What can a landlord do about antisocial behaviour?

Grounds 7A and 14 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 carry no notice period at all: under section 8(4) the date in the notice "shall not be earlier than the date of the service of the notice". GOV.UK agrees: "If you give notice using ground 14, you can immediately apply to court for a possession order". Everything after that is slow, so the weeks before the notice matter most.

First, build the record

Log every report the day it arrives: date, time, who reported it, what they saw or heard, in their words. GOV.UK's evidence list starts with "a diary of events including times, dates and impact of the behaviour". Put each complaint to the tenant in writing, naming the term breached, and keep the reply — which is also why the tenancy agreement's own nuisance clause earns its place.

Ask complaining neighbours to diarise and report incidents themselves: "Statements and reports from witnesses and neighbours are usually considered as strong evidence", where your summary of what they said is not.

Ground 14: the everyday ground

Ground 14 is in Part II, "Grounds on which Court may Order Possession", so it is discretionary: section 7(4) says the court "may make an order for possession if it considers it reasonable to do so". GOV.UK: "Most antisocial behaviour will come under ground 14." It bites where the tenant "or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house":

• "has been guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to a person residing, visiting or otherwise engaging in a lawful activity in the locality";
• has caused nuisance or annoyance to the landlord, or to "a person employed ... in connection with the exercise of the landlord's housing management functions"; or
• has been convicted of "using the dwelling-house or allowing it to be used for immoral or illegal purposes", or of "an indictable offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house".

No conviction is needed and no council involvement; "likely to cause" is enough. It protects neighbours, visitors, anyone lawfully in the locality, you and your staff.

Ground 7A: mandatory, but conditional

Ground 7A is in Part I, "Grounds on which Court must order possession": proved, the court has no discretion. It is met if "Any of the following conditions is met" — each needing someone else to have acted first. Taking the tenant, a resident or a visitor:

1. conviction for a "serious offence" (listed in Schedule 2A to the Housing Act 1985) in or near the property, or elsewhere against a neighbour, you or your staff;
2. a court finding that the person "has breached a provision of an injunction under section 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014";
3. conviction for breaching a criminal behaviour order;
4. the property "is or has been subject to a closure order under section 80" of that Act, access prohibited "for a continuous period of more than 48 hours";
5. conviction for breaching a noise abatement notice or order under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

No condition is met while an appeal is undetermined, or if it succeeds.

Ground 7A's service deadlines

Section 8(4C)–(4F) put a clock on it: 12 months from the conviction for conditions 1, 3 and 5, or from the day an appeal is "finally determined or abandoned"; 12 months from the finding for condition 2; 3 months from the closure order for condition 4. Miss the window and the mandatory ground is gone.

The notice period, stated exactly

Section 8(4) applies to a notice specifying "either or both of Grounds 7A and 14", "whether with or without other grounds": the date in it must not be earlier than the date of service. The four-week and four-month table everyone quotes is section 8(4AA), which opens "If a notice under this section does not specify Ground 7A or 14 in Schedule 2". It does not reach a notice citing either, so adding Ground 14 to a notice that also cites a four-month ground takes the whole notice out of the table.

One counterweight, in force since 1 May 2026: where the only grounds established are 7A and 14, section 7(5D) says the court "may not make an order for possession to take effect within" "the period of 14 days beginning with the date of service of the notice under section 8".

Why a deposit problem does not block these two

Section 215 of the Housing Act 2004 now makes deposit compliance a precondition of possession: the court may order it "only if the tenancy deposit is being held in accordance with an authorised scheme", and only if the scheme's requirements and the prescribed information were met. Section 215(4) carves these grounds out — those subsections "do not apply in relation to an order for possession made on Ground 7A or 14". So an unprotected deposit stops an arrears or sale claim, not this one, though the tenant's own claim under section 214 stands. See our deposits guide.

What the council and police can do, and you cannot

• Community protection notice. Issued by a constable or the council where conduct is "having a detrimental effect, of a persistent or continuing nature, on the quality of life of those in the locality" and unreasonable. A written warning comes first.
• Closure notice and order. A police inspector or the council issues the notice; a magistrates' court must hear the order application "not later than 48 hours after service of the closure notice", and "The period may not exceed 3 months". This is what unlocks condition 4.
• Civil injunction. Section 5 allows an application only by a local authority, a "housing provider", a chief officer of police and a few others — and section 20 defines "housing provider" as social landlords. A private landlord cannot apply.

So you report rather than act alone, which also builds the independent record a court wants.

If your tenant is the victim

Respond in writing, then send the report where the powers sit: the council's antisocial behaviour team, 101, or 999 if anyone is in danger. Ask your tenant to report incidents and keep a diary themselves. On noise, "Your council has a duty to investigate any statutory nuisance", and if repeated reports go nowhere an antisocial behaviour case review can be requested.

If the source is a neighbour's home you have no interest in, you have no tenancy to enforce and no statutory power; GOV.UK's advice is to complain to that neighbour's own landlord.

Why eviction is the last resort

"You cannot remove your tenants by force." A notice served today means a court claim, a hearing, a judge weighing reasonableness and, if the order is ignored, bailiffs: months, with rent still running. Try the cheaper route first — a warning letter, mediation, or a reported incident. See also the Renters' Rights Act changes, ending a tenancy after section 21, rent arrears and our fees.

General information, current at October 2026, and not legal advice. Antisocial behaviour possession turns on exact dates, conditions and evidence — take advice before serving any notice.

To have an incident log or a draft section 8 notice checked before it is served, ring 0161 710 4510 or call in at 12–14 Midland Street, Manchester M12 6LB.