Ground 1: Landlord or Close Family Occupation

Ground 1 is the mandatory route for a landlord who needs the property back to live in themselves, or to house a spouse, civil partner or specified close relative. It is the direct successor to the old Ground 1 under the pre-2026 Housing Act 1988, substituted in full by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and available on every assured tenancy from 1 May 2026.

Statutory basis

Ground 1 is set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, as substituted by Schedule 1 to the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It sits among the mandatory grounds: if the landlord proves the ground applies, the court has no discretion to refuse possession.

Who it covers

Ground 1 applies where the dwelling is required as the only or principal home for:

• The landlord themselves.
• The landlord's spouse or civil partner, or a person the landlord lives with as if they were married or in a civil partnership.
• The landlord's own parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren.
• Separately — and more narrowly — a child or grandchild of that spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner.

The extension for a partner's family reaches only their children and grandchildren, not their parents, grandparents or siblings. So step-children and step-grandchildren of a qualifying partner are covered, but a partner's parent, grandparent or sibling (an in-law) is not — even though the landlord's own parent, grandparent or sibling is covered in their own right. Cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews are not covered on either side. If the person who needs to move in falls outside this list, Ground 1 is not available, whatever the underlying circumstances.

Corporate landlords cannot use Ground 1 at all. The ground depends on a human being needing a home; a company has no capacity to occupy one. A corporate-owned property being sold or redeveloped falls instead under Ground 1A or Ground 6.

Mandatory or discretionary

Mandatory. Once the landlord establishes the facts — genuine intention to occupy, correct relationship to the intended occupier, notice served correctly and the 12-month rule observed — the court must grant possession. There is no "reasonableness" test for the court to weigh against the tenant's circumstances, unlike the discretionary grounds later in Schedule 2.

Notice period

4 months. This is the standard notice period for the mandatory family/sale/redevelopment cluster of grounds, doubled from the pre-reform 2-month minimum that applied to the equivalent Ground 1 under Section 21's abolished dual-route system.

The 12-month protected period

Ground 1 carries a restriction unique (along with Ground 1A) among the mandatory grounds: the notice cannot expire before the tenancy has run for a full 12 months. This is measured from the start of the tenancy itself — not from when the current landlord acquired the property, and not from when the tenant's most recent renewal or rent review took place. A landlord who buys a property with a tenant already in occupation inherits whatever protected-period clock is already running; it does not reset.

Only the date specified in the notice is constrained — not when the notice is served. A landlord can serve a Ground 1 notice early in the tenancy specifying a later date, provided that date is both at least 12 months after the tenancy started and at least 4 months after service. In practice, the earliest the specified date can fall is the 12-month mark itself, achieved by serving notice at month 8 or earlier (allowing the full 4-month minimum to run past it) — but the notice itself does not have to wait until month 8 to be served.

The 12-month re-letting restriction

Ground 1 also carries a restriction that is easy to miss because most commentary attaches it only to Ground 1A: a 12-month re-letting ban, inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as a new section 16E of the Housing Act 1988, applies where a landlord relies on either Ground 1 or Ground 1A. Once a landlord relies on Ground 1, they must not re-let or re-market the property within the restricted period — running from when the section 8 notice is served, for 12 months from the date specified in the notice as the earliest date proceedings could begin. Breaching it is a criminal offence, separate from the civil penalties for citing a false ground described below. Section 16F carves out the ordinary Ground 1 use case itself: it is not a breach for the qualifying family member the landlord recovered possession for to then occupy the dwelling as their own or principal home. What the restriction is aimed at is a landlord who recovers possession under Ground 1, has the named relative never actually move in, and instead re-lets to a new, unconnected tenant — that is squarely what section 16E/16F exist to prevent.

Evidence courts expect

Because Ground 1 is mandatory, the evidential bar sits on proving the facts, not on persuading the court possession is reasonable. Courts scrutinise:

• Genuine intention. A landlord's bare assertion "I intend to move in" is rarely enough on its own if challenged. Supporting evidence — a change-of-address notification, school applications in the relevant catchment area, removal quotes, correspondence with a letting agent instructing them to stop marketing the property to let — all strengthen the case.
• The correct relationship. Where the intended occupier is a relative rather than the landlord, documentary proof of the relationship (birth certificates, marriage/civil partnership certificates) may be required if disputed.
• Consistency. Courts have refused possession under the equivalent historic ground where the landlord's account of the intended move changed between the notice, the claim form, and the hearing. Keep the stated intention consistent across every document.
• Correct notice mechanics. Form 3A must be served with the ground identified correctly and a notice period that respects both the 4-month minimum and the 12-month protected period.

Transitional position for tenancies that started before 1 May 2026

The reformed Ground 1 applies to every assured tenancy in existence on or after 1 May 2026, including tenancies that began life as an assured shorthold tenancy before the Renters' Rights Act 2025 converted them to periodic assured tenancies. The 12-month protected period runs from the tenancy's original start date, not from the conversion date — a tenancy that began in, say, March 2025 had already cleared the 12-month mark well before the reform took effect, so Ground 1 is available on it from day one of the new regime (subject to the 4-month notice itself).

Common mistakes

• Assuming a "reasonable belief" is enough. Ground 1 requires a genuine intention, evidenced where challenged — not just a stated wish that could later be shown to be a pretext.
• Miscounting the 12-month period from the wrong date. Landlords sometimes count from their own purchase date rather than the tenancy's true start date, serving notice too early and having the claim struck out or adjourned.
• Citing Ground 1 for the wrong relative. A tenant's landlord wanting to house a niece or cousin cannot rely on Ground 1 — check the relationship against the defined list before serving notice.
• Assuming the re-letting ban is Ground 1A-only. It is not — the 12-month restricted period applies to Ground 1 as well. A landlord who recovers possession under Ground 1 and then re-lets within the restricted period, without the stated occupier ever actually moving in, risks both the criminal offence for breaching the restriction and the tenant later establishing the original notice was given in bad faith.

The cost of getting it wrong

Serving a notice on a ground the landlord does not reasonably believe applies is a specific offence under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 enforcement provisions, carrying a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for initial or minor non-compliance. Where the landlord acted knowingly or recklessly, the tenant left within four months without a court order, and the ground turns out to be unfounded, the penalty rises to up to £40,000 (as an alternative to prosecution) and the tenant may seek a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. Only serve a Ground 1 notice where the intended occupation is real.

What happens next

If the tenant does not leave once the Form 3A notice expires, the next step is a standard possession claim: Form N5 with Form N119 particulars of claim at the County Court, court fee £415. A hearing is typically listed some weeks after the claim is issued — plan for the possession timeline to run into months, not weeks, even on an uncontested mandatory ground.

Related grounds and guides

If the intended purpose is selling the property rather than moving in, see Ground 1A: Landlord Selling — a closely related mandatory ground with its own restrictions. For the full picture of every ground, return to Section 8 Grounds for Possession. For how to serve the notice correctly, see How to Serve a Section 8 Notice, and for the court process that follows an unanswered notice, see the Guide to Evicting a Tenant.