Your landlord says they're moving back in. Or that their son needs the flat, or their mother is coming to live nearby. However it's phrased, the message ends the same way, with a date they'd like you gone by.
Since 1 May 2026, a private landlord in England who wants the property back for themselves or family must use Ground 1, a possession ground in the Housing Act 1988 rewritten by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It comes with a fixed list of who counts as family, 4 months' notice, no court claim until your tenancy is a year old, and a ban on re-letting. Breaking that ban can mean a financial penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution for the landlord, and a claim from you worth up to 2 years' rent.
If you rent social housing from a housing association on an assured tenancy, the old rules still apply for now. Wales has its own law, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Who can a landlord move in under Ground 1?
Ground 1 only works if the property is needed as an only or principal home for someone on the Act's list. That list covers:
- the landlord
- the landlord's spouse or civil partner, or a partner they live with as though married or in a civil partnership
- a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the landlord
- a child or grandchild of the landlord's spouse, civil partner or live-in partner
Half-brothers and half-sisters count, because the Act treats a half-blood relationship the same as a full one. Because the list runs through the landlord's partner it reaches step-children and step-grandchildren. It does not reach in-laws such as the partner's parents, brothers or sisters, or cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles or family friends. If the person named is not on the list, the ground fails.
"Only or principal home" has teeth too. A base for occasional weekends, or a flat left sitting empty, does not meet the test.
How much notice does a landlord need to move back into the property?
A landlord relying on Ground 1 must serve a Section 8 notice on the prescribed form, state Ground 1, and give you at least 4 months' notice before they can start court proceedings.
There is first-year protection too. The date on the notice is the earliest day the landlord could go to court. That date must be at least a year after your current tenancy began, so a notice can be served from about month 8. If the date is earlier, Ground 1 fails on that notice, whenever it was served.
Ground 1 is mandatory, so if the landlord proves it at a hearing the judge must order possession. Wrong form, short notice, or a notice date inside your first year can each sink the claim, though a judge can still let it go ahead without a valid notice if they decide that is fair. An unprotected deposit blocks a possession order until the landlord protects it and gives you the prescribed information, or returns it.
A notice is not an eviction either. Your tenancy continues until a court orders possession and bailiffs enforce it. If you might have nowhere to go, tell your council's housing options team now. Once the date on a valid notice is within 56 days, you count as threatened with homelessness, which triggers the council's duty to help prevent it.
What proof of moving in does a court expect?
The landlord has to satisfy the judge that they genuinely require the property as the named person's only or principal home. A bare assertion is weak evidence.
Expect a court to want to know who is moving in, how they are related, and why the move is happening now. A job relocation, a relationship breakdown or the sale of their own home is evidence that the plan is real and settled. A witness statement from the family member themselves carries far more weight than the landlord speaking for them.
If the explanation keeps changing, or the notice landed a week after you refused a rent increase or reported disrepair, keep that correspondence. There is no separate defence for a retaliatory notice, but the timing can help show the landlord does not genuinely require the property for the person named.
The 12-month re-letting ban after a Ground 1 notice
Serving a Ground 1 notice starts a restricted period. It runs from the day of service until 12 months after the earliest court date the notice gave, whether or not the landlord gets possession under Ground 1. If the court instead orders possession on another ground, such as rent arrears, the ban ends that day.
During that window the landlord must not let the property or market it for letting, including to paying lodgers or short-let guests on sites like Airbnb. There are two exceptions. The new occupier is on the Ground 1 list, or someone on the list, including the landlord, also lives there as their main home. So a lodger alongside a landlord who really did move back in is lawful.
This is how you catch a fake. The classic pattern is an eviction "for my brother", followed by the same flat on OpenRent a month later at £200 more. Build a small routine now.
- Keep the notice and every message mentioning the move-in, with dates.
- Search the address weekly on OpenRent, Rightmove, Zoopla, SpareRoom and Airbnb. Screenshot any listing with the date visible.
- Carry on after you leave. The ban outlasts your tenancy, so keep checking until 12 months after the date on the notice, or longer if that date was too early.
Fines and rent repayment orders for Ground 1 misuse
Re-letting or marketing the property during the restricted period is an offence under the rewritten Housing Act 1988. If you moved out within 4 months of the notice without a court order, knowingly or recklessly misusing Ground 1 is an offence too.
Your council can prosecute, or impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 instead. Report what you find, whether or not you still live there.
Separately, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent. Breaching the re-letting ban qualifies, and so does misusing Ground 1 if you left within 4 months of the notice without a court order. You do not need to still be the tenant, and you have 2 years from the offence to apply.
If you paid £1,200 a month yourself for the last 2 years of your tenancy, that is up to £28,800, less any Universal Credit or Housing Benefit paid towards your rent. If your tenancy was shorter, the cap is the rent you paid. Our guide to who qualifies for a rent repayment order covers the test in detail.
If the landlord won a court order by misleading the court and nobody moved in, you can also ask the court for compensation under section 12 of the Housing Act 1988.
If your landlord is claiming to sell instead, see our guide to your rights when a landlord is selling under Ground 1A.
Been served a Ground 1 notice, or think nobody ever moved in? Remedy can spot a defect in the form or the dates, and help you put your listing screenshots in order for a tribunal claim.
