Section 8 Ground 4A: Student HMO Possession – Landlord Guide 2026

Ground 4A. It sits in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 and was inserted by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. GOV.UK’s grounds for possession guidance says you can use it if your HMO is let to full-time students and is needed for a new group of students in line with the academic year.

It exists because Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Student landlords used to end fixed terms in the summer with a no-fault notice; Ground 4A is the specific mandatory route that keeps academic-year turnover possible. Background: our guide to what landlords do now Section 21 has gone and the complete Renters’ Rights Act guide.

Every one of these must be true, and you must be able to prove them in court:

1. 1

   The property is an HMO

   At least 3 tenants forming more than one household who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen (GOV.UK guidance). Smaller lets are outside the ground.

2. 2

   The tenants meet the student test

   Full-time students, or people the landlord reasonably believes will become students during the tenancy, as the Act sets out. For a joint tenancy, every tenant must qualify.

3. 3

   A pre-tenancy statement was given

   Before the tenancy was entered into, the landlord gave the tenants a written statement that possession may be sought under Ground 4A.

4. 4

   The six-month signing rule is met

   The tenancy was not entered into more than six months before the tenants were entitled to move in.

5. 5

   The landlord intends to re-let to students

   The purpose is to let the property to a new group of students in line with the academic year.

6. 6

   The possession date is 1 June – 30 September

   The expiry date in the notice must fall in that window, and the notice must give at least 4 months.

You must give 4 months’ notice, and the possession date in the notice must fall between 1 June and 30 September inclusive. Working back four months gives a serving window of roughly 1 February to 30 May each year.

Illustrative. Allow extra days for the method of service so the four months are complete before your chosen date. A shorter transitional notice period and a catch-up window for existing tenancies applied in 2026 only; they have closed, so plan on 4 months. Use our possession order timeline calculator to plan the court stage.

1. Step 1: Before signing: give the Ground 4A statement

   Include a clear written statement in every student HMO signing pack. Keep dated proof of when and how it was given.

2. Step 2: At signing: confirm student status

   Record proof of full-time student status for each tenant, and check the signing date against the six-month rule.

3. Step 3: Diarise the service window

   Work back four months from the date you want possession. For a June–September date, serve between about 1 February and 30 May.

4. Step 4: Serve Form 3A citing Ground 4A

   Name every tenant exactly as on the agreement. Set an expiry date in the 1 June – 30 September window at least four months after service.

5. Step 5: Keep proof of service

   A signed acknowledgement or dated delivery record. You will need it if the claim is contested.

6. Step 6: Apply to court if tenants stay

   Once the notice expires you can apply for a possession order. Ground 4A is mandatory if you prove every condition. If tenants do not leave after an order, apply for a warrant of possession.

Our Form 3A generator prepares the notice, and how to fill in Form 3A correctly covers each field. Citing several grounds? Try the multiple grounds generator; the longest applicable notice period governs.

• Dated Ground 4A pre-tenancy statement

  The most important document. Show what was given, to whom and when, before the tenancy was entered into.

• Tenancy agreement

  Signing date, move-in date and tenant names, to prove the six-month rule and name tenants correctly.

• Proof of student status

  Enrolment letters or equivalent for each tenant when the tenancy was signed.

• HMO evidence

  Facts showing at least 3 tenants in more than one household sharing facilities, plus any HMO licence.

• Evidence of your re-letting plan

  Marketing, a waiting list or new tenancy agreements showing intent to re-let to students.

• Form 3A and proof of service

  The notice and the date and method of service.

• Deposit protection and compliance documents

  The court cannot make a possession order if the deposit was not protected; keep gas safety, EPC and EICR records too.

Source: GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance (updated 1 May 2026).

Other grounds a student landlord may need: Ground 1 – moving in, Ground 6 – redevelopment and Ground 8 – rent arrears. If tenants stay put after the notice, read what happens next.

1. 1.

   Serving too late

   A notice must give 4 months and end by 30 September. Serve in June and no valid date remains that year.

2. 2.

   No pre-tenancy statement

   Without a written Ground 4A statement given before the tenancy, the ground is generally not available.

3. 3.

   Expiry date outside the window

   An expiry before 1 June or after 30 September does not work for Ground 4A.

4. 4.

   Signing tenants too early

   A tenancy entered into more than six months before move-in fails the signing rule.

5. 5.

   Mixed groups or non-students

   If a joint tenant is not a student, the ground may fail for the whole tenancy. Check status at signing.

6. 6.

   Using it outside an HMO

   A two-person flat or single-household let is not an HMO for this ground.