Section 8 Notice (notice to quit form)

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This is a formal Section 8 Notice complying with the Housing Act 1988. Use this form to evict a tenant and gain possession of your property when there has been a breach of the tenancy agreement (e.g. non-payment of rent) before the end of the fixed term of the tenancy.
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About this document

Use this Section 8 Notice to terminate an assured shorthold tenancy agreement during the fixed term when the tenant has breached one or more of the obligations in the tenancy agreement. The most common reason will be for late payment, or non payment of rent.

As of 29 August 2020, the Government has amended the Coronavirus Act 2020, introducing various new notice requirements when serving a Section 8 notice. The form is updated to reflect the latest changes. The latest form also takes account of any extension under the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.

The notice complies with the Housing Act 1988 and the Housing Act 1996.

When to use this form

This notice is suitable for a landlord looking to terminate an assured shorthold tenancy agreement for a property in England or Wales.

A landlord cannot evict a tenant without obtaining a court order for possession first. Before applying to court, he or she must have served a specific form of notice on all tenants.

The grounds under which the landlord may serve a notice to quit are laid out in the Housing Act in detail. We have included a full list in the guidance notes to this document alongside the explanatory notes on how to complete the notice. The most common reasons for serving a this type of notice are non-payment or late payment of rent, damage to the property or its contents, or disturbance of neighbours and other local residents. However, it can be used in the case of any breach of agreement and several other more esoteric cases as well.

If the tenancy is at an end and the landlord seeks possession, then a s21a notice should be used if the tenancy started before 1 October 2015, or a Form 6a if it started after.

A Section 8 notice is only suitable if the fixed term of the tenancy has not ended.

The notice period required before the tenant can be evicted depends on the grounds for eviction and varies between two weeks and two months (except in the case of antisocial behaviour).

Serving this notice does not mean that the landlord must take the tenant to court. It can be used as an effective warning to the tenant that the agreement has been breached and that if there is a further breach you may take action.

Features

  • Recognised by courts: follows the official prescribed format
  • Can be used to warn tenants that you recognise a breach of agreement
  • Use to obtain a possession order and a money order
  • Includes prescribed 'guidance notes for landlords and tenants' required to provide to the tenant when serving the completed form.
Sample section 8 notice (notice to quit form)Sample page from the Section 8 notice
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Recent reviews

Great Service
20 October 2022
My main concern was that you would lead me in then want to charge me. I expected and found an open honest web site. Free document at base level (expected). There was a reasonable charge for more complex doc (still to order but will do). I liked that the document gave the established legal framework with guidance notes (last very important). As a result, I understood the law better.
I would recommend you. The form did what it says on the tin.
Tony Dicker
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28 September 2017
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Yvonne Beattie
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18 October 2016
I found the document and the accompanying PDF explanation notes very easy to understand and eith the document being in word it was siple to alter in any way required.
Peter Rastall
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