Ground 1: landlord or family moving in

Section 8 Ground 1 lets you recover a let property in England when you, or a close family member, need it as an only or principal home. It is a mandatory ground with a 4-month notice period, but the date in your notice cannot fall within the first 12 months of the tenancy. Once you serve it, you cannot re-let or market the property until 12 months after that date.

What Ground 1 means in plain English

You, or at least one joint landlord, must need the property as the only or principal home of one of these people:

• you;
• your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner;
• your parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild;
• a child or grandchild of your spouse or partner.

A half-blood relationship counts as a whole-blood one, so a half-brother qualifies. Two old conditions have gone since 1 May 2026: you no longer need to have warned the tenant at the start of the tenancy, and you no longer need to have lived there yourself before.

These rules cover private assured tenancies in England only. Wales (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016), Scotland and Northern Ireland have different law.

Who can and can't use it

Most private landlords can use Ground 1, including on older non-shorthold assured tenancies, which are barred from Ground 1A for selling.

You can't use it for a relative who isn't on the list, for a second home, or as cover for selling. If you own through a company or trust, speak to a solicitor first. For the practical steps, see evicting a tenant to move back in and evicting a tenant for a family member.

Section 8 Ground 1 notice period and the protected period

Ground 1 needs at least 4 months' notice, counted from the day you serve it. The date in Form 3A question 2.1 must also fall outside the 12-month protected period: the tenancy must have begun at least a year before that date. Both rules apply together, so you may need to give more than 4 months. You can serve during the first year, as long as the date lands after it.

Here is a worked example for a fictional tenancy that began on 1 July 2026:

Serving early doesn't speed anything up; it only shortens your window to issue a claim. Our Section 8 notice period calculator runs these checks for you.

Watch out: if you granted the same tenant a new tenancy, the law doesn't say clearly whether the 12 months restart. To be safe, count from the start of the latest tenancy.

Evidence to gather

The court must be satisfied the need is real. Beyond the basics above, gather:

1. a signed statement from the person moving in, saying why they need the home and when;
2. proof of the relationship, such as a birth or marriage certificate;
3. proof of their current position, for example the notice ending their own tenancy, a sale of their home, or a new job nearby;
4. a timeline showing they will move in soon after the property is empty.

How to explain Ground 1 in Form 3A question 4.3

In question 4.2 you copy the full legal wording of Ground 1 from GOV.UK's legal wording document. The number or name alone is not enough. In question 4.3 you explain, in your own words, why the ground applies. A short example for a fictional landlord:

Ground 1. I am the landlord. My son, Daniel Okafor, needs to live at the property as his only home. He starts a permanent job two miles away on 1 August 2027, and his own tenancy in Leeds ends on 31 July 2027 (copy of his notice attached). He will move in as soon as the property is empty. The tenancy began on 1 July 2026, so the date in question 2.1 falls after the 12-month protected period.

What the court does

Ground 1 is mandatory: if you prove it, the court must order possession, subject to the limits in section 7 of the Housing Act 1988 and any human rights defence. The possession date is usually within 14 days, or up to 6 weeks for exceptional hardship.

The tenant can dispute whether the need is genuine, so expect your evidence to be tested. If you took a deposit, the court can only make the order once it is protected and the prescribed information has been given (see deposit protection).

Pitfalls and penalties

• Restricted period. From the day you serve until 12 months after the date in question 2.1, whether or not the tenant leaves, you must not let the property on a tenancy of 21 years or less, grant a paid licence, or market it for letting. Letting to a listed family member is the main exception. The ban ends early only if the court orders possession on a different ground.
• Penalties. Breaking the ban is a criminal offence, or the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000. The tenant can also seek a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent.
• No genuine intention. Relying on Ground 1 without reasonable belief that you could get possession risks a penalty of up to £7,000 if the tenant leaves within 4 months. Doing so knowingly or recklessly, where the tenant then leaves within 4 months, is an offence.
• Date too early. Ignoring the protected period makes the notice defective, and serving a defective notice can itself lead to a penalty of up to £7,000.

What to do next

Gather your evidence, then prepare Form 3A. Our notice builder checks the protected period, works out the date and inserts the GOV.UK wording. Then read how to serve a Section 8 notice, or compare other options in the full list of Section 8 grounds.