Ground 8 Rent Arrears: The Three-Month Threshold Explained for Landlords

Last legally reviewed: September 2026

Ground 8 is mandatory. But that does not mean it is automatic.

Since 1 May 2026, the threshold for Ground 8 has increased. Where rent is payable monthly, the tenant must generally owe at least three months' rent. For weekly or fortnightly tenancies, the threshold is 13 weeks' rent.

That threshold must be met twice: when the section 8 notice is served and again when the case reaches the possession hearing. That second requirement is where many Ground 8 cases become more complicated than landlords expect.

Having acted in rent arrears possession cases for more than 25 years, one of the first things I look at is not simply how much is owed today, but how secure the Ground 8 position is likely to be by the time the case reaches court.

The arrears can increase. They can reduce. A tenant can make a payment shortly before the hearing. A successful disrepair counterclaim may also affect the net arrears figure.

Ground 8 remains one of the strongest possession grounds available to landlords dealing with serious arrears, but only while the statutory requirements continue to be satisfied.

What is Ground 8?

Ground 8 is contained in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. It is a mandatory ground for possession based upon serious rent arrears. That distinction matters.

If the court is satisfied that Ground 8 has been properly established and the statutory requirements are met, the court must ordinarily make a possession order. That makes Ground 8 fundamentally different from Grounds 10 and 11, which are discretionary rent arrears grounds.

Under a discretionary ground, proving the arrears or payment history is not enough on its own. The court must also decide that it is reasonable to make a possession order.

Ground 8 therefore remains an extremely important remedy for landlords dealing with substantial arrears. But the threshold has to be met precisely.

How much rent must be owed for Ground 8?

For monthly rent, the tenant must generally owe at least three months' rent.

For weekly or fortnightly rent, the threshold is 13 weeks' rent.

So, if the monthly rent is £1,200, the Ground 8 threshold is £3,600. If the tenant owes £3,599.99, the mandatory threshold is not met. That may sound technical, but Ground 8 is a statutory test. The court cannot simply round the figure up because the arrears are "close enough".

The rent account therefore needs to be checked carefully before the notice is served.

When must the Ground 8 threshold be satisfied?

This is one of the most important features of Ground 8.

The required level of arrears must exist:

• 1. when the section 8 notice is served; and
• 2. when the possession hearing takes place.

Both conditions have to be satisfied.

A landlord may therefore serve a perfectly valid Ground 8 notice when the tenant owes four months' rent, only to find that the tenant makes a substantial payment before the hearing and reduces the arrears below three months. If that happens, Ground 8 is no longer made out at the hearing.

Even a relatively small payment can make the difference if the arrears are only just above the threshold. This is why I do not regard Ground 8 as a simple snapshot exercise.

The landlord needs to consider not only what is owed when the notice is prepared, but also what may happen before the case reaches court.

What happens if the tenant pays some of the arrears before the hearing?

That depends upon how much remains outstanding. If the tenant still owes at least the Ground 8 threshold at the hearing, Ground 8 can remain available. If the payment takes the arrears below the statutory threshold, the landlord can no longer obtain mandatory possession under Ground 8 at that hearing. That does not necessarily mean the whole possession case is over.

If Grounds 10 and/or 11 were also properly included in the notice and claim, those grounds may remain available. But there is an important difference.

Grounds 10 and 11 are discretionary.

The landlord therefore moves from a position in which the court must ordinarily make a possession order under Ground 8 to one in which the court must decide whether possession is reasonable.

That is one of the principal reasons why Grounds 8, 10 and 11 are so often considered together.

Should Grounds 10 and 11 also be used?

Often, yes, provided the payment history supports them. Ground 10 can apply where some rent remains unpaid. Ground 11 concerns persistent delay in paying rent. Both are discretionary.

The practical advantage is that if Ground 8 falls away because the tenant reduces the arrears (whether tactically or otherwise) below the mandatory threshold, Grounds 10 and 11 may still remain available. But they are not substitutes for Ground 8. The court must still decide whether it is reasonable to make a possession order.

That is why the rent history matters. In a Ground 11 case, a clear payment chronology can often be more persuasive than simply asserting that the tenant is a persistent late payer.

Ground 11 is about a pattern

Ground 11 is sometimes misunderstood. It is concerned with persistent delay in paying rent.

A tenant who pays late on one isolated occasion is very different from a tenant who repeatedly falls behind, makes catch-up payments and then falls into arrears again. In practice, the rent account often tells the Ground 11 story better than a lengthy narrative.

A clear chronology showing when rent fell due and when it was actually paid can demonstrate a persistent pattern immediately.

Accurate rent records are therefore essential.

What if the tenant agrees a repayment plan?

A repayment arrangement does not automatically prevent a landlord from taking possession action. But it can affect the case.

For Ground 8, the central question remains whether the statutory arrears threshold exists when required. If payments under the arrangement reduce the arrears below that threshold before the hearing, Ground 8 may fall away. Where Grounds 10 and 11 are also relied upon, the repayment arrangement may become relevant to reasonableness.

The court may want to know whether the tenant has complied with the arrangement, whether payments are being maintained and whether the arrears are reducing. That does not mean landlords should refuse sensible repayment proposals simply to preserve Ground 8.

It does mean that the legal consequences of any repayment arrangement should be understood before it is agreed.

What about Universal Credit?

The Renters' Rights Act introduced an important qualification where arrears arise because the tenant has not yet received a Universal Credit housing payment to which they are entitled. When calculating the arrears for Ground 8, an amount which is unpaid only because the tenant has not yet received that Universal Credit payment must be disregarded. This can matter.

A rent account may appear, at first sight, to satisfy the Ground 8 threshold when the statutory calculation produces a different result. Landlords and agents should therefore establish whether delayed Universal Credit payments are relevant before relying upon Ground 8.

It is another example of why simply looking at the bottom-line arrears figure is not always enough.

What evidence should be checked before serving a Ground 8 notice?

The starting point is the rent account.

Before I would be comfortable relying on Ground 8, I would want to see:

• 1. The tenancy agreement
• 2. the contractual rent;
• 3. the dates on which it fell due;
• 4. every payment received;
• 5. the current balance.

I would also check the tenancy agreement, any repayment arrangements, disputed payments and whether Universal Credit is relevant.

The objective is simple: by the time the notice is served, the landlord should be able to explain exactly how the Ground 8 figure has been calculated.

A possession claim should not reach court with the landlord and agent trying to reconcile the rent account for the first time.

Can deposit problems affect Ground 8?

Yes. Under the post-1 May 2026 regime, deposit compliance needs to be considered for most section 8 possession claims, including Ground 8.

Where the landlord continues to hold a tenancy deposit, the protection and prescribed information position should be checked before proceedings are commenced. A deposit problem does not mean that the rent arrears disappear. But it can create an obstacle to obtaining a possession order if it has not been dealt with.

This is exactly the kind of issue that should be identified at the beginning of the case rather than after proceedings have already been issued.

Can a disrepair counterclaim affect Ground 8?

Yes, and this can be particularly important.

A tenant defending a rent arrears possession claim may allege that the landlord has failed to comply with repairing obligations and bring a counterclaim for damages. If damages are ultimately awarded and set off against the rent arrears, the resulting figure may fall below the Ground 8 threshold. That can remove the landlord's entitlement to mandatory possession under Ground 8.

Grounds 10 and 11 may potentially remain, but they are discretionary. This does not mean that simply mentioning disrepair defeats Ground 8. An allegation is not the same thing as a successful counterclaim. But where there is a genuine history of repair complaints, the issue should be considered before proceedings are commenced.

• What was reported?
• When was it reported?
• What did the landlord or agent do?
• Were contractors instructed?
• Were repairs completed?
• Is there documentary evidence?

A landlord who understands the potential counterclaim before issuing proceedings is in a far better position than one who first starts investigating the repairs after a defence arrives.

Can the tenant deliberately pay just enough to defeat Ground 8?

The simple answer: yes! A tenant is entitled to make payments towards the rent they owe. If those payments reduce the arrears below the statutory Ground 8 threshold by the time of the hearing, the mandatory ground will not be made out.

The reason for making the payment (whether tactical or otherwise) does not change the statutory calculation. This is another reason landlords should not assume that satisfying Ground 8 when the notice is served guarantees mandatory possession.

Where the payment history supports them, Grounds 10 and 11 may provide an important fallback.

What happens if the arrears increase after the notice is served?

That will not ordinarily cause difficulty for Ground 8.

If the threshold was satisfied when the notice was served and remains satisfied at the hearing, increasing arrears do not prevent reliance upon Ground 8. However, the rent schedule used in the possession proceedings should be kept up to date, and the court should be provided with the current position.

The figure in the original notice is therefore not the end of the accounting exercise.

How much notice must be given under Ground 8?

The current notice period for Ground 8 is four weeks. Grounds 10 and 11 also carry a four-week notice period.

The landlord must serve the prescribed section 8 notice, Form 3A, identifying Ground 8 and explaining the factual basis upon which it is relied upon. The notice period must expire before possession proceedings can ordinarily be commenced.

The notice itself does not end the tenancy. If the tenant remains after the notice expires, the landlord will need to issue possession proceedings in the county court.

Does the tenant have to leave after four weeks?

No. This remains a common misunderstanding. The expiry of a Ground 8 notice does not terminate the tenancy and does not entitle the landlord simply to recover the property. If the tenant does not leave voluntarily, the landlord must seek a possession order from the court.

If a possession order is made and the tenant still remains after the date for possession, enforcement may then be required. The order itself does not entitle a landlord to enter the property and change the locks. A landlord might commit an offence under the Protection from Eviction Act if they take such action.

A landlord should never assume that expiry of the notice gives them a right to change the locks.

What will the court look at in a Ground 8 claim?

At its simplest, the court will need to be satisfied that:

• 1. There is a tenancy to which Ground 8 applies;
• 2. a valid section 8 notice was served;
• 3. the Ground 8 arrears threshold was satisfied when that notice was served;
• 4. the required arrears still exist at the hearing; and
• 5. there is no other legal obstacle preventing a possession order.

The rent account is central. But the court may also have to determine disputed payments, Universal Credit issues, deposit compliance, counterclaims or other matters raised by the tenant.

What appears to be a simple arrears case can therefore become substantially more complicated once those issues arise.

Is Ground 8 still the strongest rent arrears ground?

Where the statutory threshold is met, Ground 8 has an obvious advantage: it is mandatory. That distinguishes it from Grounds 10 and 11. But I would be cautious about describing any possession ground as "guaranteed".

The notice still needs to be valid, and the arrears calculation must be correct. The threshold has to survive until the hearing, and any deposit issue must be addressed. A genuine counterclaim may affect the arrears, and the landlord still has to prove the case.

Ground 8 is powerful because of its mandatory nature, but it is not immune from litigation risk.

The practical lesson for landlords

Ground 8 remains one of the strongest possession grounds available to a landlord dealing with serious rent arrears. But the key is not simply reaching the three-month threshold.

Ground 8 is strongest when the case has been properly analysed before the notice is served.

That is the point at which many later problems can still be avoided.

Frequently asked questions about Ground 8

How many months' rent arrears are needed for Ground 8?

For rent payable monthly, the tenant must generally owe at least three months' rent. For weekly or fortnightly rent, the threshold is 13 weeks.

Does the tenant have to owe three months when the notice is served?

Yes. The threshold must be satisfied when the Ground 8 notice is served and again at the possession hearing.

What happens if the tenant pays some rent before court?

If enough remains outstanding to satisfy Ground 8, the mandatory ground can remain available.

If the payment takes the arrears below the threshold, Ground 8 will no longer be made out at the hearing.

Can the landlord still get possession if Ground 8 falls away?

Potentially. If Grounds 10 or 11 were also properly relied upon, the landlord may continue under those grounds. They are, however, discretionary.

How long is the Ground 8 notice period?

Four weeks.

Does a Ground 8 notice end the tenancy?

No. If the tenant remains after the notice expires, the landlord will ordinarily need to obtain a possession order from the county court.

Can disrepair defeat Ground 8?

A mere allegation of disrepair does not automatically defeat Ground 8.

However, a successful disrepair counterclaim may result in damages being set off against the arrears. If that reduces the arrears below the statutory threshold, Ground 8 may cease to be available.

Should Ground 8 always be served with Grounds 10 and 11?

Not automatically. Where the factual and payment history supports them, Grounds 10 and 11 can provide useful alternatives if Ground 8 later falls away. Each ground should nevertheless have a proper evidential basis.

Is your tenant in serious rent arrears?

The Landlord Group specialises in residential possession work for landlords throughout England.

Before a rent arrears notice is prepared, we consider the tenancy, the rent schedule, the current arrears, the appropriate possession grounds and any issues which may affect the eventual court proceedings.

Where Grounds 8, 10 and 11 are appropriate, the notice can be prepared on that basis from the outset.

The purpose is not simply to serve a form. It is to make sure that the possession case has been properly considered before the notice is served.

Instruct The Landlord Group to prepare your rent arrears Section 8 notice.

or

Contact us if you are unsure whether your tenant's arrears satisfy Ground 8.

About the author

Chris Sharp is a solicitor specialising in residential landlord and tenant law and has acted exclusively for landlords for more than 25 years. He is Principal Solicitor at LR Solicitors and a director of The Landlord Group. His practice focuses particularly on residential possession proceedings, tenancy disputes and landlord enforcement.

Chris has also been a regular contributor to Channel 5's Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords and has delivered specialist lectures on residential landlord and tenant law across the country, including at Leeds Metropolitan University.

This article provides general information about landlord and tenant law in England and should not be treated as legal advice about any particular tenancy. The appropriate possession route will depend upon the individual facts and circumstances.