Act early, act correctly. Speak to Kestrel.
Under the regime in force since 1 May 2026 there is no section 21 shortcut: possession for arrears runs on grounds and thresholds, with the mandatory ground needing at least three months of arrears and four weeks' notice. The landlords who do well move early: engage at the first missed month, paper everything, serve valid notices when thresholds are met, and pursue the money as well as the property.
The mandatory arrears ground requires at least three months of unpaid rent, broadly both at service of notice and at the hearing, with four weeks' notice. Discretionary grounds cover persistent late payment and lesser arrears, where the court weighs reasonableness. Tenants can defeat the mandatory ground by reducing arrears below the threshold before the hearing, which is why the money conversation and the legal track run together.
Procedure is unforgiving: a defective notice, wrong dates or unproved arithmetic restarts the clock. Deposit protection and compliance failures also bite. Self-help is criminal: no lock changes, no removing belongings, no pressure that shades into harassment; the route is notice, court order, bailiffs.
The rent itself is a debt with a six-year life. A money judgment can travel with the former tenant, guarantors can be pursued on their guarantee, and where the tenant receives housing support, direct payment arrangements can staunch the bleeding during the tenancy.
Guide edition: August 2026. General information for England and Wales. Current law and your particular facts require assessment before action.
A same-week conversation and a written record. Payment plans recovered early beat possession claims a year later.
A clean ledger of due dates, payments and shortfalls. It is the core evidence for notice, hearing and money claim alike.
When the threshold is met, a valid section 8 notice on the correct grounds with four weeks' notice. Validity is checked before service, not after failure.
Issue for possession and the arrears; enforce the judgment against tenant and any guarantor after the order.
Tell Kestrel what happened. The AI legal assistant gathers the facts and prepares a summary for you to check. Request lawyer review from your Legal Centre.
Speak to Kestrel nowRent arrears are claimable for six years. Possession timing is driven by the three-month threshold and four-week notice; premature notices waste months, so the schedule is watched and the notice served the day it is sound.
This guide concerns Property & tenancy. It forms part of our reference library. Kestrel is preparing for SRA authorisation. See practice details for the proposed service and current availability.
At least three months, broadly both when the notice is served and at the hearing, with four weeks' notice. Below that, discretionary grounds may still run, but the court weighs reasonableness, so the file must be clean.
That tactic targets the mandatory threshold. The answer is the persistent-arrears discretionary ground and a full payment history showing the pattern; courts see through cyclical token payments when the record is laid out.
Immediately. Notify them of arrears as they accrue, keep them copied on formal steps, and claim against them alongside the tenant. Guarantees are enforced on their wording, so the guarantee document gets read first.
No. That is criminal illegal eviction, with compensation flowing back to the tenant and your possession case poisoned. However bad the arrears, the only route is notice, order, bailiffs.
Start with the AI legal assistant, then follow the case, messages and lawyer review in your Legal Centre.
Speak to Kestrel