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How do I serve notice to my tenant?

The process for serving notice depends on where your property is located, the type of tenancy, and your reason for ending the agreement. Below is a summary for properties in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Serving Notice on a Tenant: England, Scotland and Wales

Updated August 2026

The rules changed significantly on 1 May 2026 when the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force in England. If you have read guidance written before that date, it is out of date. Here is where things stand now in each part of the UK.

🏠 England

Section 21 has been abolished. Since 1 May 2026 there is no such thing as a no fault notice in England. Every existing and new tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy. Fixed terms no longer exist for new lets.

The only route to possession is a Section 8 notice on a stated ground, served on the new prescribed form, Form 3A. Notices on the old Form 3 are invalid.

A note on the transition: if you served a valid Section 21 notice on or before 30 April 2026, you had until 31 July 2026 to issue proceedings. That window has now closed. Any Section 21 notice still sitting in a drawer is no longer worth anything.

Grounds and notice periods

Four months' notice

  • Ground 1 (mandatory) You or a close family member want to move in. Family member now covers parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild. Cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
  • Ground 1A (mandatory) You intend to sell. Cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
  • Ground 6 (mandatory) Demolition or substantial redevelopment that cannot be done with the tenant in place.
  • Ground 6B (mandatory) You need possession to comply with enforcement action.
  • Ground 4A (mandatory) Student HMOs, tied to the academic year.

Four weeks' notice

  • Ground 8 (mandatory) Serious rent arrears. The threshold has risen: the tenant must be at least three months in arrears (or 13 weeks where rent is paid weekly or fortnightly), both when you serve and at the hearing. Universal Credit housing payments that are late through no fault of the tenant are discounted from the calculation.
  • Grounds 10 and 11 (discretionary) Some arrears and persistent late payment.

Immediate

  • Ground 7A (mandatory) Severe antisocial or criminal behaviour. Proceedings can be issued as soon as notice is served.
  • Ground 14 (discretionary) Antisocial behaviour.

Other grounds carry their own periods, most commonly two to four weeks. We will confirm the right one for your circumstances before serving.

Two things that catch landlords out

The 12 month re letting restriction. If you take possession under Ground 1 or Ground 1A, you cannot re let or re market the property for 12 months from the date specified in your notice. Breaching this is an offence.

Serving a ground you cannot prove. It is now an offence to serve notice on a ground where you do not reasonably believe you will or may obtain a possession order. Grounds are not something to pick optimistically.

Compliance before you serve

You cannot rely on a Section 8 notice unless you are compliant. That means:

  • Deposit protected in a government approved scheme, with Prescribed Information served
  • A valid gas safety certificate (annual), EICR (five yearly) and EPC (minimum rating E)
  • A UK correspondence address for the landlord under Section 48
  • The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 served on the tenant. This replaced the How to Rent guide, which was withdrawn on 1 May 2026. Existing tenants should have received it by 31 May 2026, and the penalty for missing that deadline is a civil fine of up to £7,000.
  • Registration on the Private Rented Sector Database once it goes live. Registration is expected in late 2026, and once it is running you will not legally be able to market or let without an active entry. We will contact affected landlords before that date.

🏠 Scotland

Scotland never had a no fault route, so less has changed here. You end a Private Residential Tenancy by serving a Notice to Leave citing one or more of the 18 statutory grounds in Schedule 3 to the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.

Notice periods

  • 28 days where the tenant has lived in the property for six months or less, or where the ground relates to the tenant's conduct or circumstances (broadly grounds 11 to 14 and 17 to 18)
  • 84 days in all other cases, including Ground 1 where you intend to sell

Key rules

  • The correct Notice to Leave template must be used and served by an approved method, such as recorded delivery, in person, or email where receipt can be evidenced.
  • Grounds carry evidential requirements. If you are selling under Ground 1, for example, you must intend to put the property on the market within three months of the tenant leaving.
  • Rent arrears cases have pre action requirements that must be met before the Tribunal will look at the case.
  • If the tenant does not leave, you apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). Only the Tribunal can order eviction.

Worth knowing: the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025 and is being phased in. From 6 October 2026 the compensation a Tribunal can award for a wrongful termination order rises sharply, from a range of 0 to 6 months' rent to a range of 3 to 36 months' rent. Getting a ground wrong in Scotland is about to become a lot more expensive. The Act also reduces the succession qualifying period from 12 months to 6 months.

🏠 Wales

Wales operates under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Tenants are contract-holders and tenancies are occupation contracts.

Section 173 (no fault) remains available in Wales, unlike England. Form RHW16. The minimum notice period is six months, and you cannot serve within the first six months of occupation. In practice that means a contract-holder who does not breach their contract has a minimum of 12 months in the property.

Exception: for a periodic tenancy that began before 1 December 2022 and converted into an occupation contract, only two months' notice is required, and the notice cannot be served in the first four months of occupation. This cohort is shrinking, so check the original start date carefully.

Section 157 (breach of contract) Form RHW23, one month's notice. Discretionary, so the court decides whether possession is reasonable.

Serious rent arrears (section 181 for periodic contracts, section 187 for fixed term) 14 days' notice. Serious arrears means at least two months unpaid for monthly rent, or eight weeks for weekly, fortnightly or four weekly rent. The arrears must exist both when you claim and at the hearing.

Antisocial behaviour Notice can be served and proceedings issued the same day.

Before you can serve a Section 173 notice, you must have:

  • Issued the written statement of the occupation contract
  • Protected the deposit correctly
  • Complied with the Fitness for Human Habitation Regulations, including interlinked mains powered smoke alarms on each storey, carbon monoxide alarms in relevant rooms, and a valid electrical condition report
  • Registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales

Fall short on any of these and the notice is not valid.

Need help?

Serving notice incorrectly delays possession, and under the new rules it can also expose you to civil penalties or, in England, criminal liability. It is worth getting right first time.

Our fixed-fee notice service costs £189 (inc VAT) and includes:

  • A review of your tenancy documents and compliance position
  • Advice on which ground applies and whether you are eligible to serve
  • Preparation and service of the notice by our legal partner

To proceed, email support@lettingaproperty.com or call 0333 577 8888.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice, and reflects the position as at August 2026. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 are both being phased in, so please check with us before acting.