Yes. You can seek possession to sell using Ground 1A. You must give at least four months' notice, and although notice can be served during the first year of the tenancy, it cannot expire before the first twelve months have ended.

That's the short answer. The rest matters because Ground 1A carries three traps, including one that can leave you with an empty property and no immediate legal route to put it back on the rental market.

Scope: England only, assured tenancies in the private rented sector. Housing is devolved, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland work differently. For assured tenancies of social housing where the landlord is a private registered provider, the restrictions apply at a later date.

The Basics

Since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, selling up needs a ground like everything else. Ground 1A is the one, added to Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The full list is in GOV.UK's grounds for possession guidance for landlords and letting agents.

It's a mandatory ground, meaning the judge must give you a possession order if satisfied the ground is made out. That contrasts with discretionary grounds, where it's up to the court to decide whether possession is reasonable even after you've proved your case.

Three requirements: four months' notice on the prescribed form, expiry outside the protected period, and a genuine intention to sell you can evidence if challenged.

Trap One: The Twelve-Month Protected Period

The one people get wrong most often. You can serve notice during the first year. What you can't do is have it expire inside that first twelve months. MHCLG puts it plainly: grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used until 12 months after the tenancy started, you can serve earlier, but the date in the notice must be after the tenant has been in the property for 12 months.

So the arithmetic runs backwards from the anniversary, not forwards from today. Tenancy starts 1 March 2026. You decide in July that you want to sell. Four months takes you to November, inside the protected period. Your notice has to expire on or after 1 March 2027, which could mean giving considerably more than four months.

Practical consequence: decide early. If you're weighing an exit at month six, the runway is longer than you'd expect.

Trap Two: The Twelve-Month Restricted Period

Use Ground 1 or 1A and the property enters what MHCLG calls the 12 month no relet and remarketing "restricted period". Reletting or remarketing inside it is an offence, unless you took all reasonable steps not to, or an exception applies.

Remarketing is defined broadly. It includes advertising that the property is or may be available to let, posting an advert online, conducting letting agency work, and simply telling someone the property may be available. Businesses that host adverts placed by other people, and don't do lettings agency work themselves, don't commit the offence even if an advert on their site breaks the rule. That protects the portal, not you.

Four exceptions end the restricted period early or stop it applying:

• You or a close family member moves in and uses the property as an only or main home

• A licence to occupy is entered into where the licensee has agreed to buy the property, or lease it for more than 21 years

• The new lease being marketed or granted will be for more than 21 years

• The court makes a possession order on a ground other than 1 or 1A

Note what isn't on that list: a sale falling through. There's no exception for changed circumstances.

So the risk is straightforward. You serve notice. The tenant goes. You market the property. The sale collapses. You now hold an empty property you cannot lawfully re-let or advertise for the remainder of the restricted period. No rent. Ongoing mortgage. And a £40,000 penalty if you put it on Rightmove anyway. The honest advice: don't use Ground 1A until the sale is real. A firm decision, an agent instructed, a realistic price. Not a maybe.

Trap Three: The Pre-May 2026 Exclusion

Ground 1A cannot be used where the tenant holds an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy.

Sometimes called assured "lifetime" tenancies. Uncommon in the modern private rented sector, but they exist, particularly in older portfolios and where a property was bought with a sitting tenant.

Check what the tenancy actually is before you draft anything. Most social landlords also cannot use this ground.

Evidence to Keep if the Case Reaches Court

Ground 1A rests on your intention to sell, and intention is easy to claim and hard to prove. If the tenant doesn't leave, you must provide evidence to the court to prove the ground.

MHCLG's own example for a sale ground is proof that you have instructed an estate agent. That's the anchor. There's no single checklist every landlord must produce, but a contemporaneous file might also include:

• Property valuation

• Correspondence about the proposed sale

• Conveyancing correspondence

• Board or director decision, where the landlord is a company

• Marketing material, once the property is listed

None of it is onerous if you gather it as it happens. All of it is nearly impossible to construct convincingly eight months later when a judge asks. And if things change, write that down too. A sale collapsing in October looks very different with a dated note explaining why.

Structured tenancy and property records holding notices, correspondence and dates in one place turn this from a scramble into a retrieval.

Getting the Notice Right

Serve using Form 3A, or a form substantially to the like effect. In practice, using the prescribed form from GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page is the safest approach.

Three things make a Section 8 notice valid: the correct form, the right amount of notice, and setting out fully the substance of the ground you're relying on and why you think it applies.

That third point is more demanding than people expect. You're asked to write out the full statutory wording of the ground. MHCLG publishes a separate document, Form 3A: Legal wording for possession grounds, alongside the watermarked form for exactly this purpose. An incomplete or inaccurate notice can get your claim dismissed or delayed.

A word of reassurance: enforcement action based on an invalid notice won't usually be taken where, but for a simple mistake such as a spelling error, it would still have been valid.

Keep proof of service. Either complete a certificate of service (Form N215) or endorse the notice with "served by [name] on [date]". You can rely on more than one ground in the same notice. Where they carry different periods, the longest generally governs.

Two Preconditions That Stop a Claim Dead

Deposit compliance. To use most possession grounds you must show the deposit was protected in a government-approved scheme, that you complied with the scheme's requirements as they applied when you received it, and that you gave the tenant the prescribed information. GOV.UK's guidance on repossessing after 1 May 2026 sets out the full test.

A court will only grant possession if one of these applies: the deposit is protected and compliant, it was returned in full or with agreed deductions, or a tenant's court challenge on deposit protection has been decided, settled or withdrawn. The rules don't apply to grounds 7A or 14 for antisocial behaviour.

One easily missed point: it's illegal to take a deposit in any form other than money. If you took anything else, you'll need to return it before you can obtain possession on any ground.

PRS Database registration. The database is scheduled to begin rolling out from late 2026. Registration requirements and the associated possession consequences will apply as the relevant provisions and regulations come into force, so if you're planning possession action around that period, check the current implementation timetable.

Our guides to Section 8 grounds for possession and PRS Database registration cover both in detail.

If the Tenant Doesn't Leave: The Court Route

Worth knowing the shape and the cost before you start.

Ground 1A claims use the paper-based service, not Possession Claim Online. PCOL is only available where you're evicting solely for rent arrears. So you'll complete form N5 (claim for possession) and form N119 (particulars of claim), and post, email or deliver them to the county court covering housing in your area.

It costs £415 to apply. That rose from £404 on 13 July 2026, so check the current figure. Help with court fees is available.

You will usually have up to twelve months from serving the notice to start proceedings. Room to negotiate, but a deadline.

If the tenant wants to defend, they have 14 days from service of the claim papers. At least 14 days before the hearing you should send the court every document you're relying on.

Where a mandatory ground succeeds, the possession date is usually within 14 days of the order. A judge may allow up to six weeks where the tenant would suffer extreme hardship.

If they still don't leave, you apply for a warrant of possession using form N325, which costs £148, and the court gives the tenant at least 14 days' notice of the eviction appointment.

Possession proceedings can take time, so avoid committing to a completion date based solely on the four-month notice period. Check current court and transaction timescales before giving a buyer a firm date.

What Happens If You Misuse It

There are two tiers, and the lower one is easier to trip than most landlords realise.

The £7,000 Breach

You could face a financial penalty of up to £7,000 if you use a possession ground in a Section 8 notice, purported notice of possession, or claim form when you do not reasonably believe that a possession order will be granted by the court on that ground.

Read that standard carefully. It isn't about dishonesty. It's about reasonable belief. Serving Ground 1A when you haven't really decided to sell, or when the tenancy is only four months old and you haven't worked out the protected period, could fall here.

The £40,000 Offence

You could face a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution if you:

• relet or remarketed within the 12 month restricted period after using grounds 1 or 1A, unless you took all reasonable steps not to or an exception applies

• knowingly used a possession ground despite knowing a court would not order possession on it, or were reckless about that, and the tenant left within 4 months without a possession order being made

• committed a breach within 5 years of a previous offence, or within 5 years of a financial penalty for a previous breach

• continued a breach for more than 28 days after receiving a penalty for it

MHCLG explains the terms. Being reckless goes beyond making a mistake or unsuccessfully seeking possession on a ground that had a reasonable chance of succeeding; it means taking an unjustified risk. Knowingly goes further still, suggesting the person was virtually certain no possession order would be made. Ultimately courts and tribunals decide, case by case.

How Enforcement Works

Local authorities impose the fines and must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt before acting. They gather evidence and give you notice of intent. You then have 28 days to make written representations before they decide whether to issue a final notice.

If a final notice is issued, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against either the decision or the amount, within 28 days.

Should You Use It At All?

Worth asking, because there are alternatives.

• Selling with the tenant in situ:
  A tenanted property can be attractive to some buy-to-let investors, particularly where the tenancy and rental history suit their investment criteria. You keep the rent throughout, skip the notice period, and never enter the restricted period.

• Negotiated surrender:
  Tenants often want to move anyway. A conversation, sometimes with a contribution to moving costs, is usually faster and cheaper than four months plus a £415 court fee.

• Waiting:
  At month five, the ground may still require a much longer notice period than the four-month minimum, which gives you time to explore the other two options.

Ground 1A works. It's just slower, costlier and more restrictive than most landlords assume when they first look at it.

Quick Reference

Conclusion

Ground 1A does what landlords need it to do. If you genuinely intend to sell, meet the conditions and keep a decent file, you will get possession, and the court has no discretion to refuse you.

What catches people is everything around the ground rather than the ground itself.

The protected period means the decision to sell has to be made earlier than feels natural, because notice served at month six may need to run eight or nine months rather than four. The restricted period means a collapsed sale leaves you holding an empty property you cannot lawfully advertise, with no exception for changed circumstances. And the £7,000 breach tier turns on whether you reasonably believed a court would grant possession, which is a lower bar than dishonesty and easier to fall below than most landlords expect.

None of that makes Ground 1A unusable. It makes it a decision to take deliberately rather than reactively.

The practical sequence is worth stating plainly. Decide whether you're actually selling. Check the tenancy type and the twelve-month date. Instruct an agent and keep the paperwork. Check your deposit compliance, including the prescribed information. Then serve, on the right form, with the full statutory wording, and keep proof of service.

Landlords who work through that in order are recovering properties without much difficulty. Those who serve first and think second are discovering how unforgiving the new regime has become, sometimes at £415 a go and occasionally at considerably more.

If the sale isn't certain, the alternatives deserve a serious look before you start. Selling with a tenant in place avoids the notice period and the restricted period entirely, and a negotiated surrender is almost always faster than the court route.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I evict a tenant to sell my property in England?
Yes, using Ground 1A with at least four months' notice on Form 3A or a form substantially to the like effect. Notice can be served during the first year but cannot expire before the first twelve months have ended. It's a mandatory ground, so the judge must grant possession if satisfied the ground is made out.

2. How much notice do I need to give to sell?
Four months minimum. But if the tenancy is less than a year old, the notice cannot expire inside the first twelve months, which in practice can mean giving considerably more than four months.

3. What happens if my sale falls through after evicting the tenant?
Using Ground 1A triggers a 12 month no relet and remarketing restricted period. A collapsed sale is not one of the exceptions, so you may be unable to re-let or advertise the property for the remainder of that period. Reletting or remarketing inside it can attract a penalty of up to £40,000 unless you took all reasonable steps not to or an exception applies.

4. Do I need evidence that I intend to sell?
Yes, if the tenant doesn't leave and the matter reaches court. MHCLG gives proof of having instructed an estate agent as an example. There's no prescribed checklist, but a contemporaneous file might also include a valuation and correspondence about the proposed sale, all dated at the time.

5. How much does it cost to evict a tenant in England?
A possession claim costs £415 to apply, and a warrant of possession costs a further £148 if the tenant doesn't leave after the order. Ground 1A claims use the paper-based service rather than Possession Claim Online, which is only for rent arrears cases. Help with court fees is available.

6. Can I use Ground 1A on any tenancy?
No. It cannot be used where the tenant has an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy. Most social landlords also cannot use it. Check what the tenancy actually is before serving notice.

Important Notice

This article applies to England only. Housing law is devolved and the position differs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Information was checked against GOV.UK guidance and relevant legislation available as at 17 August 2026. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is being implemented in phases and further regulations are expected. Notice periods, prescribed forms, restricted periods, penalties, court fees and procedural requirements may change. The possession claim fee changed on 13 July 2026, so verify current fees before applying.

Always check the current position on GOV.UK before serving notice or beginning possession proceedings.

This content is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. RIOO is not a law firm. Possession proceedings carry significant legal and financial consequences. Consult a housing solicitor before taking action.