The grounds for possession that landlords must use to evict their tenants are set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. Section 7 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out when a court must award possession. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the notice periods that landlords must give tenants before they can begin court proceedings. The government has amended these sections to protect security for tenants while accepting the legitimate interests of landlords. This includes extending the notice period for the main "no fault" grounds from two months to four months, and for rent arrears from two weeks to four weeks. The Act also reduces the notice period for serious anti-social behaviour (ground 7A), so landlords are able to make a claim for possession immediately.
	A table detailing the grounds in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (incorporating changes made by this Act) can be found in Annex C.
Part 1: Tenancy reform Chapter 1: Assured Tenancies Section 3: Changes to grounds for possession Background