Evicting a tenant so a family member can live there

You can evict a tenant for a family member to live in the property using Ground 1 of Section 8, but only if the relative is on the list in the law and will make the property their only or principal home. You must give at least 4 months' notice on Form 3A, and the date in the notice must fall at least 12 months after the tenancy began. Ground 1 is mandatory, so the court must order possession if you prove the need is genuine.

Which family members count under Ground 1

Ground 1 applies when the landlord, or at least one joint landlord, requires the property as the only or principal home of one of these people:

Relationship to the landlord	Counts?
Spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner	Yes
Parent or grandparent	Yes
Brother or sister	Yes
Child or grandchild	Yes
Child or grandchild of your spouse or partner	Yes
Half-brother, half-sister or other half-blood relative	Yes, treated as full blood
Your partner's parents or siblings	Not on the list
Aunt, uncle, cousin, niece or nephew	Not on the list

The list is set out in the Housing Act 1988, so if the person isn't on it, Ground 1 isn't available. If you own the property jointly, it is enough that the relative belongs to one of the joint landlords.

Notice period and timing

• At least 4 months' notice, counted from the day of service.
• The protected period: the date in question 2.1 must be at least one year after the tenancy began, counting both days. You can serve within the first year, as long as the date falls after it.
• The 12-month window to go to court: proceedings must start within 12 months of serving the notice.

If your relative needs the home by a particular date, such as the start of a job or the end of their own tenancy, work backwards. A move-in date of 1 September 2027 means the court stage needs to be under way by spring 2027, so serving in autumn 2026 is sensible.

Evidence to evict a tenant for a family member

The court has to be satisfied that the need is real. Prepare:

• a statement from you naming the relative, their relationship to you and why they need the home;
• evidence of the relationship if it might be questioned, such as a birth or marriage certificate;
• evidence of timing, such as notice to end their current tenancy or a sale of their current home;
• evidence that this will be their main home, not an occasional base;
• a clear explanation in question 4.3 of Form 3A, in your own words.

Watch out: if you took a deposit, the court can only make the order if the deposit is protected and the prescribed information was given, or the deposit has been returned. Check this before you serve.

Timeline with real dates

For a tenancy that began in 2023, with the notice handed over in person:

1. Monday 2 November 2026: serve Form 3A on Ground 1, naming every tenant, and record service on form N215.
2. Tuesday 2 March 2027: earliest court date. Issue the claim on paper (forms N5 and N119).
3. 30 March to 27 April 2027: first hearing.
4. Around 27 April 2027: possession order, at the median of 8.0 weeks from claim, with possession usually 14 days later (up to 6 weeks for exceptional hardship).
5. Around 21 August 2027: repossession by bailiffs at the median of 24.6 weeks from claim, if the tenant hasn't left by then.

The medians are from the Ministry of Justice's mortgage and landlord possession statistics for April to June 2026 (published 13 August 2026), for private landlords' standard claims. The figures are provisional, and most of those claims rested on notices served before 1 May 2026. In a defended case the hearing can be adjourned and the timeline will be longer.

Costs

The court fee to issue the claim is £415, and a warrant for bailiffs is £152. Ground 1 claims can't use Possession Claim Online. Our Section 8 notice costs £39 and our court pack £79. See eviction costs for the other routes.

Letting to your relative after the tenant leaves

Relying on Ground 1 starts a restricted period, from the day you serve until 12 months after the date in the notice. During it, you can't let the property, grant a paid licence or market it to rent, with one exception: you may let or license it to a listed family member, or let it where such a person also lives there as their only or principal home.

Letting to anyone else, or advertising it to rent, risks prosecution or a council penalty of up to £40,000, and a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent.

What to avoid

• Naming a relative who isn't on the list.
• A notice date inside the tenancy's first year.
• Telling the tenant they must leave when the notice ends. The notice doesn't oblige them to go; only a court order executed by bailiffs does. Changing the locks is illegal eviction. See illegal eviction.
• Using Ground 1 when the real plan is to sell. That's Ground 1A, with different rules.

This guide covers England only. Wales (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016), Scotland and Northern Ireland have different law.

What to do next

Create your Section 8 notice on Ground 1. Our builder checks the protected period and gives you the official legal wording to include. If you're the one moving in, read evicting a tenant to move back in. For the court stage, see making a possession claim, and for other reasons go back to how to evict a tenant.