Evicting a tenant to sell your property (Ground 1A)

Under the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord selling a property in England uses Ground 1A of Section 8 to get it back with vacant possession: you 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 1A is mandatory, so if you prove a genuine intention to sell, the court must order possession. The trade-off is that you can't let or advertise the property to rent until 12 months after the date in your notice. These are the rules that were debated in the Renters' Rights Bill, and they now decide how you evict a tenant to sell a house or flat.

Renters' Rights Act rules for a landlord selling

You can rely on Ground 1A if all of these apply:

• you intend to sell your freehold or leasehold interest, or to grant a lease of more than 21 years that can't be ended early;
• the tenancy did not arise by succession under the Rent Act 1977 or the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976;
• you are not a registered social landlord, a charitable housing trust or a registered provider letting social housing;
• the tenancy is not a "legacy" assured tenancy, meaning a full assured tenancy (not a shorthold) entered into before 1 May 2026.

Most private tenancies pass the last test. Former assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026 and can use Ground 1A. If yours was a full assured tenancy before then, you'll need a different ground, and should take advice from a solicitor.

Notice period and the 12-month protected period

Two dates limit when you can go to court, and both must be met:

1. At least 4 months' notice, counted from the day you serve the notice.
2. The 12-month protected period. The date in the notice (question 2.1 of Form 3A) must be at least one year after the tenancy began. You can serve during the first year, but the date can't fall inside it, so you may need to give more than 4 months.

For a former shorthold tenancy that became periodic on 1 May 2026, we read the law as counting from the start of the original fixed term, not from 1 May 2026. If you granted the same tenant a fresh tenancy (a renewal), it isn't settled whether the 12 months restart, so allow extra time or take advice. The protected period doesn't apply where a compulsory acquisition notice has been given and you're selling to the acquiring authority. See the protected period for the counting rules.

Example: a tenancy began on 1 June 2026. The earliest safe notice date is 1 June 2027, so the earliest you could serve with 4 months' notice is 1 February 2027.

Evidence of your intention to sell

Ground 1A turns on your genuine intention. The court will expect evidence such as:

• a signed agreement with an estate agent (GOV.UK's own example of evidence);
• a recent valuation;
• steps towards the sale, such as instructing a conveyancer;
• your explanation in question 4.3 of Form 3A of why and when you plan to sell.

Watch out: relying on Ground 1A without a reasonable belief that you could get possession is a breach in its own right. If the tenant then leaves within 4 months without a court order, the council can impose a penalty of up to £7,000, and doing it knowingly or recklessly is a criminal offence (or a penalty of up to £40,000).

The re-letting and marketing ban

Once you serve a notice relying on Ground 1A, a restricted period starts. It runs from the day of service until the end of 12 months beginning with the date in your notice, whether or not the tenant leaves. During it:

• you must not let the property on a tenancy of 21 years or less, or grant a licence for money;
• neither you nor anyone acting for you may market it for such a letting.

The penalties are prosecution with a fine, or a council civil penalty of up to £40,000, plus a possible rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent. The limited exceptions are a licence to the buyer (or long-lease grantee) in anticipation of completion, and some shared ownership arrangements. If the court orders possession on a different ground, the restricted period ends early. With a 4-month notice, expect roughly 16 months without letting income.

Timeline: selling a property with tenants under the Renters' Rights Act

For a former shorthold tenancy that began in March 2024, with the notice handed over in person:

1. Monday 2 November 2026: serve Form 3A on Ground 1A. The restricted period starts.
2. Tuesday 2 March 2027: earliest court date (4 months). Issue the claim on paper with forms N5 and N119.
3. 30 March to 27 April 2027: first hearing, at least 28 days after issue and normally within 8 weeks.
4. Around 27 April 2027: possession order at the median of 8.0 weeks from claim. The possession date is usually 14 days later (around 11 May 2027), and no later than 6 weeks for exceptional hardship.
5. Around 21 August 2027: repossession by bailiffs, if needed, at the median of 24.6 weeks from claim.
6. 1 March 2028: the restricted period ends. You can let the property again from 2 March 2028 if it hasn't sold.

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. If the tenant leaves by the possession date, you won't need bailiffs at all.

Costs

The court fee to issue is £415. Ground 1A claims can't go through Possession Claim Online, which is for rent-arrears claims only, so you file on paper. A warrant for bailiffs costs £152. Our Section 8 notice costs £39 and our N5 and N119 court pack costs £79. For a full breakdown see eviction costs.

What to avoid

• Serving with a date inside the first 12 months of the tenancy.
• Using Ground 1A on a legacy full assured tenancy.
• Advertising the property "to let or for sale" during the restricted period. Marketing it to rent is banned.
• Pressuring the tenant to leave before the court process ends. Only bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers can evict, and illegal eviction can bring a penalty of up to £40,000. See illegal eviction.

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

What to do next

Check the protected period and notice date with the notice period calculator, then create your Section 8 notice on Ground 1A. If you'd rather move into the property than sell it, read evicting a tenant to move back in. For every other situation, start from how to evict a tenant.