Ground 1A possession (sale of the property)

The mandatory ground that lets a landlord recover possession to sell — introduced alongside the abolition of Section 21, and carrying its own notice period and protections that are easy to get wrong.

Can a landlord use Ground 1A as soon as a tenancy starts?

No. For tenancies that began on or after 1 May 2026, Ground 1A cannot be used to end the tenancy within its first 12 months. A notice can be served before the 12 months are up, but it cannot expire — and possession proceedings cannot effectively begin — until that protected period has passed.

How much notice does a landlord have to give under Ground 1A?

Four months, running from when the Section 8 notice citing Ground 1A is served to when the landlord can apply to court for possession. This is longer than the notice period for many other grounds, reflecting that Ground 1A involves ending a settled tenancy for the landlord's own purposes rather than, for example, a serious breach by the tenant.

What does the landlord actually have to prove to use Ground 1A?

A genuine intention to sell their interest in the property — freehold or leasehold — and that intention has to exist both when the notice is served and when the court considers the claim. It is not enough to assert an intention to sell; if a tenant disputes it, the court will look at the evidence, and a landlord who cannot show a genuine intention risks the claim failing.

What happens if the landlord changes their mind after the tenant has left?

If the landlord does not go through with the sale, they are restricted from re-letting the property for 12 months, starting from the date specified in the original Section 8 notice as the earliest date for possession. This restriction exists to stop Ground 1A being used as a disguised way to get a tenant out without a genuine sale ever being intended.

Is Ground 1A the same as Ground 1 (landlord or family member wants to move in)?

No, though they are closely related and introduced together. Ground 1 covers a landlord, or certain family members, wanting to occupy the property themselves. Ground 1A specifically covers an intention to sell. Both are mandatory grounds, both carry a 12-month protected period at the start of a tenancy, and both require four months' notice, but they apply to different landlord circumstances and should not be used interchangeably.

Can a tenant challenge a Ground 1A notice?

Yes — by disputing the genuineness of the landlord's intention to sell, by showing the 12-month protected period has not yet elapsed, or by challenging whether the four-month notice period was properly given. Because there is limited case law on how courts will assess a 'genuine intention' in practice, how strong any particular challenge is will depend heavily on the specific facts and evidence available.

Why Ground 1A exists

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 "no fault" evictions, removing the route landlords previously used to end a tenancy without giving any reason, including where they simply wanted to sell the property. Ground 1A was introduced as part of the same reform to give landlords a specific, lawful route to recover possession where selling is the genuine reason, rather than leaving no mechanism for that situation at all. It sits in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as a mandatory ground, meaning the court must grant possession if the landlord proves the ground applies — there is no discretion to refuse on reasonableness grounds, unlike some other grounds.

The three safeguards built into the ground

• 1 The 12-month protected period. For tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026, Ground 1A cannot be used to end a tenancy within its first 12 months — a notice can be served earlier, but it cannot expire, and proceedings cannot begin, before that period passes.
• 2 Four months' notice. Once the protected period has passed, the landlord must give four months' notice before applying to court for possession — longer than many other grounds require.
• 3 Genuine intention to sell. The landlord must intend to sell their freehold or leasehold interest, and that intention must exist both when the notice is served and when the court hears the case — not simply be asserted as a convenient reason to end the tenancy.

What happens if the sale does not go ahead

If a landlord recovers possession using Ground 1A and the tenant leaves, but the sale does not then happen, the landlord is prevented from re-letting the property for 12 months, counted from the date the original Section 8 notice specified as the earliest date for possession. This is the main deterrent against misusing Ground 1A as a disguised way to remove a tenant without a genuine sale — a landlord who re-lets too soon risks being found to have never genuinely intended to sell, which can expose them to a claim from the former tenant.

A tenancy begins on 1 June 2026. The landlord decides in April 2027 that they want to sell the property and serves a Section 8 notice citing Ground 1A on 1 May 2027.

12-month protected period ends

Earliest possession date

The notice itself can be served in May 2027, before the protected period ends, because it is the expiry of the notice — and the start of possession proceedings — that cannot fall inside the first 12 months. Four months from service lands on 1 September 2027, which is also after the 1 June 2027 protected period ends, so the notice is valid on both counts.

Grounds for possession

Renters' Rights Act 2025

Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2

Propertymark — selling rented property under the Renters' Rights Act

Ground 1A Possession (Sale of the Property) — Renters' Rights Glossary

What Ground 1A covers, the 12-month protected period and four months' notice it requires, and what happens if the landlord's sale does not go ahead.