Ground 4A is the Renters' Rights Act 2025's answer to the question every student landlord is asking: how do I get my property back between academic years without Section 21? Here is exactly how it works, who qualifies, and what you need to do.
⚠️ Ground 4A confirmation notice deadline — 31 May 2026: Student landlords whose existing student HMO tenancies converted to APTs on 1 May 2026 were required to serve a Ground 4A confirmation notice on each tenant by 31 May 2026. If you missed this deadline you may have lost access to Ground 4A for the current tenancy. Read the section below on what to do if you missed the deadline.
Ground 4A is a new mandatory Section 8 possession ground introduced by Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It came into force on 1 May 2026 alongside the abolition of Section 21.
It was specifically designed for student HMO landlords who previously relied on fixed-term ASTs and Section 21 to recover possession between academic years. With fixed terms and Section 21 both abolished, Ground 4A provides the mechanism to get the property back at the end of each academic year — provided the strict qualifying conditions are met.
Ground 4A is a mandatory ground — if the conditions are proven at court, the judge must make a possession order. There is no judicial discretion.
All three of the following conditions must be met for Ground 4A to apply:
The property must be a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), or a home within an HMO. Whether or not it needs a licence does not decide this, but an HMO that needs a licence must have one. In practice, most student houses of 3 or more unrelated people will be HMOs. Properties with 5 or more people from 2 or more households require a mandatory HMO licence.
Important: Ground 4A does not apply to a single student in a one-bedroom flat (not an HMO) or to a student sharing with non-students. The property must be an HMO and must be let exclusively to full-time students.
Every occupier must be a full-time student. One non-student occupier removes Ground 4A from the equation entirely. "Full-time student" means enrolled on a full-time course at a recognised educational institution — university, college, or similar. Part-time students do not count.
The landlord must intend to re-let the property to full-time students for the next academic year. You cannot use Ground 4A to recover possession and then re-let to non-students or sell the property — that would be Ground 1A (intention to sell) or Ground 1 (occupation by landlord or family). If you change your mind and do not re-let to students, the former tenant may have a claim for compensation.
Also note: for new tenancies, the tenancy must not have been entered into more than six months before the tenants are entitled to move in, and the Ground 4A confirmation must be given before the tenancy is entered into.
| Detail | Ground 4A requirement |
|---|---|
| Notice period | 4 months minimum |
| Notice form | Section 8 notice — Form 3A (or equivalent prescribed form) |
| Earliest possession date | Must fall between 1 June and 30 September (the end of the academic year) — cannot be mid-term |
| Ground type | Mandatory — court must grant possession if conditions proven |
| Prior notice required | Yes — confirmation notice must have been included in tenancy agreement or served separately by 31 May 2026 for existing tenancies |
The timing requirement is critical. You cannot serve a Ground 4A notice that results in a possession date during term time. The possession date must fall at the end of the academic year or later. If students refuse to leave, you can issue possession proceedings — and because it is a mandatory ground, the court must grant the order.
Serving Ground 4A correctly requires two separate documents:
Before you can rely on Ground 4A, you must have given the tenant a written notice confirming that Ground 4A may be used. This notice must either:
When you want to actually recover possession, serve a Section 8 notice using Form 3A citing Ground 4A. The notice must give at least 4 months' notice and the possession date must fall between 1 June and 30 September. (A shorter 2-month period applied only in the transitional window from 1 May to 31 July 2026.)
Serve on each tenant individually. In a joint tenancy, every named tenant must receive their own copy of both the confirmation notice and the Section 8 possession notice. Serving on one tenant and assuming others are covered is a common and costly mistake.
If you did not serve the Ground 4A confirmation notice on existing tenants by 31 May 2026, you cannot rely on Ground 4A for the current tenancy period.
Your options are:
For new tenancies from 1 May 2026 onwards: Include the Ground 4A confirmation notice in, or give it with, the tenancy agreement before the tenancy is entered into. DocPilot's Ground 4A Confirmation Notice covers this.
| Factor | Old Section 21 | New Ground 4A |
|---|---|---|
| Available to | All assured shorthold tenants | HMOs let exclusively to full-time students only |
| Notice period | 2 months | 4 months |
| Reason required | No — no-fault | Yes — intention to re-let to students |
| Prior notice | Not required | Required — confirmation notice must be served first |
| Timing | Any time after fixed term | Possession date must fall at academic year end |
| Court outcome | Mandatory possession | Mandatory possession if conditions met |
| If conditions not met | N/A | Ground 4A fails — must use another ground or negotiate |
DocPilot's landlord templates include the Ground 4A Confirmation Notice, a Per-Room HMO Tenancy Agreement, the Landlord Compliance Checklist and a Deposit Protection Confirmation Letter, each updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
See the Ground 4A Confirmation Notice →