The Restricted Period: You Cannot Re-let for 12 Months After Grounds 1 or 1A
← Part of Section 8 Grounds for PossessionGrounds 1 and 1A — recovering possession to move in, or to sell — come with a condition attached that is easy to agree to in principle and expensive to breach in practice. Once you rely on either ground, you cannot re-let or re-market the property to let for twelve months. Government guidance states it plainly: landlords cannot market or re-let their property for twelve months after using the moving or selling grounds. Breaching it is an offence, with a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution.
This page is about the restriction itself — its timing, its scope, its exceptions and its consequences. For whether Ground 1A fits your situation in the first place, see Ground 1A: sale of the property; for the family-occupation equivalent, Ground 1.
Why this exists
Section 21 gave landlords a no-fault route to possession. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 removed it and replaced it with grounds that require a reason — but two of those reasons, moving in and selling, are stated intentions rather than observable facts at the point the notice is served. Without a restriction on what happens afterwards, they would function as a no-fault route with extra paperwork: serve a Ground 1A notice, recover the property, then re-let at a higher rent to a different tenant.
The restricted period is the enforcement mechanism for that. It does not test your intention directly. It makes the alternative unattractive by removing the thing you would have wanted the possession for.
The timing, which is where landlords go wrong
The instinct is that the twelve months starts when you get the property back. It does not.
Parliament's explanatory commentary on the provision describes the restricted period as beginning when the Section 8 notice — or a purported notice of possession — is served, or, where a claim is brought without a notice, when the claim form is filed. It runs until approximately twelve months after the end of the notice period.
Put those together with the four-month notice period that Grounds 1 and 1A require, and the practical shape of the restriction is this: it is already running while your tenant is still living there, it continues through however long the possession process takes, and it then runs for a further year measured from when the notice expired. A landlord who serves in January is looking at a restriction that bites immediately and does not lift until well into the following year.
The consequence is that serving the notice is the point of no return, not obtaining possession. There is no window in which you can serve, change your mind, and re-let without exposure. This is the single strongest argument for not serving a Ground 1 or 1A notice until the plan behind it is firm.
What is actually prohibited
The restriction is on letting and marketing to let — not on what you do with the property otherwise. Parliament's commentary describes the prohibition as covering letting or marketing the property on a tenancy with a term of 21 years or less, and permitting or marketing the property for occupation under a licence in exchange for payment.
You cannot:
- Grant a new tenancy of the property.
- Advertise or instruct an agent to advertise it to let, including quietly or off-market.
- Allow someone to occupy under a licence in return for payment — a short-term or serviced-accommodation arrangement is not a way around a re-letting restriction.
You can:
- Market the property for sale, sell it, or leave it on the market indefinitely.
- Leave it empty.
- Move into it yourself, or have the family members specified in Ground 1 move in.
- Do nothing at all.
The asymmetry is deliberate. The restriction is not a penalty for using the ground; it is a bar on the specific outcome the ground was not meant to produce.
The exceptions
They are narrow, and none of them is a general escape.
Letting to the landlord or specified family. Parliament's commentary describes lettings and marketing to the landlord or the family members specified in Ground 1 as permitted — which is consistent, since that is the purpose of Ground 1.
Prospective purchasers and long leases. In Ground 1A cases the commentary describes permitted lettings and marketing to a prospective purchaser, or to someone taking a lease of more than 21 years. Allowing an agreed buyer into occupation ahead of completion is contemplated; letting to an unconnected tenant is not.
Shared owners who genuinely tried to sell. Government guidance records an exception to the restriction for shared owners using Ground 1A where they can demonstrate a genuine attempt to sell the property. This is specific to shared ownership and does not generalise to ordinary landlords whose sale did not work out.
Reasonable steps. Enforcement guidance refers to the offence applying unless reasonable steps were taken to prevent the re-letting or re-marketing, or an exception applies. That is a defence about how a breach occurred — an agent re-listing a property without instruction, for instance — not a licence to re-let deliberately and argue about it afterwards. If you are relying on it, you will need to show what those steps were.
What it costs to get wrong
Government enforcement guidance places re-letting or re-marketing within the restricted period in the offence category, with a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution. That is the same tier as knowingly using a ground for possession when you know a court would not grant it, and an order of magnitude above the £7,000 civil penalty that attaches to administrative breaches like failing to give a written statement of terms.
It is worth being clear that these are cumulative risks rather than alternatives. A landlord who serves a Ground 1A notice without a genuine intention to sell, recovers possession, and then re-lets is exposed on both fronts at once, and may additionally face a rent repayment order application from the former tenant.
Practical planning
Decide before you serve, not after. Because the clock starts at service, the decision to use Ground 1 or 1A should follow the decision to sell or move in, not precede it. Instructing an agent, obtaining a valuation, or engaging a conveyancer before serving is both better evidence of genuine intention and a sensible discipline.
Tell your letting agent. An agent operating on standing instructions may re-list a property automatically once it becomes vacant. That is exactly the scenario the "reasonable steps" wording contemplates, and the reasonable step is a written instruction not to market the property, given at the point you serve.
Diarise the end date. The restricted period runs from the notice, not from possession, so it is not a date anyone will remind you of. Work it out when you serve and record it.
Check whether the ground is available at all. Government guidance notes that Ground 1A cannot be used where the tenant has an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy, and that most social landlords cannot use it. Both grounds also require four months' notice and cannot expire within the first twelve months of the tenancy.
Flag the grounds in the written statement. Government guidance requires certain possession grounds to be stated in the tenancy's written statement of terms. That is a drafting decision at the start of the letting — see written statement of terms and the assured periodic tenancy agreement.
When to take advice
This is high-stakes, fact-specific territory and the penalties sit at the top of the enforcement range. Take advice rather than guessing if any of these apply: a sale has fallen through and you need the property to earn; you are considering a licence, short-let or family arrangement during the restricted period; an agent has re-listed the property without your instruction; a former tenant or local authority has raised the restriction with you; or you are selling to a connected party who may want to let.
Each of those turns on facts that a page cannot see, and the cost of being wrong is measured in tens of thousands rather than in a wasted notice. Advice from a practising solicitor is the proportionate response. This site is not a law firm and does not operate a telephone helpline. The Law Society’s Find a Solicitor service is the official starting point.
Related guides
Common questions
When does the restricted period actually start?
Not when the tenant leaves. Parliament's explanatory commentary describes the restricted period beginning when the Section 8 notice — or purported possession notice — is served, or, where a claim is brought without notice, when the claim form is filed, and running until around twelve months after the end of the notice period. Because Grounds 1 and 1A carry a four-month notice period, the restriction is already running while the tenant is still in occupation, and continues for a further year after the notice expires. Serving the notice is the commitment point, not obtaining possession.
Does it apply if the tenant left voluntarily and I never went to court?
Yes. Government enforcement guidance frames the trigger as having used grounds 1 or 1A and then re-letting or re-marketing within the restricted period, and Parliament's commentary expressly includes a purported notice of possession. A landlord who served a Ground 1A notice and whose tenant then moved out without a court order is squarely within the restriction. The absence of a possession order is not a way out of it.
Can I market the property for sale during the restricted period?
Yes — selling is the point of Ground 1A, and nothing stops you marketing for sale, selling, leaving the property empty, or moving in yourself. What is prohibited is letting or marketing it to let. The restriction is about re-letting, not about what you do with the property generally.
What if the sale falls through?
The restriction still applies. It is triggered by having relied on the ground, not by the outcome of the sale. If your buyer withdraws, you can re-market for sale, keep the property empty, or occupy it yourself — but you cannot pivot to re-letting it inside the restricted period. This is the single most important reason not to serve a Ground 1A notice until the intention to sell is firm.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes, and they are narrow. Parliament's commentary describes permitted lettings and marketing to the landlord or the family members specified in Ground 1, and — in Ground 1A cases — to a prospective purchaser or someone taking a lease of more than 21 years. Government guidance also records an exception for shared owners using Ground 1A who can demonstrate a genuine attempt to sell. Everything outside those categories is caught.
What is the penalty for breaching it?
Government enforcement guidance classifies re-letting or re-marketing within the restricted period as an offence, with a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution — unless reasonable steps were taken to prevent it or an exception applies. That is the top of the enforcement range, not a routine civil penalty.
Official sources
- Enforcement measures for landlords: Renters' Rights Act 2025 (GOV.UK) — Official Source
- Guide to the Renters' Rights Act (GOV.UK) — Official Source
- Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents (GOV.UK) — Official Source
- Renters' Rights Bill: commentary on provisions (UK Parliament) — Official Source
- The Renters' Rights Act and Shared Ownership (GOV.UK) — Official Source
- Renters' Rights Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk) — Official Source