This guide concerns the reformed assured periodic regime from 1 May 2026. It is a preparation checklist, not a notice template or an assessment that a particular case will succeed.
Check the ground and calculation
- Ground 8 ordinarily requires at least three months' rent for monthly payments, or 13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly payments, at both service and hearing.
- Check the complete legal calculation, including relevant Universal Credit amounts not received. Do not simply use the account's gross balance.
- Grounds 10 and 11 address arrears or persistent late payment and are discretionary. Check the evidence and reasonableness rather than treating them as automatic possession.
Check the notice and restrictions
- The current guidance gives four weeks' notice for Grounds 8, 10 and 11. Check the actual form, combination of grounds and service date.
- Review deposit protection, scheme compliance and prescribed information, and any relevant exception or corrective route.
- Check Breathing Space and any repair counterclaim before serving or starting proceedings.
Keep the case accurate after service
- Preserve the exact served form and delivery evidence.
- Update the schedule for later payments and reassess the threshold at the hearing.
- Use the court process if the tenant remains and obtain professional advice on contested facts or defects.
Example: a payment drops the debt below Ground 8
A fictional monthly tenant owes £3,000 at £1,000 rent when notice is served, then pays £500 before the hearing. Recalculate the statutory position rather than relying on the earlier total. Other pleaded grounds may need separate consideration; Ground 8 cannot be assumed to remain satisfied.
What to do
- Reconcile rent and check the grounds against the current facts.
- Review deposit, benefit, debt-protection and counterclaim issues.
- Have form 3A, dates and service checked before use.
Evidence to keep
- Agreement, rent schedule and receipts at the relevant dates.
- Deposit information, pre-action correspondence, notice and service evidence.
Sources and guidance
- Grounds for possession: current grounds and notice periodsUK Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Giving notice to evict tenants in EnglandUK Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Debt Respite Scheme: guidance for creditorsInsolvency Service · checked 20 October 2026