Rent arrears is the possession scenario every landlord dreads and most will eventually face. Before 1 May 2026, Ground 8 was the mandatory ground landlords relied on — arrears above a fixed threshold, and the court had no choice but to grant possession. That threshold has just gone up, the notice period has changed, and the ground remains exactly as blunt — and exactly as exploitable by a tenant who knows the rules — as it always was.

This edition covers the new threshold, the notice period, the "pay just enough" defence that still works, the discretionary alternatives, and the step-by-step process from first missed payment to court.

Ground 8 allows a landlord of an assured tenancy to issue a notice seeking possession when the rent arrears reach a fixed threshold. Ground 8 is a blunt tool. If the arrears exceed the threshold on the relevant dates, the judge must order possession, regardless of the tenant's financial or household circumstances.

That's the defining feature. Unlike the discretionary grounds covered in earlier editions — Ground 14 for anti-social behaviour, for example — Ground 8 gives the court no room for sympathy. Hit the threshold on both relevant dates, and the judge has to grant possession. Miss the threshold on either date, and the ground fails completely, regardless of how badly the tenant has behaved.

Mandatory ground 8 now requires 13 weeks' arrears (weekly/fortnightly tenancies) or three months (monthly tenancies) – up from eight weeks or two months. The higher threshold makes early identification and intervention essential.

For the vast majority of tenancies — paid monthly — this means arrears must reach three full months' rent before Ground 8 becomes available. That's a 50% increase from the previous two-month threshold, and it changes the maths on every arrears situation landlords are currently managing.

On a £1,200 monthly rent, the old threshold was £2,400. The new threshold is £3,600. A landlord managing an arrears situation that felt close to actionable under the old rules may now be a full month further away than they think.

The arrears must reach that level both on the day the notice is served and on the date of the hearing. For ground 8, the landlord must show arrears remain above the threshold at the hearing.

This double requirement is the part that catches landlords out and that tenants — deliberately or not — can exploit. Arrears have to be at three months or more when you serve the notice, AND still at three months or more when the case is heard in court, weeks or months later.

Note: The tenant cannot be evicted if they pay off the arrears before the case gets to court.

This is the mechanism that has frustrated landlords under Ground 8 for years, and it survives the Renters' Rights Act unchanged. A tenant facing a Ground 8 claim has every incentive to make a partial payment that brings arrears back below the threshold before the hearing date. Even a payment that leaves them still significantly behind — two months instead of three — defeats Ground 8 entirely, because the mandatory ground requires the threshold to be met on both dates, not just the day the notice was served.

A tenant who understands this can effectively reset the clock every time arrears approach three months, by paying down just enough to drop below the threshold, then letting arrears climb back up. This is precisely why Ground 8 alone is often not enough — and why the discretionary alternatives below matter.

Because Ground 8 can be defeated by a well-timed partial payment, experienced landlords rarely rely on it alone. If you have good evidence that the tenant is playing the system, you can add the discretionary Ground 10 for rent arrears to your Section 8 notice.

Ground 10 — discretionary, any arrears. Covers rent that was unpaid both when notice was served and when proceedings began, at any level of arrears — not just three months' worth. Because it's discretionary, the court decides whether it's reasonable to grant possession, weighing the tenant's payment history and circumstances.

Ground 11 — discretionary, persistent delay. Covers a tenant who has persistently delayed paying rent, even if they're not in arrears at the point of the hearing. This is the ground specifically designed to catch the tenant who consistently pays late every month without ever quite reaching the Ground 8 threshold, or who pays down arrears at the last moment before every hearing.

Serving Ground 8 alongside Grounds 10 and 11 on the same notice means that even if the tenant's tactical payment defeats the mandatory ground, the court can still consider possession on the discretionary grounds using the tenant's full payment history as evidence — including the pattern of late payment and last-minute reductions that Ground 8 alone can't capture.

Ground 8 (3 months' rent arrears), 4 weeks. Mandatory ground 8 requires 13 weeks' arrears (weekly/fortnightly tenancies) or three months (monthly tenancies) – up from eight weeks or two months.

The notice period itself — four weeks — is unchanged from before the Act. What's changed is the arrears threshold that has to exist before you can serve it. Most of the other mandatory possession grounds saw their notice periods extended to four months under the Renters' Rights Act; Ground 8 kept its short four-week notice period, reflecting that by the time arrears reach three months, the situation has already been serious for some time.

The notice period runs from the date the notice is served — deemed received by the tenant — not from the date you write it or post it. For first class post, add one day before the notice period begins. Use calendar days — weekends and bank holidays count.

Worth clearing up a piece of confusion that's circulated widely: a mandatory "Ground 8A" for repeated or intermittent arrears appeared in the earlier Renters (Reform) Bill, but it did not make it into the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and does not exist in the law that took effect on 1 May 2026.

If you've seen references to a "Ground 8A" covering tenants who repeatedly fall into and out of arrears — that ground was proposed during an earlier version of the legislation and was dropped. Ground 11, discretionary persistent delay, is the tool that exists in the actual law for that pattern — not a mandatory ground, but a real one.

Step 1 — Act at the first missed payment, not the third month. Contact the tenant immediately in writing. A short, professional message noting the missed payment and asking for an update creates the first dated record in what may become your evidence file.

Step 2 — Keep a running arrears ledger. Date, amount due, amount paid, running balance. This is your primary evidence for both the Ground 8 threshold calculation and any Ground 10/11 discretionary case.

Step 3 — Communicate consistently, not just when arrears peak. A pattern of regular, dated, professional contact throughout the arrears period is what turns a Ground 11 case from weak to strong. Silence for two months followed by a possession notice looks very different in court to a documented monthly conversation.

Step 4 — Calculate the threshold correctly before serving notice. Three full months' rent for a monthly tenancy, 13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly. Get this wrong and the notice is invalid.

Step 5 — Serve on Ground 8, 10 and 11 together. This is standard practice among solicitors precisely because of the "pay just enough" defence. Serving all three grounds means a late partial payment defeats Ground 8 without defeating your case entirely.

Step 6 — Monitor arrears right up to the hearing date. Because the threshold must be met on both the notice date and the hearing date, keep tracking payments throughout the process. If arrears drop below three months before the hearing, be ready to rely on the discretionary grounds instead.

Step 7 — Attend the hearing with your full ledger. Every payment, every missed payment, every piece of correspondence. This is what allows a court to exercise discretion in your favour on Grounds 10 and 11 if Ground 8 has been defeated by a partial payment.

✅ Know the new threshold — three months' arrears for monthly tenancies, 13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly, up from two months and eight weeks.

✅ The threshold must be met on TWO dates — the day notice is served and the day of the hearing. Track arrears continuously through the process.

✅ Always serve Grounds 10 and 11 alongside Ground 8 — protects your case against the well-timed partial payment that defeats the mandatory ground.

✅ Notice period is 4 weeks — unchanged, and shorter than most other grounds, but only usable once the higher threshold is actually met.

✅ Keep a dated arrears ledger from the first missed payment — this is your evidence for both the mandatory and discretionary routes.

✅ Don't wait for arrears to reach three months before communicating — early, consistent, documented contact strengthens any eventual discretionary case.

✅ "Ground 8A" does not exist — if you've seen it referenced, it was proposed and dropped. Ground 11 covers persistent late payment instead.

✅ A tenant can defeat Ground 8 with a partial payment before the hearing — this remains true under the new rules. Plan for it from the start.

Ground 8 remains the sharpest tool available for serious rent arrears — but the threshold rise to three months means landlords need to identify and act on arrears situations earlier than before, not later. The mandatory nature of the ground is also its weakness: a tenant who understands the rules can defeat it with a well-timed partial payment, which is exactly why experienced landlords never rely on Ground 8 alone.

The landlords who navigate arrears successfully are those who start documenting from the first missed payment, communicate consistently rather than only when things escalate, and serve every available ground together rather than betting everything on the mandatory route.

Track rent payments, arrears running balances and tenant communication dates across your entire portfolio — the ledger a Ground 8, 10 or 11 case depends on.

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Coming up next edition — Pets in rentals: the new right to request and when landlords can refuse.

The Landlords Brief is published for UK landlords. Subscribe free at thelandlordsbrief.co.uk. This newsletter is for general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. For a specific arrears situation please consult a solicitor.