Ground 7B: tenant has no right to rent

Ground 7B is the Section 8 ground you use when the Home Office has told you in writing that your tenant, or an adult living with them, is disqualified from renting because of their immigration status. It is mandatory and needs only 2 weeks' notice on Form 3A. But it depends entirely on that Home Office notice: you cannot use it on suspicion, and the court cannot waive the notice to the tenant.

What Ground 7B means in plain English

Under the Right to Rent rules, which apply in England only, you must check every adult who will live in the property as their only or main home, whatever their nationality. If the Home Office later decides that one of them is disqualified by immigration status, it can send you a written notice saying so. Ground 7B turns that notice into a ground for possession.

The decision is the Home Office's, not yours. An expired document, a failed follow-up check or a gut feeling does not satisfy the ground. If a follow-up check fails, your job is to report it to the Home Office, as our guide to Right to Rent checks explains.

Ground 7B section 8 conditions

You have to show that:

1. the Home Office has given you, as landlord, a written notice; and
2. the notice identifies the tenant (or one or more joint tenants), or an adult occupier, as disqualified by immigration status from occupying the property.

There is no deadline in the ground itself between the Home Office notice and your Section 8 notice, but don't delay. The Right to Rent criminal offence is aimed at landlords who know, or have reasonable cause to believe, that a disqualified adult lives in the property, and the Home Office notice gives you exactly that knowledge.

A separate route exists under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014, and your written statement of terms must tell the tenant that the tenancy can end without a court order in this situation. This page covers the Section 8 route. Take advice from a solicitor before using the section 33D route.

How much notice does Ground 7B need?

The minimum is 2 weeks, beginning with the day of service, and the question 2.1 date should be the day after it ends. If you hand the notice to the tenant on Monday 2 November 2026, the earliest date is Monday 16 November 2026. If you add a ground with a longer period, the longest one sets the date: with Ground 8 (4 weeks) as well, it would be Monday 30 November 2026. The notice period calculator does this for you.

If you post the notice, work from the date it will actually reach the tenant, not the date you send it. You must start court proceedings within 12 months of service.

The court cannot dispense with notice for Ground 7B, just as for Grounds 7A and 8. A notice with a wrong date or missing tenant can't be saved by the court dispensing with notice; you would usually have to serve again.

What evidence do you need?

• The Home Office notice itself, which is the core of the claim. Keep the original and make copies.
• Your Right to Rent check records for each adult occupier. They are not a condition of the ground, but they show you complied.
• The tenancy agreement and a list of everyone living at the property.
• Your deposit protection certificate and proof you gave the prescribed information.
• Proof of service of the Form 3A notice, such as a completed N215.

How to write the Form 3A explanation (question 4.3)

Tick "Ground 7B" in question 4.1. In question 4.2, copy the full legal wording of Ground 7B from GOV.UK's legal-wording document; the ground's name alone is not enough. In question 4.3, write a heading for the ground and explain the facts in your own words. A short sample for a fictional landlord:

Ground 7B. On 12 October 2026 the Home Office sent me a written notice stating that Alex Morgan, the tenant named in section 1.1, is disqualified from occupying the property because of their immigration status. I have not received any later letter from the Home Office about this. A copy of the notice is attached.

Keep it factual. Don't speculate about the tenant's immigration history or add anything the Home Office has not said.

What will the court consider?

Ground 7B is mandatory. If you prove it, the court must order possession; it does not weigh up whether eviction is reasonable. The usual limits still apply: the deposit rules, the other restrictions 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 if the tenant shows exceptional hardship.

Where there are joint tenants, section 10A of the Housing Act 1988 allows the court to transfer the tenancy to a qualifying joint tenant instead of ordering possession. Expect that question if only one of several tenants is named in the Home Office notice.

Ground 7B mistakes to avoid

• Acting without the Home Office notice. No notice, no Ground 7B.
• Changing the locks or removing belongings yourself. That risks prosecution and a council penalty of up to £40,000 for unlawful eviction.
• Checking only some occupiers. Right to Rent checks apply to every adult occupier, whatever their nationality. If you skip a check and an occupier turns out to be disqualified, the civil penalty is up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat.
• Leaving out a joint tenant from question 1.1, or serving only one of them.
• An unprotected deposit. The court cannot make the order until the deposit position is put right or the deposit is returned.
• Emailing the notice when the tenancy agreement doesn't allow email service.

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

What to do next

Create your notice with our Section 8 notice builder, which inserts the Ground 7B legal wording and works out the earliest date. Read our guide to evicting a tenant with no right to rent for the full process, check how to serve a Section 8 notice, or compare other options in our Section 8 grounds guide. If the tenant disputes the Home Office decision, speak to a solicitor before you issue a claim.