Ground 8A for Landlords: The Persistent-Arrears Ground That Was Never Enacted

Is Ground 8A real?

No. The accurate position on 'Ground 8A' is:

• It was proposed in the earlier Renters (Reform) Bill 2023-24, under the previous government
• That Bill fell before it became law, so Ground 8A never took effect
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 did not re-introduce it; Ground 8A is not in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988
• There is no mandatory ground for persistent or repeated arrears, and none that cannot be defeated by the tenant paying the arrears

The arrears grounds that actually exist

Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the possession grounds for rent arrears are:

• Ground 8 (mandatory): Tenant at least 3 months (13 weeks) in arrears at both the notice date and the hearing date. Notice period 4 weeks. If proved, the court must order possession.
• Ground 10 (discretionary): Some rent is lawfully due and unpaid. Notice period 4 weeks. The court orders possession only if it is reasonable.
• Ground 11 (discretionary): The tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, whether or not any rent is in arrears at the notice date. Notice period 4 weeks. This is the route for a pattern of late payment, and it is discretionary.
• There is no mandatory 'persistent arrears' ground. Ground 11 is the persistent-delay route and the court keeps discretion to refuse possession.

Why clearing arrears matters, and what no longer applies

The problem the proposed Ground 8A was meant to address was never solved in law, so landlords must plan around it:

• Ground 8 can be defeated by repayment: Arrears must be at least 3 months at both the notice date and the hearing date, so a tenant who pays below the threshold before the hearing defeats Ground 8.
• No ground survives full repayment: There is no mandatory ground that remains once the tenant clears the debt.
• Ground 11 is the discretionary fallback: For a genuine pattern of late payment you can rely on Ground 11, but the court decides whether possession is reasonable.
• Cite the real grounds together: Landlords commonly cite Grounds 8, 10 and 11 on the same notice, so the discretionary grounds remain if Ground 8 is defeated by a late payment.

The court process for arrears grounds

How the court approaches an arrears claim depends on which ground you rely on:

• On Ground 8 (mandatory), the court must order possession if satisfied the tenant is at least 3 months in arrears at both the notice and hearing dates
• On Grounds 10 and 11 (discretionary), the court orders possession only if it considers it reasonable, and it can make a suspended or postponed order
• You will need a valid Section 8 notice citing the grounds you rely on, served correctly, with the notice period expired before you issue
• You must show compliance with the prescribed pre-tenancy requirements (for example EICR, gas safety, EPC, deposit protection and Prescribed Information, and the How to Rent guide or its successor as applicable), since non-compliance can be used to resist possession
• There is no 'Ground 8A' to plead, so notices and claims should not reference one

Evidence the landlord needs

Because a pattern of arrears can only be pursued on the discretionary Ground 11 (and Ground 10 for current arrears), contemporaneous records are essential:

• Rent account statement: a chronological record showing each due date, payment date, amount and arrears balance, evidencing persistent delay for Ground 11.
• Tenancy agreement: confirming the rent due date and amount.
• Demand letters or rent reminders: communications chasing late payment, which corroborate the rent account.
• Bank statements: showing actual payment receipts and dates.
• Section 8 notice: the correctly served notice citing the real grounds relied on (Ground 8, 10 and/or 11).
• Certificate of service: evidence of how and when the notice was served.

When to use which ground

Match the ground to the situation, and forget about Ground 8A:

• Use Ground 8 when current arrears are at least 3 months (13 weeks); it is mandatory, but the tenant can defeat it by paying down before the hearing
• Use Ground 10 for any rent lawfully due and unpaid; it is discretionary
• Use Ground 11 for a tenant with a history of persistent late payment, even if little or nothing is currently owed; it is discretionary and is the only persistent-arrears route
• There is no mandatory ground based on a pattern of arrears, and none that survives repayment; do not plan a claim around one

Frequently asked questions