With Section 21 abolished from 1 May 2026 and all new tenancies now periodic, student landlords face a fundamental challenge: how do you recover possession at the end of the academic year? Ground 4A is the Renters' Rights Act 2025 answer, a new mandatory possession ground specifically for HMOs let exclusively to full-time students.
Ground 4A gives student HMO landlords a mandatory possession right between 1 June and 30 September each year. You must give 2 months' notice. The ground only works if every occupant is a full-time student and the property qualifies as an HMO.
What is Ground 4A?
Ground 4A is inserted into Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It is a mandatory ground, if you prove all the conditions, the court must grant possession. There is no judicial discretion once the conditions are satisfied.
The five conditions for Ground 4A
- The property is an HMO. The property must be let to 3 or more people from 2 or more households, meeting the HMO definition under the Housing Act 2004.
- All occupants are full-time students. Every person living in the property must be a full-time student at the date of the notice and at the date of the court hearing. A single non-student occupant defeats the ground entirely.
- At least 2 months' notice has been given. The Section 8 notice citing Ground 4A must give a minimum of 2 months' notice to the tenant.
- The notice period ends between 1 June and 30 September. The possession order must fall within this seasonal window. The notice must be timed so the possession date lands within that period.
- The tenancy has run for at least 12 months. Ground 4A cannot be used within the first 12 months of the tenancy. For converted PATs (ASTs that became PATs on 1 May 2026), the 12-month clock started on the original AST grant date.
How to time the Ground 4A notice
To get a possession date of 30 June 2026, serve the Ground 4A notice no later than 30 April 2026 (2 months before). The court claim must be filed after the notice period expires if the tenant does not vacate. Practical timings: serve in April for a June possession, or in May for a July possession.
Ground 4A cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy. For new PATs granted from 1 May 2026, the 12-month clock starts on the grant date. A student landlord who granted a new PAT on 1 June 2026 cannot use Ground 4A until June 2027.
What if one tenant is not a full-time student?
Ground 4A fails entirely if any occupant is not a full-time student. You cannot use Ground 4A for a mixed occupancy HMO. In that case you must rely on another Section 8 ground, typically Ground 1 (landlord intends to occupy) or Ground 1A (landlord intends to sell), each requiring 4 months' notice.
Ground 4A vs the old summer AST cycle
| Old AST (pre-May 2026) | Ground 4A PAT (from May 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession route | End of fixed term / Section 21 | Section 8 + Ground 4A |
| Notice period | 2 months (Section 21) | 2 months (Section 8 Form 3A) |
| Mandatory/discretionary | Mandatory (if valid) | Mandatory (if all conditions met) |
| Seasonal window | Any time | Possession date 1 June – 30 September |
| 12-month restriction | No | Yes, cannot use in year 1 |
| All students required | No | Yes, every occupant must be full-time student |
Documents you need for Ground 4A
- Section 8 Notice citing Ground 4A, Form 3A (the updated prescribed form from 1 May 2026; old Form 3 is invalid from commencement date)
- Evidence that all occupants are full-time students, university enrolment letters or letters confirming student status at the notice date
- N5 possession claim, if the tenant does not vacate on the possession date, file at the County Court
Our Section 8 Notice Pack (LS-E-010, £19) includes Form 3A pre-prepared for all 18 grounds including Ground 4A, with the correct 2-month notice period and a student status checklist included.