Ground 1A Notice: Selling a Tenanted Property After Section 21

From 1 May 2026 Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was abolished in England. If you want to sell a tenanted property with vacant possession, the only lawful route is Section 8 — and the relevant ground is the new Ground 1A. This guide explains how Ground 1A works, the deadlines, what evidence you need, and the criminal-offence risk if you breach the re-let ban.

What Ground 1A is and when it applies

• Ground 1A is a new mandatory possession ground introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025
• Available where the landlord intends to sell the dwelling (with vacant possession)
• The intention must be genuine at the date the notice is served — not contingent on the tenant first leaving
• Cannot be used if the property was purchased with a sitting tenant already in occupation
• Cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy — the notice cannot expire before the tenancy reaches its 12-month anniversary

Notice period and the 12-month timing rule

• Notice period: 4 months, served on Form 3A
• The notice cannot expire earlier than 12 months after the tenancy started — for converted ASTs the relevant start date is the original AST start, not the 1 May 2026 conversion date
• Earliest valid service is therefore at the start of month 8 of the tenancy, so the 4-month notice period lands at or after month 12
• Serving earlier than month 8 is not unlawful, but the notice will be premature, and a premature notice is defective

Form 3A — what changed

Form 3A is the new statutory possession-notice form introduced for the Renters' Rights Act regime. It replaces the old Form 3 used for Section 8 notices pre-1 May 2026. Form 3A captures every mandatory and discretionary ground (including 1A, 1B, 4A, 5C and so on) on a single prescribed-format form. Serving a Section 8 notice on the old Form 3 on or after 1 May 2026 will render the notice defective.

Evidence of genuine intention to sell

• Estate agent instruction letter or marketing valuation report dated before notice service
• Solicitor's correspondence opening a sale file
• Online listing screenshots (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket) once advertised
• Mortgage redemption forecast from your lender (where the sale is to discharge the mortgage)
• Correspondence with a tax adviser about CGT or principal-residence reliefs
• Any document that shows the decision to sell was a real, pre-existing plan rather than a strategy invented to recover possession

What happens after you serve the notice

1. Wait the full 4-month notice period before applying to court (premature applications are dismissed).
2. If the tenant does not vacate at the end of the notice, apply to court for a possession order on Form N5B (or N5 for an oral hearing).
3. The court will grant an outright possession order if Ground 1A is properly proven — typically 14 days to vacate.
4. Begin marketing the property for sale promptly. Document the marketing activity carefully.
5. Do not re-let the property within 12 months of the possession date. If the sale falls through, leave it empty or sell to a new buyer.

Penalty for breach of the re-let ban

• Re-letting within 12 months of the Ground 1A possession date is a criminal offence under the Renters' Rights Act 2025
• The original tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order of up to 12 months' rent
• Local authorities can also apply
• Conviction can disqualify you from being a landlord under banning-order provisions
• Selling within 12 months is not a breach (selling is not re-letting), but document the chain of events carefully

Get the Ground 1A notice template

Our Ground 1A Landlord-Sale Notice (£19) is a single-ground Form 3A pre-completed with the Ground 1A statutory text, the 4-month expiry calculator, and an evidence checklist. Editable DOCX plus typeset PDF, delivered instantly.