Notice time for tricky tenant Section 8 (10 11)

When faced with this scenario in the past we used to serve the S21 notice and then nearer the expiry date on this notice we would also serve the S8 notice to expire on the same date as the S21 notice. We did this to avoid the tenant playing the system re the S8 notice by reducing the arrears to just below the 2 months value on the day of the court hearing. It also meant that the arrears were noted in the court case but the down side is that you can’t use the accelerated possession route so it is a slower process. We’ve not had to do this for a number of years now though so the process may be different nowadays.

Andrea- The notice period under a Section 8 Notice on Grounds 8,10 & 11 is 2 weeks. You could serve this immediately in light of the extent of the arrears.

The choice would then be whether or not to issue possession proceedings based on that Section 8 Notice as soon as it expires. If the tenant is unlikely to pay the arrears so as to reduce them to below £1040 (2 months rent) then the Section 8 route may be the quickest way forward.

Hi Andrea,

For a section 8 notice it is important that you include ground 8 in addition of grounds 10 and 11.
It requires 2 months rent overdue both at the time of service and court hearing (hence Alison and Gareth’s comments) and possession is mandatory. If you only use grounds 10 and 11 possession is at the discretion of the court.

I would issue Sec 8 on grounds 8,10 & 11 as mentioned above and serve sec 21 as well (there is no harm in doing so) with a covering letter making it clear that you will proceed to court in 15 days without further notice is arrears are not cleared in full. Even if the arrears are cleared in full or part you can still use accelerated procedures after 2 clear months if you wish .

Also consider doing a “money claim on line” for the rent, if the tenant has a job or owns a car, or cares about there credit rating.