Section 8 Notice Period Calculator (2026 Grounds)

Built by James Nicholson, landlord and founder of The Landlord Alliance · Last updated 31 August 2026

England only — Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regimes

The short version

Notice periods under section 8 run from four months down to nothing at all, depending on the ground. The two most-used grounds — 1 and 1A, moving in and selling — carry four months and a separate twelve month condition: the date you specify for possession cannot fall inside the first year of the tenancy. That condition attaches to the date in the notice, not the date you serve it, so you can serve in the first year. Grounds 7A and 14 need no notice period at all.

Section 8 notice period calculator

Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.

Ground you are relying on

Date the notice is served

Date the tenancy started

The full table of notice periods

Mandatory ground	What it covers	Notice
1	Landlord or close family moving in	4 months
1A	Landlord selling	4 months
1B	Rent to buy	4 months
2	Lender taking possession	4 months
2ZA–2ZD	Superior lease ending	4 months
4	Student accommodation, educational institutions	2 weeks
4A	Student HMO, re-letting to a new student group	4 months
5	Minister of religion	2 months
5A	Agricultural worker	2 months
5B / 5D	Employment	4 weeks
5H	Stepping-stone accommodation	2 months
6	Demolition or redevelopment	4 months
6A	Decant accommodation	4 months
6B	Compliance with enforcement action	4 months
7	Death of the tenant	2 months
7A	Severe antisocial behaviour or conviction	None
7B	No right to rent	2 weeks
8	Serious rent arrears	4 weeks

Mandatory grounds: if the ground is made out, the court must order possession.

Discretionary ground	What it covers	Notice
9	Suitable alternative accommodation offered	2 months
10	Any rent arrears	4 weeks
11	Persistent late payment	4 weeks
12	Breach of tenancy agreement	2 weeks
13	Deterioration of the property	2 weeks
14	Antisocial behaviour	None
14ZA	Conviction for a riot-related offence	2 weeks
14A	Domestic abuse (social landlords)	2 weeks
15	Deterioration of furniture	2 weeks
17	False statement to obtain the tenancy	2 weeks
18	Not engaging with support	4 weeks

Discretionary grounds: even where the ground is proved, the court orders possession only if it is reasonable to do so. Full detail on each is in the section 8 grounds guide.

The twelve month condition, correctly stated

Grounds 1 and 1A cannot deliver possession inside the first twelve months of a tenancy. The point almost everyone gets wrong is what the twelve months attaches to.

The condition is on the date specified in the notice, not on the date of service. So you can serve a Ground 1A notice in month nine of a tenancy, provided the possession date you specify is on or after the first anniversary. The calculator above takes the later of the notice period and the anniversary, which is what the notice date has to satisfy.

Then there is the other side of it. Take possession on Ground 1 or 1A and you cannot re-let or re-advertise the property for twelve months. On a £1,500 a month property that is roughly £20,800 in lost rent, council tax and standing charges if a sale falls through after you have got the tenant out. The Ground 1A guide works the numbers through.

What the calculator deliberately does not do

Deemed service

Every date here runs from the date the notice is served. Your tenancy agreement will usually deem postal service to take effect a set number of days after posting. Add those days before you rely on any output.

Court time

The earliest date you can issue is not the date you get possession. Courts have been averaging around 27.1 weeks from claim to repossession. Plan on the notice period plus most of a year.

Your deposit

Since 1 May 2026 the court can make a possession order only if the deposit is protected and the prescribed information served — on every ground except 7A and 14. Check that first, because the notice period is wasted if the claim cannot succeed.

Whether the ground is made out

A correctly-timed notice on a ground you cannot prove is a correctly-timed loss. The evidence each ground needs is in the grounds guide.

Section 8 Notice Period Calculator: Notice periods under section 8 run from four months down to nothing at all, depending on the ground. — The short version at a glance — free to share with a link to this page.

Can I serve a Ground 1A notice in the first year of the tenancy?

Yes. The twelve month condition applies to the date you specify for possession, not to the date of service. Serve early and specify a date on or after the first anniversary.

Do Grounds 7A and 14 really need no notice period?

Correct — proceedings can begin as soon as the notice is served. They are also the two grounds carved out of the deposit possession bar in section 215(4) of the Housing Act 2004.

Can I rely on more than one ground in the same notice?

Yes, and it is usually sensible. The notice period that applies is the longest of the grounds you have cited, so pleading a four month ground alongside a four week one means waiting four months.

Does the notice period run from posting or from receipt?

From service, which your tenancy agreement will normally define. If it deems postal service to occur two working days after posting, the clock starts then — not on the day you walked to the postbox.

The date is the easy part. Remembering it is not.

The Landlord Alliance holds your notice dates, deposit compliance and arrears position against each tenancy, so you know a claim will stand up before you serve. £10 a month, cancel anytime.

See what is included

England only. Position as at 31 August 2026. General information from a landlord, not legal advice. This tool runs entirely in your browser and stores nothing. Always check the notice period against Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended before serving.

Sources: Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 Schedule 1; Housing Act 2004 s.215 as substituted; SI 2026/421.