What Ground 1A is Ground 1A is a mandatory possession ground introduced for situations where a landlord intends to sell the dwelling-house. It is not an instant eviction mechanism and it does not make a possession timetable certain.

The two timing rules landlords should know

Current government guidance for England says Ground 1A generally requires four months' notice. It also says a tenant cannot be required to leave for this reason within the first 12 months of a new tenancy.

A notice can be served during that protected period, but it cannot expire before the 12-month period has ended. This means a landlord with a relatively new tenancy may need to allow more than four months before the notice can expire.

Example If a tenancy began only four months ago, the landlord cannot use Ground 1A to require the tenant to leave at month eight simply by serving a four-month notice. The notice must be structured so that it does not expire before the protected 12-month period has ended.

Why this matters to a property sale

Landlords sometimes work backwards from a desired completion date. That can be risky if the sale requires vacant possession. Even a correctly served notice does not itself guarantee that the tenant will leave when it expires.

For exit planning, keep three milestones separate:

  1. Notice can be validly served.
  2. The notice can validly expire.
  3. You actually obtain possession.

Can you avoid Ground 1A by selling with the tenant in place?

Potentially, yes. A landlord can consider selling the property subject to the tenancy instead of first seeking vacant possession. That creates a different buyer market, usually focused on investors. It does not mean a tenanted sale is automatically better, but it is an important alternative to compare.

If your priority is...Route worth comparing
Avoiding a possession process before saleTenanted investor sale
Reaching owner-occupier buyersVacant possession may matter
Keeping rental income during marketingTenanted sale may help
A fixed completion deadlineGet legal advice before relying on a possession date
Do not rely on old Section 21 articles The possession framework in England changed on 1 May 2026. Older content that assumes a landlord can simply use Section 21 when they want to sell may now be outdated.

Questions to resolve before building your sale plan

Plan the exit around the facts

Tell us where the tenancy stands.

We can use the tenancy status, timing and condition to help narrow the broad sale routes worth comparing.

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Official sources