Section 8 for Rent Arrears: Grounds 8, 10 and 11, Thresholds and Notice

For the mandatory Ground 8, at least three months' rent must be unpaid if rent is monthly, or 13 weeks' rent if weekly or fortnightly, both when the Section 8 notice is served and at the hearing. Grounds 10 and 11 need only some arrears or persistent late payment. All three need four weeks' notice.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England for private assured tenancies.

How much rent arrears do you need for a Section 8 notice?

It depends on the ground. Any amount of unpaid rent can support a notice on Ground 10, and Ground 11 needs no current arrears at all. Only the mandatory Ground 8 has a fixed threshold, set by Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

The four week notice period for all three grounds comes from section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988. The wording of Grounds 10 and 11 is unchanged by the Renters' Rights Act 2025; their notice period rose from two weeks to four. The notice is given on Form 3A.

Ground 8: the mandatory arrears ground

Ground 8 requires that, both at the date the notice is served and at the date of the hearing, the rent unpaid is at least the following amount. The current wording sets two bands:

"Rent" here means rent lawfully due from the tenant. Before 1 May 2026 the thresholds were eight weeks and two months, and there were separate limbs for rent payable quarterly or yearly; paragraph 24 of Schedule 1 to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 raised the thresholds and removed those limbs. Much published guidance still quotes the old figures.

Worked examples:

• Monthly rent of £1,200: at least £3,600 must be unpaid at service and at the hearing.
• Weekly rent of £250: at least £3,250 (13 weeks) must be unpaid.
• Fortnightly rent of £500: 13 weeks is six and a half fortnights, so at least £3,250 must be unpaid.

The four weeks in the notice period and the 13 weeks in the threshold are different numbers doing different jobs. Confusing them is one of the most common errors in secondary guidance.

How does Universal Credit affect the Ground 8 calculation?

Any amount unpaid only because the tenant has not yet received a Universal Credit housing payment is ignored when calculating Ground 8 arrears. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 added this rule to Ground 8. It applies where the tenant is entitled to the housing element of Universal Credit and the shortfall exists only because the payment has not yet arrived.

In practice, a tenant whose arrears sit just over the threshold may fall below it once a pending Universal Credit payment is disregarded. Where arrears reach two months' rent, or one month built up by underpayment over time, DWP guidance allows a private landlord to ask for rent to be paid direct through the online "Apply for a Direct Rent Payment" service, which can stop arrears growing while a claim proceeds.

Ground 10: some rent unpaid

Ground 10 applies where some rent lawfully due is unpaid on the date proceedings begin and was in arrears when the notice was served. There is no minimum amount. Because it is discretionary, the court may order possession only if it considers it reasonable, weighing the amount owed, the reasons, the payment history and the tenant's circumstances.

Ground 10 does not require arrears at the hearing. A tenant who clears the debt before the hearing removes Ground 8, but the court can still consider Ground 10, although a possession order is less likely to be found reasonable where the arrears have been paid.

Ground 11: persistent late payment

Ground 11 applies where the tenant has persistently delayed paying rent which has become lawfully due, whether or not any rent is in arrears when proceedings begin. It is designed for the tenant who always pays, but always late. It is discretionary, and the evidence is the payment history: due dates against dates actually received, over months rather than weeks.

Why use all three grounds together?

Landlords commonly rely on Grounds 8, 10 and 11 in the same notice, because each covers a different outcome at the hearing. If the tenant pays just enough to fall below the Ground 8 threshold before the hearing, Ground 8 fails but Grounds 10 and 11 remain for the court to consider. All three share the four week notice period, so adding the discretionary grounds costs no time.

Each ground must be set out in the notice with its full statutory wording and particulars explaining why it applies. Section 8(5) of the Housing Act 1988 prevents the court from dispensing with the notice requirement where Ground 8 is relied on.

What can stop a Ground 8 possession order?

Ground 8 is mandatory, but a possession order is not automatic. The main points where claims fail:

• Arrears fall below the threshold by the hearing. The test is applied twice; a part payment on the eve of the hearing can defeat Ground 8. The Court of Appeal held in North British Housing Association v Matthews [2004] EWCA Civ 1736 that the court may adjourn a Ground 8 hearing to let the tenant reduce the arrears below the threshold only in exceptional circumstances, and that housing benefit delay is not exceptional. For Universal Credit tenants, the new statutory disregard now deals with delayed payments directly.
• A counterclaim for disrepair. If the tenant establishes a set-off for disrepair, it can reduce the arrears below the threshold. Our article on housing disrepair claims explains the exposure.
• The deposit. Under section 215 of the Housing Act 2004 as amended, the court may not order possession on any ground other than 7A or 14, so including Grounds 8, 10 and 11, if a deposit is not protected, the scheme's initial requirements were not met or the prescribed information was not given, unless the deposit has been returned or a section 214 claim resolved.
• The rent figure is wrong. A rent increase that did not follow the Section 13 procedure may not be rent "lawfully due", which changes the arrears figure.
• A breathing space. GOV.UK guidance states that a notice relying on Grounds 8, 10 or 11 must not be served, and a claim must not be started, while the tenant is in a debt respite breathing space.

The pre-action protocol for rent arrears applies to social landlords, not private ones. A court will still expect a private landlord to have tried to resolve the arrears before claiming, and to show that in the claim form.

What evidence does a rent arrears claim need?

The core document is a dated rent account showing every charge and every payment from the start of the tenancy, or at least the start of the arrears. Form N119 asks for the current rent, the daily rate of rent and the steps already taken to recover the arrears. The rent account needs to show the arrears figure at the date of service and be updated for the hearing.

Our article on what to do in the first 30 days of arrears covers building this record from the first missed payment.

LLCR's rent ledger records every charge and payment against the tenancy and shows the arrears position at any date, which is the figure Ground 8 tests at service and again at the hearing. Run the free compliance checker to check the deposit and certificate position before serving a notice.