Ground 12 applies in England where any obligation of the tenancy other than paying rent has been broken or not performed: subletting without consent, keeping a pet without the landlord's consent, unauthorised alterations, or refusing access for a gas safety check. It is discretionary, so the court must find possession reasonable. Two weeks' notice.
By Stevie Hayes · Updated 15 October 2026 · Figures checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 15 October 2026 · How we verify · Statutory penalties are maximums; councils and courts decide the amount.
| Fact | Position | Since / status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Discretionary: the court must also find possession reasonable | Housing Act 1988 s.7 (orders for possession: mandatory and discretionary grounds) | |
| Minimum notice | Two weeks beginning with the date of service | s.8(4AA) | Housing Act 1988 s.8 (notice of proceedings; s.8(4AA) notice-period table; s.8(3)(c) 12-month validity; s.8(5)) |
| Notice validity | Twelve months from service; Form 3A | Housing Act 1988 s.8 (notice of proceedings; s.8(4AA) notice-period table; s.8(3)(c) 12-month validity; s.8(5)) | |
| Deposit bar | No order while the deposit is unprotected or the prescribed information not given | 1 May 2026 | Housing Act 2004 s.215 (deposit bar on possession, as substituted from 1 May 2026) |
| Court's discretion | May suspend or postpone the order on conditions | Housing Act 1988 s.9 (extended discretion of the court on discretionary grounds) | |
| Misusing the ground | Offence where the tenant surrenders within four months; council penalty up to £40,000 | 1 May 2026 | Housing Act 1988 s.16K (penalty up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution) |
| Text of the ground | Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2, as amended from 1 May 2026 | Checked 15 October 2026 | Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2 (grounds for possession) |
Ground 12 is met where any obligation of the tenancy, other than one related to the payment of rent, has been broken or not performed. The obligation can be express, in the written agreement, or implied by law. It is a Part 2 ground: the court must also find it reasonable to order possession, and may suspend the order on condition the breach stops. The ground applies to assured tenancies in England.
Ground 12 is in Part 2 of Schedule 2, so it is discretionary: under section 7(4) of the Housing Act 1988 the court must be satisfied both that the ground is made out and that it is reasonable to make the order. Under section 9 it can adjourn, or make a suspended or postponed order on conditions, for example that the conduct stops or the arrears are paid off, and discharge the order if the conditions are kept.
The table in section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988 gives Ground 12 a minimum of two weeks beginning with the date of service of the notice. Where the notice cites several grounds, the longest period among them applies, unless the notice also cites Ground 7A or 14, when the date may be the day of service (s.8(4)).
The notice is Form 3A, the prescribed form listed on GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page. It must state the ground and its particulars (s.8(2)), give an earliest-proceedings date no sooner than the period above, and is valid for twelve months from service (s.8(3)(c)); proceedings begun after that need a fresh notice. Keep a certificate of service, because the notice period and, on the rent grounds, the arrears are both measured from the day of service.
The court may dispense with the notice on this ground only where it considers it just and equitable to do so (s.8(1)(b)).
Possession claims are decided on documents. For Ground 12 a judge will expect to see:
Claims are issued under CPR Part 55 using form N5 with the particulars on N119; the court fixes a hearing and there is no judgment in default (GOV.UK: evicting tenants).
The deposit bar. Section 215 of the Housing Act 2004, as substituted from 1 May 2026, means the court may not make a possession order on Ground 12 while the deposit is not held in an authorised scheme with its initial requirements met and the prescribed information given. Only Grounds 7A and 14 are exempt. The test is applied when the order is made: protecting the deposit and giving the prescribed information, even late, lifts the bar (s.215(2), "whether or not within the period"), as does returning it in full or with agreed deductions, or a section 214 claim being determined, withdrawn or settled (s.215(5)). The tenant's claim for one to three times the deposit under section 214 remains.
The PRS Database bar, not yet in force. Section 90 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will add section 7(5ZC) to the 1988 Act: no possession order on Ground 12 while the landlord is in breach of the duty to be registered on the Private Rented Sector Database. On 15 October 2026 the registration duty was not in force and the database regulations were a draft, so this bars nothing today; registration opens region by region from 15 December 2026.
Using a ground you cannot prove. Under section 16J of the Housing Act 1988 it is an offence to serve a notice relying on a ground, or to make a claim on it, knowing, or reckless as to whether, the landlord could not obtain a possession order on it, if the tenant then surrenders the tenancy within four months beginning with the date the ground was relied on, without a possession order (s.16J(1)). The council may impose a penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution (s.16K).
Reasonableness decides Ground 12 cases. A breach that has been remedied, is trivial, or arises from a term the court regards as unfair will not produce an outright order; the usual outcome for a continuing but curable breach is a suspended order. The strongest cases are serious, repeated and documented: an unauthorised sublet, persistent refusal of access for statutory safety checks, or use of the home for business against an express term. Since 1 May 2026 every private assured tenancy includes an implied term (Housing Act 1988 s.16A) that the tenant may keep a pet if they ask in writing and the landlord consents; consent must not be unreasonably refused and must be given or refused within 28 days, and s.16B lets the tenant enforce it. On a pet breach, the reasonableness question will turn on whether a request was made and how it was handled.
Government changes that bear on this duty. Where the status says in force the rule already applies; everything else is not yet law for private landlords. Dates are quoted as the government has published them, checked on 15 October 2026.
| Change | Status today | Published timing | Sensible preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory landlord and property registration on the Private Rented Sector Database (the landlord register), with an annual fee | regulations in draft | Regional rollout from 15 December 2026 (West Midlands first) to 15 September 2027 for all other purposes, per the draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 | Keep copies, not just dates, of the gas safety record, EICR and EPC for each property, and know whether a licence applies; those are what the draft regulations say the entry needs. Source |
Any obligation of the tenancy other than paying rent: for example subletting without consent, unauthorised alterations, refusing access for safety inspections, or breaching a term about use of the property.
No. It is discretionary, so even if the breach is proved the court must be satisfied that possession is reasonable, and it can suspend the order on terms.
Two weeks from service under section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988.
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