Landlord Possessions (Section 8)

The Renters’ Rights Act requires agents to follow a strict, evidence-based process to recover possession of a property on behalf of a landlord. 

Jupix provides a dedicated Landlord Possession workflow to manage this process and track Section 8 notices and possession claims from start to finish.

This article includes:

• Understanding grounds for possession
• Landlord possession dashboards
• Starting a landlord possession
• Marking a possession as notice (S8) served
  • If the tenant leaves before the notice expires
• Marking a possession as claim submitted
  • Recording the outcome of a possession claim
• Cancelling a landlord possession
• Notes, to-dos and supporting evidence
• Viewing historic possessions

Understanding grounds for possession

To recover possession you must specify one or more legal grounds. There are two types, and the type affects both the outcome at court and the options available to you in Jupix:

Mandatory grounds

If the ground is proven and the correct process has been followed, the court must grant possession.

Discretionary grounds

The court decides whether to grant possession, and may grant it, refuse it, or issue a suspended possession order.

You can select multiple grounds on a single possession, and you can combine mandatory and discretionary grounds. Including all the grounds that apply gives the strongest case at court.

Landlord possession dashboard entries

Three entries in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard help you track landlord possessions. Each one opens a list of possessions filtered by status:

• Landlord possessions preparing – possessions you have started but not yet served
• Landlord possessions S8 served – possessions where the Section 8 notice has been served
• Possession claims in progress – possessions where a claim has been submitted to the court

Starting a landlord possession

1. Open the active Assured Periodic Tenancy record
2. Click Start Termination Process
3. Click Start Landlord Possession
   
4. In the Landlord Information section, enter any Landlord Notes (i.e. landlord wants to sell the property, or, the landlords family want to move in to the property)
5. Then, in the Grounds for Possession section, select all the Mandatory Grounds and/or Discretionary Grounds you are using to seek possession
6. In the Tenant Information section, if you are notifying the tenant in advance of serving the formal Section 8 notice, enter the Informal Notification Date
7. Then, enter any Tenant Notes (i.e. warned tenant who has asked us to find them a new property to rent)
   
8. Click Save

The possession now appears on the Landlord possessions preparing list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard. Use this stage to gather the evidence you need to support the selected grounds before you serve the notice.

Marking a possession as notice (S8) served

Once you have served the Section 8 (Form 3a) document on the tenant:

1. From the Landlord possessions preparing list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Click Mark as S8 Served
   
3. Alongside S8 Notice Served Date, enter the date the S8 was served
4. Jupix calculates the Proposed Tenancy End Date from the served date and the longest notice period applicable to the grounds you selected. However, you can edit the Proposed Tenancy End Date if required
5. Click Save

The possession status advances to S8 Served and it moves to the Landlord possessions S8 served list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard.

If the tenant leaves before the notice expires

After a Section 8 notice has been served, the tenant may decide to leave before the notice period ends. How you handle this depends on the situation:

The tenant serves their own notice to leave early

A tenant on an Assured Periodic Tenancy can give at least 2 months' notice to leave at any point. 

1. Return to the tenancy and click Start Termination Process
2. Then, click Tenant Notice Received. This can run alongside the landlord possession
3.  Edit the Proposed Tenancy End Date if required
4. In the Tenant Information section, enter the Notice Received Date (typically this is on or shortly after the S8 served date)
5. Enter the Acknowledgement Sent Date
6. Then, enter any Tenant Notes 
7. In the Landlord Information section, enter the Notification Sent Date
8. Enter the Decision Received Date
9. Select the Decision accordingly - New Tenants Required or Not Reletting
10. Then, enter any Landlord Notes
    
11. Click Save

Once the tenant has moved out, you can return to the Termination tab and cancel the landlord possession as the tenant has already vacated the property.

1. Return to the tenancy and click the Termination tab
2. In the Landlord Possession Details section, click View to open the possession
3. Click Cancel Landlord Possession
4. Enter a Cancellation Reason
5. Enter Your Confirmation Code to confirm the cancellation
6. Click Save

The tenant is moving out when the notice expires

Towards the end of the notice period, you can click Set Tenancy to Ending on the landlord possession to begin the standard tenant move-out process.

1. Return to the tenancy and click the Termination tab
2. In the Landlord Possession Details section, click View to open the possession
3. Click Set Tenancy to Ending
4. Complete the relevant fields
5. Click Set Tenancy to Ending to confirm
   

The possession process for the tenancy will now have come to a natural end.

Marking a possession as claim submitted

If the tenant does not vacate by the expiry date, you will need to submit a possession claim to the court. 

The earliest you can submit a claim is the day after the proposed tenancy end date, and Jupix will not let you record the claim as sent before then.

Once you have submitted the claim:

1. From the Landlord possessions S8 served list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Click Mark As Possession Claim Sent
3. Enter the Possession Claim Sent Date
4. Click Save

The possession now appears on the Possession claims in progress list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard. 

When you are notified of the hearing date, enter it on the possession. 

1. From the Possession claims in progress list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Alongside the Hearing section, click Edit Details
3. Enter the Hearing Date
4. Click Save

Jupix then sets an evidence required by date two weeks before the hearing, which is the deadline for submitting your evidence to the court.

Recording the outcome of a possession claim

There are four possible outcomes of a possession claim. Record the relevant one against the possession.

Claim granted

Use this when the court grants the landlord possession. 

1. From the Possession claims in progress list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Click Claim Granted
3. Enter the Hearing Decision Date and Hearing Notes, and edit the Proposed Tenancy End Date as agreed at the hearing
4. Enter Your Confirmation Code to confirm
5. Click Save

The possession updates to Finalised. Click Set Tenancy to Ending to begin the standard tenant move-out process.

Claim dismissed

Use this when the court does not grant the landlord possession. 

1. From the Possession claims in progress list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Click Claim Dismissed
3. Enter the Hearing Decision Date and Hearing Notes
4. Enter Your Confirmation Code to confirm
5. Click Save

The possession updates to Finalised.

Claim suspended

Use this when the outcome is a suspended possession order. 

1. From the Possession claims in progress list in the Property Management section of the Lettings Dashboard, click View to open the possession 
2. Click Claim Suspended
3. Enter the Hearing Decision Date and record the conditions of the suspended order in the Hearing Notes
4. Enter Your Confirmation Code to confirm
5. Click Save

Possession cancelled

Use this if the court hearing is cancelled for any reason. See Cancelling a landlord possession below.

Cancelling a landlord possession

Use this option if the possession is no longer being pursued – for example, if you used Ground 8 and all tenant arrears are paid before the hearing date.

1. On the tenancy, click the Termination tab
2. In the Landlord Possession Details section, click View to open the possession
3. Click Cancel Landlord Possession
4. Enter a Cancellation Reason
5. Enter Your Confirmation Code to confirm the cancellation
6. Click Save

Notes, to-dos and supporting evidence

Each landlord possession has its own Notes and To-Dos section where you can add notes, upload or create documents, and set reminders throughout the process. Supporting evidence documents attached here also appear in the Notes grid on the tenancy.

Viewing historic possessions

The Termination tab on a tenancy lets you view historic possessions. Each one can be printed individually, along with its Notes and To-Dos section.

Related articles:

Renters' Rights Act: Key changes

Finishing a tenancy