# Ground 8 rent arrears checker: is the new 3-month threshold met? > Check whether a tenant's arrears meet Ground 8 after the Renters' Rights Act: 3 months' or 13 weeks' rent, owed at notice and at the hearing. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/ground-8-rent-arrears-checker/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Letting agents, Notices and arrears - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: We ran a £1,250-a-month tenancy through the new rule; Ground 8 now needs £3,750 owed, so a tenant £3,200 behind, who would have met the old two-month test, is £550 short. - Sources: GOV.UK "Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents" and "Guide to the Renters' Rights Act", read 2026-10-01. Our test is saved in tests/lettwell/tools-check.txt. Since 1 May 2026, Section 21 has gone and a landlord who wants a tenant to leave for rent arrears uses Section 8. The main arrears ground, Ground 8, changed at the same time: the threshold went up and the notice period got longer. The checker below applies the new rule. **Free tool on the page:** Ground 8 rent arrears checker. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/ground-8-rent-arrears-checker/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## The Ground 8 rule now From the government's guidance for landlords and letting agents, Ground 8 can be used when the tenant owes: - **at least 3 months' rent**, if rent is paid monthly; or - **at least 13 weeks' rent**, if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly. That amount has to be owed **on the day notice is given and on the date of the court hearing.** The notice period is **4 weeks** before you can apply to court. Ground 8 is mandatory: if the conditions are met at the hearing, the court must make a possession order. That is why the threshold matters so much. ## What changed from before Before 1 May 2026 the threshold was two months' rent, and the notice was two weeks. On a £1,250-a-month tenancy: | | Before May 2026 | Now | |---|---|---| | Arrears needed | £2,500 | £3,750 | | Notice period | 2 weeks | 4 weeks | A tenant who owes £3,200 would have met the old test comfortably. Under the new rule they are £550 short, and Ground 8 is not available yet. ## The Universal Credit exception The guidance is explicit: if the tenant owes 3 months' or 13 weeks' rent only because they have not received their Universal Credit, the landlord cannot evict them on Ground 8. Check the payment history before serving. If the arrears are a mix of late Universal Credit and missed payments, take advice. ## When Ground 8 is not met Two other rent grounds still exist, and both are discretionary, so the court decides whether eviction is reasonable: - **Ground 10:** some rent is unpaid when notice is given and when proceedings begin. - **Ground 11:** the tenant has persistently delayed paying rent, even if nothing is owed on the day. Both also carry 4 weeks' notice. They are often served alongside Ground 8, so that if the tenant pays down below the threshold before the hearing, the claim can continue on the other grounds. ## Weekly and fortnightly rent For weekly and fortnightly tenancies the threshold is 13 weeks' rent, not three months. At £290 a week that is £3,770. A fortnightly rent of £580 gives the same figure: 6.5 fortnights is 13 weeks. The common slip is treating a month as four weeks. £290 × 4 is £1,160, and three of those is £3,480: £290 short of the real threshold, so a notice served at £3,500 owed would fail. Count in weeks. ## Count what is actually owed Arrears are rent that has fallen due and not been paid. Rent due tomorrow does not count today, so serve after a payment date has passed, not before. Part payments reduce the total. A tenant who owes £3,800 and pays £100 on the morning of the hearing has taken a £1,250-a-month tenancy below the £3,750 line, and Ground 8 then fails at the hearing. That is the reason agents serve Grounds 10 and 11 alongside it. Keep a rent statement that shows each due date, each payment and the running balance, and bring an updated copy to court. ## Before you serve Arrears are easiest to recover early. Send a clear sequence of letters, starting within days of a missed payment. Our [rent arrears letter maker](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/rent-arrears-letter-template/) produces the three standard letters with the figures filled in, including a final letter that sets out the Section 8 position. For the full list of grounds and notice periods, including selling and moving in, see our guide to [Section 8 notices after the Renters' Rights Act](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/section-8-notice-after-renters-rights-act/). Check the paperwork from the start of the tenancy before you rely on it in court: the deposit protection certificate and prescribed information (due within 30 days of receiving the deposit; the [deposit calculator](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/tenancy-deposit-cap-calculator/) gives the date), the gas and electrical safety records, and the government information sheet. This is general information for England, not legal advice. Possession claims are technical, and a mistake on the notice can mean starting again. ## Short answers from this page **How much rent must be owed for a Ground 8 notice now?** At least three months' rent where rent is paid monthly (thirteen weeks where it is paid weekly), both when the notice is served and at the hearing. Before 1 May 2026 it was two months. On a tenancy at £1,250 a month the threshold is £3,750, so a tenant £3,200 behind, who met the old test, is £550 short. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.