Section 8 notice: grounds. Your section 8 notice will only be valid if you've got an assured or assured shorthold tenancy. You might have to pay court costs - the judge will tell you how much. Is there anything wrong with this page? If you think your landlord owes you money, you might be able to ask the court to use this money to lower your arrears. Your landlord has to give you a reason for giving you a section 8 notice. This notice is served if a tenant has breached one or more terms of the tenancy agreement. For example if you can now repay your arrears in a reasonable time. You could give any extra evidence you have, for example if you've got a new job and could afford to pay back some arrears. Your landlord can use more than 1 ground for possession if you have rent arrears or if you've paid your rent late. The amount of notice you get will depend on what grounds for possession your landlord has used. When you go to the court in person, you’ll have to wear a mask or covering for your mouth and nose. If they're not, the section 8 notice won't be valid. Ground 2. You can check what type of tenancy you have on Shelter's website. Complete the form below for callback from one of our legal team. Under the Legal Service Act 2007, only a Landlord in person, or a regulated Solicitor, can appear before the County Court in housing disputes, therefore, we would not suggest that you ask a friend or your agent to represent you as it may also result in your claim being dismissed. Section 8 protects people, not places, against unjustified intrusions on their privacy interests (Hunter v. Southam Inc., 2 S.C.R. The amount of extra time the court can give you depends on the reason, or ground, your landlord is using. You can also apply to change an order later, for example if you can't keep to the terms of the order any more. This means that the court has to accept your landlord's reasons if they can prove them. You should send the defence form or what you've written back to the court within 14 days - the address will be on the form. This is known as 'suspending' a possession order. The court will then decide whether they accept your landlord's grounds and think it's reasonable for you to leave your home. Claiming compensation for a personal injury, Help for victims of rape and sexual violence, Keeping your family in the UK after Brexit, Getting a visa for your spouse or partner, Discrimination in health and care services. Your notice won't be valid if it doesn't include: If your landlord hasn't given you the notice correctly, they could still ask the court to order you to leave your home. Grounds For Eviction How much notice is given in a Section 8? It's your opportunity to explain your situation to the court. At first, not being a legal person, I worried over the word “discretionary” but realised I had got the possession order in any case and the tenant never attended the hearings. If you find it difficult to use the defence form, write what you want to say on a piece of paper instead. The property is subject to a mortgage which pre-dates the tenancy and the mortgagees are repossessing the property to enforce the charge. The court will tell you when it will look at the case for the first time - this is called the 'review date'. If you get a section 8 notice, it's the first step your landlord has to take to make you leave your home. Your landlord will have to prove to the court the grounds for possession they've used are right for your situation. On grounds 1 and 2 the court has discretion to waive the prior notice requirement if it is just and equitable to do so. It is used in England and Wales and is part of the Housing Act 1988. The new prescribed form for the Section 8 Notice must be used in order for the Notice to be valid – but using the correct notice does not mean you will be automatically granted possession. If the court needs more information, they might decide to hear the case on another day. The process takes time and sometimes the court can stop an eviction. The length of notice your landlord has to give you depends on the type of tenancy you have and when they asked you to leave. To use a section 8 notice your landlord needs a legal reason for eviction which they must prove in court. Senior Member. The court will have to accept your landlord's grounds for possession before they decide whether you have to leave. Depending on the reason your landlord has given on your section 8 notice, the court could either: You'll need to have a good reason to delay the date you leave, for example if you've got a serious illness or disability. If the court accepts your defence, they could decide to: You'll only be able to suspend a possession order if your landlord has used grounds 9-17. As demonstrated by Hunter v. Southam, the protection of people includes corporations as legal persons. You might be able to stop a possession order if your situation changes, for example if you start getting benefits and can repay your rent arrears. Get help from your nearest Citizens Advice if you're not sure about the grounds for possession that have been used. Ground 1 The landlord requires the property in order to use it as their main residence. Since the time of serving, these two tenants simply trashed my 10 bedroom HMO, have been You should get help before you decide to leave your home. You cannot insist that a tenant vacates without a court order, even if the notice has expired. Your landlord has to give you a valid reason for giving you a section 8 notice. Section 8 – Notice seeking possession. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy If you can’t go to the possession hearing, tell the court as soon as possible. Failure to state the grounds in the notice may cause delay in getting court possession order(!!!). Grounds 2 to 8 of a section 8 notice are mandatory, grounds 9-17 are discretionary, meaning that the court will not necessarily rule in the landlord’s favour even if he can prove that one of the grounds applies. Joe pays his rent weekly and is 9 weeks behind with his rent. If there’s a problem with your landlord’s documents, the court might pause or stop the eviction. Contact your nearest Citizens Advice if you get a possession order. If your landlord has treated you unfairly because of who you are, you might be able to stop your eviction. Ground 2: The property is subject to a mortgage and the mortgagee is now entitled to … They must be notified the grounds that the landlord is relying upon, and why they have breached those grounds. The court will tell you when your hearing is and where you need to go for it. Citizens Advice is an operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. They'll also need to show you had the arrears when you got the section 8 notice. Bailiffs have to give you a notice of eviction with the date and time of your eviction. The court will decide whether you can stay in your home and how long for. Write your case number on the piece of paper – you can find your case number on the claim form. Your landlord can't go to court until after the date given on your section 8 notice. This is because grounds 9-17 are 'discretionary grounds'. You should pay as much as you can afford to reduce your rent arrears. This is because they are discretionary grounds. They might be able to get your landlord to agree to pause or stop the eviction. Contact expert Section 8 Notice solicitors now . This is a prescribed form so any other form of notification would not satisfy the requirements. It’s worth talking to the duty adviser even if you’ve already got advice. You can then either complete the form yourself, ask us to complete the form and serve the notice and provide a certificate of service, or you can simply ask for 40 minutes advice on how to complete the form for £60.00. For example if the court didn't look at relevant information or used the wrong law. If you don't go to the hearing, you could find out the court's decision by phoning them or speaking to your landlord. You might be able to challenge your eviction if your section 8 notice isn't valid or you have a good reason why you shouldn't leave your home. Make sure you write on your defence form why you think you should be allowed to stay in your home. The tenant is convicted in engaging in illegal or using the property for immoral purposes. Ground 8 is a 'mandatory' ground for possession. You'll be told by the court if you can stay in your home or if you'll have to leave. Section 8 notices continue to be valid for 12 months after they are served. Read more about getting help with legal costs. VAT No. You should use the defence form to explain to the court why you think you should have more time in your home. The first 8 grounds are 'mandatory'. The notice must be served in the prescribed form, we can assist you by providing you with a pro-forma for the notice. For example, because you're in rent arrears or because you've damaged the property. You can find form 3 on GOV.UK if you're not sure what it looks like. © 2020 Newbold Solicitors. In practice, most landlords only use this notice where the tenant is in at least two months of rent arrears and the fixed term of the tenancy has still got some time to run. You can challenge your eviction if for example: If you can, talk to an adviser before you challenge your eviction. Click here to Download a Free Section 8 Form. Website designed, built and managed by Search Station, Divorce/ Dissolution of Civil Partnership. Ground 1: The Landlord requires possession as he used to occupy the property as his main home or he now wishes to occupy the property as his main home. Ground 10 applies if the rent is unpaid when the section 8 notice is served and has not been paid by the start of the possession proceedings. This letter is called a ‘reactivation notice’ – you can check what to do if you get a reactivation notice. Legal reasons for eviction are called 'grounds for possession' on the notice. The main grounds for issuing a Section 8 notice when the tenant is not in arrears are: Ground 2: The house is being repossessed by the mortgage lender. Ground 12: You’ll find yourself quoting this ground the most on your section 8 form. The notice is usually for a period of 2 weeks, although some of the grounds (set out below) require more than 2 weeks notice. This is because grounds 1-8 are 'mandatory grounds' for possession. The remaining grounds are 'discretionary'. To use the ground, the usual section 8 notice is required to be served first and where the grounds are to be inserted in the form, ground “7A” can be inserted either in addition to other grounds contained in schedule 2 Housing Act 1988 or, on it’s own. You might get a section 8 notice at any time during your tenancy. The tenant then has 2 weeks in order to rectify the breach, or agree reasonable terms with the Landlord. Here if a tenant has breached any part of their agreed rental contract (other than not paying their rent), such as letting the property deteriorate, vandalising the premises, using illegal substances etc, you can evict them. Make sure you keep a record of what you've paid. The court will look first at whether they can make you leave your home using the mandatory grounds. 566885. This could make it harder for you to get help from your local council. These reasons are known as 'grounds for possession'. Find out more about dealing with rent arrears. Dear Forum, Back in January / Feb I served a section 8 notice on 2 tenants that stopped paying rent and were very abusive, but I was going to rely on Grounds 8,10,11 as difficult to prove that the tenant threatened to stab me in the back. Join Date: Feb 2014; Posts: 24852 … You should think about whether you have a good case to stay in your home if you go to court. You might be able to challenge the eviction. Before the date of the possession hearing, read the letters from the court and make sure you know how to contact the duty adviser. The grounds are simply the reason for your wanting possession. A landlord using mandatory grounds must ensure that they do more than simply state 'ground 8', for example, in the particulars of claim. For example if you’re being evicted for rent arrears, but the reason you got into rent arrears was because your learning difficulty made it hard to follow your landlord’s payment policy. Ground 15: The tenant has allowed the landlords’ furniture to deteriorate due to ill-treatment. Ground 17: The Landlord granted the tenancy as a result of a statement made by the tenant which is later found to be false. If all of your grounds for possession are numbered 9-17, the court will decide whether they think it's reasonable for you to leave your home. It can be served at any time. Read what we're saying about a range of issues. For example, if you're in rent arrears there are 3 grounds that can be used. You won't have to leave your home straight away. Read all the documents you've got from the court and your landlord. This is called starting a possession claim. They might not be able to speak for you in court. If you get a possession order, you'll usually have to pay any court costs within 14 days. Take any evidence with you to court, for example: You can get a lawyer to represent you in court. A Section 8 Notice can be used when the tenant has breached the Tenancy Agreement and it satisfies one of the grounds for eviction. If you miss the deadline, you should still send it as soon as possible. Particulars of claim. If any of your grounds for possession are numbered 1-8, the court will order you to leave your home if they accept your landlord's case. For example if you've paid some of your rent arrears or if you've repaired any damage you caused. You might be able to defend your eviction using discrimination law - check if your housing problem is discrimination. Discretionary Grounds – this covers Grounds 9 to 17 and in these cases the court will only grant possession if it feels it is reasonable to do so. A Section 8 notice is available where you have granted an assured or assured shorthold tenancy and one of the grounds for possession apply. When a tenant is in rent arrears, a section 8 notice may be served and is commonly used where the tenant is in arrears by two months or more rent. You normally won't have to leave your home straight away - you'll get a notice from the court telling you when you're supposed to leave. Ground 5: The property is that of a minister of religion. The form to be used is a prescribed form [section 8(3)] – The prescribed form is that found in The Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) Regulations 1997and paragraph 3 requires the grounds on which the landlord relies upon to be inserted and also – Depending on the number of grounds being used, the full text can be quite lengthy and our ve… Court costs can be expensive. You can talk to a free legal adviser on the review date – they’re called the ‘duty adviser’. Ground 10: The tenant is in arrears of rent. Thank you, your feedback has been submitted. It depends on the reason your landlord is using to try to make you leave. The court will send you the notice of review either: Your landlord should send you a copy of all the documents the court will look at – this is called the ‘bundle’. 753519911. If you haven’t got the bundle 2 weeks before the review date, tell the court – you can find the contact details of the court on GOV.UK. You'll usually be given 14 days to leave, but it could be longer. Section 8: A Section 8 notice (also known as a Notice to Quit) is served when a tenant has breached their contract and therefore the landlord has grounds for possession. Even if you have to leave your home, the court might give you more time to find somewhere else to live. So you may feel it is money well spent to make sure that the notice is valid. They can talk to your landlord for you. If your landlord started the claim after 3 August 2020, talk to an adviser. Your landlord has to follow coronavirus guidelines and rules if they want to evict you – check if your landlord has followed the rules. The papers will also include a form to challenge the eviction – this is called a 'defence form'. Please be aware, there are discretionary grounds (where the Judge can use his/her discretion to order possession) or mandatory grounds. You might have to pay your landlord's court costs if your landlord starts a possession claim. The HA 1988 requires that possession can be sought only for certain reasonsor grounds. You can find the review date in the ‘notice of review’. His landlord can still prove that Joe has rent arrears but the court can decide whether he can stay in his home. You can use the defence form that came with the court papers to give your reasons for challenging your eviction. Some people don’t have to wear one – check who doesn’t have to wear a mask or face covering on GOV.UK. Bailiffs are employed by the court to help landlords get their property back. Advice can vary depending on where you live. All rights reserved. FREE Eviction Checklist. You'll get court papers when your landlord starts a possession claim. They might decide to let you stay in your home if you can show you can repay your arrears, for example. Ground 9: Suitable alternative accommodation is available for the tenant upon possession. Posted on February 25, 2019 by Catherine Hartland Watkins - Uncategorised. On the day of the hearing, you’ll also be able to contact the duty adviser – it doesn’t matter how much income you have. In these cases it is at the court’s discretion whether to grant a landlord a possession order. This is because grounds 9-17 are 'discretionary grounds'. You should check if your landlord has given you the right amount of notice. We have set the grounds out below. Ground 13: Due to the tenant’s conduct, the property has deteriorated. If you get legal aid, you might get protection from paying your landlord's costs if you can't afford to pay them. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Please tell us more about why our advice didn't help. You should also explain why it won't happen again. We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. There are lots of reasons your landlord can use, for example if you: Your landlord could give you a section 21 notice as well as a section 8 notice. This … Contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help if you couldn't go to the court hearing. Normally, you'll get at least 14 days' notice - you won't have to leave straight away. Housing act 1988 contains a list of grounds in Schedule 2 that must be specified in the notice 8 form. Please call our housing team, if you require any further advice and assistance. They have to give you the notice at least 14 days before they evict you. Check if your problem counts as discrimination to find out whether you can add it to your eviction defence. You don’t need to go to court – but you should make sure you can talk on the phone. 145 at 159; R. v. Gomboc, 3 S.C.R. Read our advice on what to do if you've got a section 21 notice. Advice for people affected by child abuse. These grounds for possession apply to … Make sure you keep a copy - you'll need to remember what you've written later on. The grounds for possession fall into two categories: mandatory, where the tenant will definitely be ordered to leave if the landlord can prove breach of contract, and discretionary, where the court can decide one way or the other. Your landlord should give your section 8 notice in writing using 'form 3' or a letter with the same information. Your landlord will have to prove the amount of arrears you have to the court. Ground: Explanation: Key Legislative Excerpts : Notice Period: 1: Landlord moving back into a property they previously lived in, to use as their principal home. They must specify the full text of the ground relied upon. You can also find a copy of the defence form on GOV.UK – it’s called form N11. Ground 2 for example, requires a minimum of 2 months’ notice but grounds 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 only require 2 weeks’ notice. His landlord has given him a section 8 notice and used grounds for possession numbered 8 and 10. Thanks Tags: None. Ask the court if you want to pay the court costs over a longer time - for example by making a smaller payment every month. Get legal advice on your situation. If you’ve got no income or a low income, you might be able to get legal aid to help with the cost. It could mean the court will decide you can stay in your home. Introduction to the Citizens Advice service, Future of advice: our strategic framework 2019-22, check if your landlord has given you the right amount of notice, get help before you decide to leave your home, Get help from your nearest Citizens Advice, check if your housing problem is discrimination, check if your landlord has followed the rules, check what to do if you get a reactivation notice, Read more about getting help with legal costs, Check if your problem counts as discrimination, defend your eviction using discrimination law, check how to prepare if the court decides to arrange a hearing by phone or video call, check who doesn’t have to wear a mask or face covering, Getting repairs done if you're renting privately, Going to court if your landlord won't do repairs, If you've got a problem with your shared house, Check if your landlord has to protect your deposit, the 'grounds for possession' - these are the reasons why your landlord wants you to leave your home, the date your notice ends - your landlord will need to get a possession order from the court if you don't leave by that date, what grounds for possession your landlord is using to try to evict you - they might use a few, why your landlord is using the grounds for possession, for example if you have rent arrears, or if you've damaged the property, your landlord wants to move back into the property, your landlord is behind with their mortgage payments and the property is being repossessed, you've been convicted of a serious criminal offence near your home, 3 months - if you pay your rent quarterly or yearly, you get letters or paperwork from the court, the details on your section 8 notice are wrong, your landlord hasn't given you a proper reason, you or someone you live with had coronavirus, you’ve lost your job or you’re earning less, you've got a pet but your tenancy agreement says you can't keep pets, let you stay in your home if you follow their orders, for example if you agree to pay off your arrears - this might happen if your landlord has used grounds 9 to 17, delay the date you'll need to leave by up to 6 weeks if leaving in the usual 14 days would cause you problems - this might happen if your landlord has used grounds 1 to 8, arrange for the hearing to happen by phone or video call, a letter from your GP if you couldn't pay your rent because you were ill and unable to work, a bank statement or wage slip to show how much you can afford to repay if you're in rent arrears, let you stay in your home if you meet certain conditions, for example if you pay your arrears - this is known as 'suspending' a possession order, dismiss your landlord's case - this means you'll stay in your home and you won't need to meet any conditions. 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