Can you evict a tenant to sell? Ground 1A, the notice, and the 12-month re-let ban

In England, Ground 1A lets a private landlord seek possession because they intend to sell, but it also creates a long re-letting and re-marketing risk. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different tenancy systems, so Ground 1A and its re-let ban are England-only.

Can you evict a tenant because you want to sell?

Yes, in England a private landlord can evict a tenant because they want to sell by using Section 8 Ground 1A, and Ground 1A is mandatory if the court is satisfied it is made out. The statutory ground applies where “the landlord who is seeking possession intends to sell a freehold or leasehold interest in the dwelling-house” or grant a long lease, and the Housing Act 1988 says that if a Part I Schedule 2 ground is established “the court shall make an order for possession.” That means I want to sell is now a valid ground for possession in England, not merely background to another rent-arrears or breach ground, although the landlord still has to serve the right notice and prove the intention if challenged. A landlord can also sell with the tenant still in occupation: if the landlord’s interest is assigned, the new landlord must notify the tenant of the assignment and their name and address. Wales has no Ground 1A, Scotland’s sale ground is discretionary, and Northern Ireland has no equivalent sale ground.

How much notice do you have to give a tenant when you are selling?

In England, a Ground 1A Section 8 notice for selling requires at least four months’ notice before a landlord can apply to court, and the date in the notice must be after the tenant has been in the property for 12 months. Government guidance states, “You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant,” and adds that “the date in the notice must be after they have been in the property for 12 months.” There is no separate general legal duty to give a tenant notice merely because you intend to sell a single let dwelling; the actionable notice is the possession notice if you want the tenant to leave. If the tenant does not go, a court claim follows, and current possession statistics put the median claim-to-repossession time at 26.4 weeks across landlord claims, with a £415 court application fee. Wales uses a six-month no-fault notice, Scotland’s sale-ground notice can be 84 days after six months’ occupation, and Northern Ireland is different again.

What must a Ground 1A notice say?

A Ground 1A notice in England must specify Ground 1A, give the particulars of why the landlord intends to sell, and include the full legal wording for the ground in Form 3A. Section 8 says the court cannot make a possession order unless “that ground and particulars of it are specified in the notice,” while the official Form 3A guidance says, “Question 4.2 in Form 3A asks you to include the full legal wording for each ground you are using.” The notice should therefore not just say landlord selling property or Section 8 1A; it should identify Ground 1A, reproduce the statutory wording, and explain the intended sale in the particulars box. The guidance warns that “If you do not include the legal wording, or if it is incomplete or inaccurate, your notice may be invalid,” and Form 3A itself says “Questions 4.2 and 4.3 are mandatory.” Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not use a Ground 1A notice.

What form is used for a Ground 1A notice?

In England, the form used for a Ground 1A notice is Form 3A, the prescribed Section 8 notice form for the private rented sector. The government possession guidance says, “You will need to use Form 3A, or a form substantially to the like effect, and serve this on your tenants,” and the statutory instrument identifies Form 3A as the Secretary of State’s published notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The form itself is marked “For use in the private rented sector in England only,” so it is not the form for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. In Wales, the no-fault landlord’s notice is Form RHW16; in Scotland, a landlord uses the prescribed notice to leave; and Northern Ireland has its own notice-to-quit regime. Abodient can store the served Form 3A against the tenancy and the property, which matters because the service date drives the restricted-period clock as well as the court timetable.

What is the restricted period, and how long are you barred from re-letting?

The Ground 1A restricted period in England starts on the day the Section 8 notice, or purported notice, is served and ends 12 months after the date in that notice for proceedings to begin, so a four-month Ground 1A notice usually blocks letting and paid licensing for about 16 months from service, not 12. Housing Act 1988 section 16M defines the period as “beginning with the date on which the notice or purported notice is served” and ending with “the last day of the period of twelve months beginning with the date specified in the notice or purported notice as the earliest date on which proceedings for possession will begin.” That wording governs over guidance or landlord commentary that starts the clock at expiry, court issue, possession order or move-out. During that period, section 16E stops the landlord letting the property on a lease of 21 years or less, and separately stops a paid licence. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no Ground 1A re-let ban.

What happens if your buyer pulls out after you have served the notice?

If the buyer pulls out after a landlord has served a Ground 1A notice in England, the re-let and re-marketing ban still runs to the end of the restricted period unless the court makes a possession order on a different ground. Section 16E says the prohibition “continues to apply to that person until the end of the restricted period, whether or not the tenancy continues during that period,” so a collapsed sale is not itself an escape route. Section 16M gives one statutory early end: “Where, before the end of the restricted period, the court makes an order for possession of the dwelling-house on a ground other than Ground 1 or 1A, the restricted period ends with the day on which the order is made.” There is no special Ground 1A good-faith exception just because the buyer changed their mind, and the family-occupation exception in section 16F is confined to Ground 1. Mortgage-consent consequences depend on the individual lender’s terms, not Ground 1A itself.

Who checks whether you re-let inside the ban, and what happens if you do?

In England, the local housing authority enforces the Ground 1A re-let ban, and re-letting or marketing during the restricted period is a criminal offence or can attract a financial penalty of up to £40,000. Government enforcement guidance says, “It is the duty of every housing authority in England to enforce these new provisions in its area,” so the practical trigger may be a former tenant complaint, a listing, an inspection, council intelligence or another report. Section 16J says, “A person is guilty of an offence if the person contravenes section 16E(2) or (3),” and section 16K says the alternative financial penalty “must not be more than £40,000.” The often-quoted £7,000 figure belongs to a different contravention, not the main re-letting offence. A former tenant or housing authority may also seek a rent repayment order, because the usual tenant-still-in-occupation requirement does not apply to a section 16J offence. Wales and Northern Ireland have no equivalent restricted-period offence, while Scotland uses wrongful-termination compensation instead.

Does the re-let ban still apply if the tenant leaves voluntarily?

In England, the re-let ban turns on relying on Ground 1 or Ground 1A, not on whether the tenancy ends by court order, surrender or the tenant simply moving out after the notice. Section 16E says the ban applies “where a relevant person relies on Ground 1 or 1A,” and section 16M says a person relies on the ground by serving a section 8 notice, or purported possession notice, asserting that ground. Once that has happened, section 16E says the prohibition continues “whether or not the tenancy continues during that period,” so a later voluntary surrender does not wash out the ban. A paid lodger, Airbnb-style arrangement or reduced-rent occupier is still a prohibited paid licence during the restricted period, not a workaround. If the tenant gives notice and leaves without the landlord having relied on Ground 1A, the Ground 1A restricted period is not created. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no 12-month Ground 1A re-let ban.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2 Ground 1A — “the landlord who is seeking possession intends to sell a freehold or leasehold interest in the dwelling-house” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 7 — “the court shall make an order for possession.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 section 3 — “the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant” Source
• GOV.UK possession guidance — “You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant.” Source
• GOV.UK repossession guidance — “You can serve the notice of possession earlier, but the date in the notice must be after they have been in the property for 12 months.” Source
• GOV.UK possession statistics Q1 2026 — “The median average time from claim to landlord repossession is currently 26.4 weeks” Source
• GOV.UK repossession guidance — “It costs £415 to apply.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 8 — “that ground and particulars of it are specified in the notice under this section” Source
• Form 3A guidance — “Question 4.2 in Form 3A asks you to include the full legal wording for each ground you are using.” Source
• Form 3A guidance — “If you do not include the legal wording, or if it is incomplete or inaccurate, your notice may be invalid.” Source
• Form 3A — “Questions 4.2 and 4.3 are mandatory.” Source
• GOV.UK repossession guidance — “You will need to use Form 3A, or a form substantially to the like effect, and serve this on your tenants.” Source
• Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2026 regulation 3 — “the version of the form published by the Secretary of State that has effect at the time the requirement applies (in this regulation ‘Form 3A’)” Source
• Form 3A — “For use in the private rented sector in England only.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16M — “beginning with the date on which the notice or purported notice is served” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16M — “ending with the last day of the period of twelve months beginning with the date specified in the notice or purported notice as the earliest date on which proceedings for possession will begin” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16E — “the landlord must not, within the restricted period” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16E — “it continues to apply to that person until the end of the restricted period, whether or not the tenancy continues during that period.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16M — “the restricted period ends with the day on which the order is made.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16F — “the relevant person relies on Ground 1” Source
• GOV.UK enforcement guidance — “It is the duty of every housing authority in England to enforce these new provisions in its area.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16J — “A person is guilty of an offence if the person contravenes section 16E(2) or (3)” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16K — “The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section is to be determined by the authority imposing it, but must not be more than £40,000.” Source
• Housing and Planning Act 2016 section 41 — “The requirement in subsection (2)(a) does not apply to an application for a rent repayment order in relation to an offence under section 16J(1) or (2) of the Housing Act 1988.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16M — “serves on the tenant a notice under section 8, or a purported notice of possession” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 1A — “nothing in sections 1 to 25 of this Act applies to a dwelling-house in Wales.” Source
• Renting Homes Wales landlord FAQ — “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 — “the Tribunal is satisfied that it is reasonable to issue an eviction order” Source
• NI Direct private renting guidance — “A landlord must always provide the tenant with a written notice to quit” Source