Section 3 amends the grounds for possession in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, including in relation to notice periods and the courts making orders for possession. It also makes consequential amendments to the relevant sections of the Housing Act 1988 following the removal of fixed-term tenancies.
	Each possession ground has a minimum notice period – after this period, a tenant must either vacate the property, or the landlord may start court proceedings to regain possession. Subsection (3)(e) updates section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 to set out notice periods for all grounds other than those for anti-social behaviour (grounds 7A and 14). When serving notice under grounds 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2ZA, 2ZB, 2ZC, 2ZD, 4A, 6, 6A and 6B, the notice period before the landlord can begin court proceedings is four months. When serving notice under grounds 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5H, 7 and 9 the notice period before the landlord can begin court proceedings is two months. When serving notice under grounds 5E, 5F, 5G, 8, 10, 11 and 18 the notice period before the landlord can begin court proceedings is four weeks. When serving notice under grounds 4, 7B, 12, 13, 14ZA, 14A, 15 and 17 the notice period before the landlord can begin court proceedings is two weeks.
	Landlords can begin court proceedings under anti-social behaviour grounds (7A and 14) immediately, although a court cannot make an order for possession until at least 14 days after the landlord has given notice to the tenant. If the court has used its power to dispense with the requirement for a section 8 notice, the 14 days will begin either from the date on which any purported notice was served if the court thinks that is fair in the circumstances, or from the date on which the possession proceedings began.
	Subsection (2)(d) inserts a new section (5ZA) into section 7 of the Housing Act 1988. Section 5ZA prevents a court awarding possession under grounds 1-5H or ground 6A where an agricultural tenancy came to an end as a result of a notice to quit under Case A in Part 1, Schedule 3 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and an assured tenancy was granted immediately after it ended. For this possession restriction to apply, this tenancy must have been granted by the same landlord as the agricultural tenancy, or by a new landlord under a contract or other agreement entered with the former landlord under which it was agreed that the property was to be let as ‘suitable alternative accommodation" for the tenant for the purposes of Case A, meaning that the notice to quit will have effect without the consent of a tribunal.
	Section 3 also inserts new section 8ZA into the Housing Act 1988. Section 8ZA provides for circumstances where the court has used its power to dispense with the requirement for a valid section 8 notice, but the requirements of the grounds relate to the timing of a date specified in a valid notice. For example, if the invalidity of the notice is only noticed during proceedings, but the court waives the validity requirement, the timing conditions required to establish the grounds may nevertheless be missed because the landlord has observed the relevant notice periods required following service of a valid section 8 notice before issuing proceedings. The landlord would then be unable to recover possession despite the requirement for a valid notice being waived because the court thought that was fair in the circumstances. Section 8ZA aims to resolve this issue in relation to grounds 4A, 5G and 6. If the court considers it just and equitable, new section 8ZA provides that the requirement to commence possession proceedings within a specified period may be disapplied.
	Subsection (5) inserts a new section 11A into the Housing Act 1988 which allows courts to order landlords to pay compensation to tenants evicted under ground 6B. Ground 6B allows landlords to evict tenants when they are subject to enforcement action and evicting a tenant is the only way to comply with that enforcement action. For example, where an improvement notice has been served because a property is overcrowded. Courts may order an amount of compensation that is sufficient to cover the loss sustained by the tenant as a result of the possession order. Courts must take into account the circumstances that led to the enforcement action being taken, including any conduct of the tenant which contributed to this.
Part 1: Tenancy reform Chapter 1: Assured Tenancies Section 3: Changes to grounds for possession Effect