deposit into a recognised tenancy deposit scheme.
The main advantage of issuing a Section 8 Notice is that it can include a claim for rent arrears (where rent arrears is a Ground) by the landlord against the tenant and in the most common of cases, which is rent arrears, the notice period is only two weeks. However,the tenant can defend against a Section 8 Notice and must be granted a hearing. The other advantage which a Section 8 has over the Section 21 Notice is that it can bring a fixed term tenancy to an end during the fixed term of the tenancy.

  • Can bring a fixed term tenancy to an end at any point during the fixed term.
  • A landlord can include a claim for rent arrears in the Section 8 Claim, this cannot be done with a Section 21 Notice.
The Section 8 Notice does not come without its drawbacks. Probably the most important is that the tenant can defend against it and has the right to a hearing. This means that you must be able to prove the Ground you are relying on, if you cannot prove it, the court is unlikely to grant possession. Unless there is a serious case of rent arrears, many landlords prefer to avoid a Section 8 Notice due to the fact that the tenant can ask for a hearing and many landlords are simply happy to gain possession without the extra hassle of a court hearing by using a Section 21 Notice.

  • A landlord must give a minimum of 2 weeks notice to the tenant depending on the Ground being relied on.
  • If there are any rent arrears, you can include the rent arrears in the claim form when using a Section 8 Notice
If you would like to create and serve the Section 8 Notice yourself, you can by using our on line system. Tenant Registry has created what is probably the only Intelligent On Line Notice System available today. When you use our system, it takes you through the process of creating the correct notice relative to the tenancy circumstances. Our intelligence system will detect any anomalies or issues which may ordinarily make a notice unenforcible. Our online system the detects any problems which and will stop it from issuing an incorrect possession notice, it will inform you what the problems is and what needs to be done to rectify it.

Using our On line Notice System to create a possession notice is quick, inexpensive and gives you over control the eviction process.

  • On Line Section 8 Notice for creating legally compliant tenancy termination notices
  • The system will date the notice so that it is ready to serve and will advise you when to serve it

Our On Line System

      • Instantly create compliant Section 8 Notices – On Line !
      • Use our Intelligent software to assess the tenancy for compliance
      • Use the system to correctly date the notice ready for serving on the tenant
      • Comes with comprehensive notes on how and when to serve the notice

Our Legal Referral System

      • For landlords who do not wish to be directly involved in the possession process
      • For tenancies which are not compliant
      • If you took a deposit but did not pay it into a scheme, use our Legal Referral System
      • If you don’t have a written tenancy, use the Legal Referral System

If you would like any more information or any assistance with a tenancy possession, please complete the form below

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