Section 8: Evicting due to anti-social behaviour

Following the abolition of Section 21 under the Renters’ Rights Act, you will now need to use the grounds-based process under Section 8 to take back possession of your rental property. In our latest deep dive, we look at how to evict on grounds of anti-social behaviour.

From threatening behaviour and damage to drug dealing or running a brothel, anti-social behaviour comes in many forms and, alongside rent arrears, is one of the most common reasons landlords seek possession.

If you have experienced it, you will also know it is one of the biggest sources of stress for landlords and any fellow tenants and neighbours.

What constitutes anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour is defined as ‘behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to people outside their own household’. 

It needs to be a persistent pattern of behaviour and can include things such as: 

• verbal abuse 

• harassment because of gender, race, disability or sexuality 

• violence or threats of violence 

• systematic bullying and/or intimidation 

• noise which is part of a pattern of antisocial behaviour 

• dumping rubbish 

• vandalism, damage to property and graffiti. 

It can be caused by your tenant, visitors to the property, other tenants within it, or even pets.

What’s not anti-social behaviour

A one-off event, such as a party, would not be considered anti-social behaviour, nor would other behaviours that, while they may cause annoyance, would be considered part of everyday life; with examples including, but not limited to, parking disputes, noise, children playing outside or late-night DIY.

I have established my tenant is behaving anti socially – what can I do about it?

If it is happening within the boundaries of your property, it is your problem to resolve. It could even be that you – or your agent – become victims of the behaviour when you visit. 

The first thing to do is look at what they are doing and establish how extreme it is. If it is safe to do so, talk to your tenants and tell them the behaviour is not acceptable and how you expect them to behave. Alternatively, you can write to your tenant(s) to do this, with a template available to download for free on the NRLA website here. 

Be sure to document this first interaction with as much detail as possible regarding the complaint, the subsequent conversation and what you expect of them, reminding them they are breaching their tenancy agreement. 

If needed, you can send a follow up letter – following the same process.

How do I prove what is happening?

Evidence is key when it comes to proving anti-social behaviour. 

Ask anyone affected to keep a log, record or diary of the behaviour, with as much detail as possible. This should include the time, duration and nature of the behaviour, along with any photographic or video evidence. 

This will support any subsequent action you, the police or the local authority take. Again, you can download an incident sheet from our site. 

Which grounds can I use to evict for anti-social behaviour?

There are both mandatory and discretionary grounds for possession as a result of antisocial behaviour.  A ‘mandatory ground’ means the court must give you a possession order, if your evidence proves the ground is met. A discretionary ground puts the onus on the court to make a decision based on the evidence.

Ground 14 (antisocial behaviour)

This discretionary ground is used in cases of antisocial behaviour committed by the tenant or anyone living in or visiting the property if that person has: 

• Been guilty of conduct that causes or has been likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to someone living in, visiting or engaging in a lawful activity in the locality. 

• Been guilty of conduct that causes or has been likely to cause nuisance or annoyance towards the landlord or someone employed in connection with the landlord's housing management function. 

• Been convicted of using the dwelling-house or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes. 

• Been convicted of an arrestable (Crown Court) offence committed in or in the dwelling house's locality. 

In practice, most landlords will tend to use this ground when the antisocial behaviour is directed towards them or an agent employed by them. 

Again, the minimum notice period is immediately after service.  

We would advise anyone planning to use ground 14 to get legal representation as it is a complex area, with mental health issues often at play. 

What will the court take into account when making a decision?

Once your case is before the court it will consider:  

• The impact of the nuisance.  

• The continuing effect it is likely to have.  

• What would happen were it to continue. 

Since 1st May they must also give special consideration to the impact on other tenants living in a HMO.

Ground 7A (antisocial behaviour)

This is the mandatory anti-social behaviour ground. In practice it is relatively rarely used, given the high bar, but it allows you to seek possession if anyone living or visiting the property has: 

• Committed and been convicted of a serious crime 

• Breached an Antisocial Behaviour Injunction obtained under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 

• Breached a Criminal Behaviour Order obtained under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 

• Been convicted of a breach of a notice or order to reduce their noise in relation to the tenant's property under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

It can also be used if their property was closed under a closure order obtained under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and closure is continuous for at least 48 hours.

It is worth noting that if an appeal against any of these orders, injunctions, or convictions is successful, or even pending, then this ground cannot be relied upon.

What is the notice period?

Once you have served the section 8 notice (something you can read more about here) there is no notice period, and you can apply to the court for possession immediately.

Is there anything else I need to know?

As with so many things, prevention is better than cure. Of course, there is no way of knowing 100% whether a potential tenant may behave anti-socially, but be sure to carry out thorough reference checks, including a reference from their previous landlord. 

You should also make sure your tenancy agreement includes a specific clause banning antisocial behaviour and spelling out tenants’ responsibilities – which is included as standard in all NRLA tenancy agreements. 

You should also raise any persistent anti-social behaviour with your local authority to see if they can offer you any support. 

Remember if you believe anyone is in imminent danger be sure to dial 999.

Related grounds

While not classed as anti-social behaviour per se, there are two additional discretionary grounds related to tenant behaviour that are also worth mentioning here. 

• Ground 12 (breach of tenancy): This can be used where any tenancy obligation, other than those related to the payment of rent has been broken or not performed, for example, if your tenant breaches the clauses in your agreement specifically banning antisocial behaviour. The notice period for this is two weeks, after which you can apply to the court for a possession order. 
• Ground 15 (deterioration of furnishings): This ground can be used where any furniture you have provided to your tenants has been badly damaged or destroyed due to misuse or ill-treatment by the tenant, or anyone else living there.  You can also use this if the damage was due to the behaviour of a lodger or sub-tenant and your tenant has not taken steps to remove them.  It will be up to the courts to decide whether repossession is appropriate, and, as above, you must give your tenants two weeks’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order.

More information

• You can read our guide to dealing with anti-social behaviour here. 
• The NRLA's award-winning training academy runs a course on section 8 notices, including what to do before serving notice, completing and serving the notice correctly and what to do if your tenant issues a counter claim. For more information and to book click here.  
• The training academy also runs an introduction to dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour Course. For more information click here.