A Section 8 notice, also known as the Section 8 notice to quit or Form 3. It is a prerequisite if the landlord of an assured tenancy or assured shorthold tenancy wishes to obtain possession order from the court, thereby ending the tenancy, for a reason based on a circumstance entitling the landlord to possession under the grounds pleaded. It is used in England and Wales and is part of the Housing Act 1988. as amended by the Housing Act 1996. Overview An assured shorthold tenancy may also be ended by the execution of a possession order based on a Section 21 notice. The differences between the Section 8 and Section 21 procedures are: A Section 21 notice may be used without the landlord giving any reason, whereas for a Section 8 notice to be used the landlord must satisfy one of the statutory grounds for eviction. The Section 8 notice may be used for an assured shorthold tenancy or an assured tenancy. Section 21 Notice cannot be used for an Assured tenancy. The Section 8 notice lists 17 grounds. The landlord can seek to regain possession of the property before or after the fixed term of the tenancy comes to an end based only on these grounds. When the landlord serves the tenant with the Section 8 notice, they have to state the grounds by which they are seeking possession of the property, using the precise wording specified in Schedule 2 of 1988 Housing Act and the reasons for relying on these grounds. The notice must be in the prescribed form for a section 8 notice. How the Section 8 notice is served Once the Section 8 notice has been filled out, it must be sent to all of the tenants living at the address. It is usually customary to allow a minimum of three working days for the Section 8 notice to arrive at the address of the tenant. The Section 8 notice expires two weeks or two months after this date, depending on which of the 17 grounds have been cited. It is only once the Section 8 notice has expired, and the issue has not been resolved, that the landlord can apply for a possession order from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). The possession order Once the Section 8 notice has been served, the landlord can apply to the court for a hearing to