Can you evict a tenant to move back in yourself? Ground 1, and whether it covers your family

In Wales, a landlord does not need Ground 1, or any occupation ground, to get their home back from a periodic standard contract: a no-reason landlord’s notice can be used instead. In England, Ground 1 is the post-1 May 2026 route for a landlord who needs the property as their only or principal home, but Scotland and Northern Ireland use different systems.

Can you evict a tenant so you can move back in yourself?

Yes in England, from 1 May 2026 you can use Ground 1 if the tenancy is at least 12 months old by the relevant date and you require the dwelling as your only or principal home; in Wales you do not need Ground 1 because a periodic standard contract can be ended without giving a reason. Ground 1 is a mandatory England possession ground, so if the landlord proves it, the court must make a possession order. The tenant does not have to leave just because the landlord serves a section 8 notice; if the notice expires and the tenant stays, the landlord must apply to court. Abodient can hold the tenancy's start date and the served notice against the property, which matters given Ground 1 depends on exact tenancy age and notice timing. The official MoJ median from landlord claim to repossession was 27.0 weeks in Q4 2025. Scotland has a separate private residential tenancy ground where the landlord intends to live in the let property. Northern Ireland has no current equivalent occupation ground; it works through notice to quit rules rather than Ground 1.

Can you use Ground 1 so a family member can move in?

Yes in England, Ground 1 can be used so an adult son or daughter moves into the property, because the ground covers the landlord and specified close family members, not only the landlord personally. It also covers a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner, and GOV.UK describes the ground as available if you or a close family member need to move into the property. The statutory list still matters: other relatives are not covered merely because they are family, and more distant relatives such as cousins, nieces and nephews should not be assumed to qualify. Wales and Northern Ireland do not have Ground 1 for a family member under their current private-renting systems. Scotland uses a separate named ground, where a member of the landlord’s family intends to live in the let property, rather than England’s Ground 1.

How much notice do you have to give a tenant under Ground 1?

In England, Ground 1 requires 4 months’ section 8 notice before the landlord can apply to court, and the notice can be served during the first 12 months only if it does not expire before that 12-month point. That means the practical answer to needing to move back in yourself is usually Ground 1 plus a 4-month notice, not a shorter rent-arrears or conduct ground unless those separate facts genuinely exist. A landlord can time service so the 4-month notice expires after the first year, but the 12-month condition still controls the route. In Wales there is no Ground 1 notice period; a section 173 landlord’s notice for a periodic standard contract must give at least 6 months. In Scotland, the landlord-occupation and family-occupation routes normally require an 84-day wait before tribunal application unless the shorter statutory rule applies. Northern Ireland has no Ground 1 notice period and currently uses length-of-tenancy notice to quit rules.

What counts as evidence that you genuinely intend to move in?

In England, the legal test is not simply whether the landlord genuinely intends to move in: Ground 1 says the landlord must prove they require the dwelling as their or a listed family member’s only or principal home, and no statute fixes a prescribed evidence pack. The useful evidence is therefore anything that makes that requirement real and specific: where you live now, why that home is ending or unsuitable, work or family relocation, sale or surrender papers, school or care arrangements, and a signed witness statement explaining why this property must be your main home. The court decides on the evidence, and England also polices false use after possession through restrictions on re-letting during the restricted period. Wales requires no proof of an intention to occupy when a periodic standard contract is ended by landlord’s notice. Scotland names an affidavit as an example of evidence, not a closed list, and tribunal decisions recognise that hard proof of future occupation is often limited. Northern Ireland’s current law does not require occupation evidence for an ordinary notice to quit.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Schedule 1, Ground 1 — “The current tenancy began at least 1 year before the relevant date and the landlord who is seeking possession requires the dwelling-house as the only or principal home of any of the following—” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance — “These grounds are mandatory which means if you can prove the ground, the court will give you a possession order to start the process of evicting your tenant.” Source
• GOV.WALES Renting Homes landlord FAQs — “A landlord may issue a landlord’s notice to a contract-holder to end a periodic standard contract without having to give a reason for doing so.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 Schedule 3 — “It is an eviction ground that the landlord intends to live in the let property.” Source
• Department for Communities Northern Ireland, Private Tenancies Act 2022 section 11 article — “However, the Act stipulates that these longer notice periods can only come into effect when the Department has introduced regulations on certain circumstances where these longer notices periods would not apply.” Source
• Ministry of Justice mortgage and landlord possession statistics, October to December 2025 — “The median average time from claim to repossession has increased to 27.0 weeks, up from 25.0 weeks in the same period of 2024.” Source
• GOV.UK repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026 — “It costs £415 to apply.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Schedule 1, Ground 1 family wording — “(b) the landlord’s spouse or civil partner or a person with whom the landlord lives as if they were married or in a civil partnership;” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance, Ground 1 — “If you or a close family member need to move into the property, you can use this ground.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 Schedule 3, family occupation — “It is an eviction ground that a member of the landlord's family intends to live in the let property.” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance, notice period — “You must give 4 months’ notice before applying to court for a possession order to evict your tenant.” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance, first 12 months — “You can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 months has ended.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 section 174 — “The date specified in a notice under section 173 may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 section 54 — “(ii)84 days after it begins if subsection (3) does not apply.” Source
• GOV.UK repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026, evidence — “You must provide evidence to prove the grounds you’re using to seek possession.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 section 13 — “Subject to section 16F, where a relevant person relies on Ground 1 or 1A in Schedule 2 in relation to an assured tenancy, the landlord must not, within the restricted period—” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 Schedule 3 Part 1 — “Evidence tending to show that the landlord has the intention mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) includes (for example) an affidavit stating that the landlord has that intention.” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancies landlord guide — “Evidence could include an affidavit (a written statement, signed under oath in the presence of a Notary Public or a Justice of the Peace, that can be used as evidence at the Tribunal) saying this is what you are going to do.” Source
• Housing and Property Chamber eviction decision — “It is, to a certain degree, difficult for any landlord to produce hard evidence of an intention to live in a property, other than simply saying that it is their intention to do so.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 section 173 — “The landlord under a periodic standard contract may end the contract by giving the contract-holder notice that he or she must give up possession of the dwelling on a date specified in the notice.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 Article 14 — “A notice by a landlord to quit a dwelling-house let under a private tenancy is not valid unless—” Source