Rent arrears grounds have changed: What landlords need to know under the new rules
Rent arrears remain the most common reason landlords seek possession of a property. With Section 21 abolished from 1 May 2026, every possession claim now runs through Section 8, and the most consequential single change to the arrears grounds under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the increase to the Ground 8 threshold. Understanding the current position clearly is essential for any landlord who may need to recover possession for rent arrears.
What Ground 8 now requires
Ground 8 is the mandatory rent arrears ground. It is mandatory because, if the landlord can prove the ground is met at both the date of the notice and the date of the court hearing, the court must grant possession. The landlord does not have to persuade the court to exercise discretion.
Under the old rules, applicable to Section 8 notices served before 1 May 2026, Ground 8 applied where the tenant owed at least two months’ rent for a monthly tenancy, or eight weeks’ rent for a weekly or fortnightly tenancy.
From 1 May 2026, for all Section 8 notices served on or after that date, the threshold increased. Ground 8 now applies where the tenant owes at least three months’ rent for a monthly tenancy, or thirteen weeks’ rent for a weekly or fortnightly tenancy. Both conditions must still be met: the arrears must reach the threshold when the notice is served, and they must still be at or above the threshold when the case is heard in court. If the tenant pays down the arrears below the threshold before the hearing, Ground 8 no longer applies on that notice, and the landlord would need to serve fresh notice if the arrears subsequently build again.
The Universal Credit exception
One of the most significant practical changes to Ground 8 is the introduction of a Universal Credit exception. Where the tenant is waiting for a Universal Credit housing element payment they are entitled to but have not yet received, the court is required to disregard any arrears that have built up as a result of that delay.
In practice, this means a landlord whose arrears case is built on a situation where UC payments have been delayed may find that Ground 8 cannot be relied on, even where the arrears otherwise meet the threshold. The court will look at the cause of the arrears at the hearing. Those arrears are still owed, so the discretionary grounds remain available. Where a tenant receives the housing element of Universal Credit, it is also worth asking DWP for the housing costs to be paid directly to you through a managed payment, which can stop arrears building in the first place.
The notice form has changed
All Section 8 notices served from 1 May 2026 must use Form 3A, which replaced the old Form 3 on that date. A notice must be in the prescribed form or one substantially to the same effect. Using an outdated form or template puts the notice at serious risk of being invalid, which would mean starting the process again.
Form 3A must include the full legal wording of every ground being relied on. It must state the date after which the landlord intends to begin court proceedings, which must be at or after the end of the required notice period for the ground cited. The notice must be served on every named tenant individually.
Why Grounds 10 and 11 matter more now
Experienced landlord advisers consistently recommend pleading Grounds 8, 10, and 11 together in any arrears possession case, and this matters more now that the Ground 8 threshold is higher.
Ground 10 is a discretionary ground that covers any rent lawfully due that is unpaid both when the notice is served and when court proceedings begin. It applies even where the arrears are below the Ground 8 threshold. Ground 11 is a discretionary ground that applies where the tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, even if they are not in arrears at the date of the notice. Together, they provide a fallback position if the arrears fall below the Ground 8 threshold before the hearing.
The notice period for all three grounds is now four weeks, doubled from the pre-May 2026 two-week period.
The practical position for landlords
Address rent arrears early through communication rather than allowing them to reach the Ground 8 threshold before taking action. A landlord who engages with a tenant at one month’s arrears, understands whether Universal Credit delays are a factor, and documents the response is in a significantly stronger position than one who waits until the three-month threshold is reached and finds the arrears have a UC-related cause that complicates the possession claim.
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