Mandatory vs Discretionary Section 8 Grounds: Which Applies?
Every possession notice now stands or falls on its grounds. Plead the wrong ones and the case is struck out, the clock restarts, and you have funded the tenant's defence lesson.
With Section 21 abolished, every claim runs through Section 8 on Form 3A, and the court’s hands are tied or freed entirely by the grounds you plead. The distinction is simple to state and expensive to get wrong.
A mandatory ground means that if you prove it, the court must grant possession, with no reasonableness test. A discretionaryground means the court grants possession only if it considers it reasonable, weighing the tenant’s circumstances against yours. The Act reshaped several grounds, so do not rely on the old Schedule 2 part numbers; check each ground’s current status before serving.
The mandatory grounds
Ground 8: serious rent arrears
The workhorse. Both at service and at the hearing the tenant must owe at least three months’ rent (13 weeks if weekly or fortnightly). Notice period: 28 days. Three traps: the threshold is tested twice, so a payment the night before the hearing can defeat it, which is why you always plead 10 and 11 alongside; arrears from Universal Credit processing delays are excluded by statute; and your rent ledger is the case, so a spreadsheet assembled the week before invites cross-examination.
Ground 7A: serious anti-social behaviour
A conviction for a serious offence, breach of an injunction, or a closure order. Mandatory, 28 days. The evidence is the conviction or order itself, which makes it the cleanest ground when it applies.
Ground 7B: no right to rent
A Home Office notice that the tenant has no right to rent. Mandatory, 14 days. Rare, but when the letter arrives you must act on it.
The discretionary grounds that do the daily work
Grounds 10 and 11: the arrears safety net
Ground 10 (some rent unpaid) and Ground 11 (persistent delay) carry the same 28-day notice as Ground 8. Plead them together: if the tenant drops below the Ground 8 threshold, a judge can still grant possession on reasonableness where the payment history is chronic.
Ground 12: breach of tenancy obligation
Any obligation broken: unauthorised occupiers, subletting, damage, business use. Notice: 14 days. The court weighs seriousness and whether the breach is remediable, so a documented warning history transforms the assessment.
Ground 14: nuisance and annoyance
Conduct causing nuisance, or illegal or immoral use. Uniquely, proceedings may begin as soon as the notice is validly served, with no waiting period. But discretion cuts hard: judges want an incident log with dates, times and witnesses. Two neighbours willing to give statements outweigh twenty anonymous complaints.
Grounds 1 and 1A: moving in or selling
The owner-occupation and sale grounds carry a four calendar-month notice and hard conditions: neither works in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and a property recovered for sale cannot simply be re-let. Courts examine intention evidence, an agent instruction, a memorandum of sale, a mortgage offer on your next home.
Reading the table before you serve
| Ground | Type | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| 8, arrears at threshold | Mandatory | 28 days |
| 7A, serious ASB | Mandatory | 28 days |
| 7B, no right to rent | Mandatory | 14 days |
| 10 / 11, arrears, persistent delay | Discretionary | 28 days |
| 12, breach | Discretionary | 14 days |
| 14, nuisance | Discretionary | Immediate |
| 1 / 1A, move in / sell | Discretionary | 4 calendar months |
Where several grounds are pleaded, the longest notice period governs the earliest court date.
The ground logic, checked before you serve
Compliance tracked, evidence ready
STEMHQ keeps certificates, arrears, and the court paper trail in one place, so the next rule change is a checklist, not a scramble.