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Absolute Ground for Possession

Posted on 29 Sep 2023

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, gave social landlords a new power of mandatory possession for anti-social behaviour from the 20 October 2014.

Procedure and conditions

The new absolute ground for possession is based on the existing process for ending introductory tenancies set out in sections 127 to 129 of the Housing Act 1996. The new ground is available to secure tenants set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985.

The court must grant possession (subject to any available human rights defence raised by the tenant, including proportionality) provided the landlord has followed the correct procedure and at least one of the following five conditions is met:

  • The tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a person visiting the property has been convicted of a serious offence.
  • The tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a person visiting the property has been found by a court to have breached a civil injunction.
  • The tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a person visiting the property has been convicted for breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO).
  • The tenant’s property has been closed for more than 48 hours under a closure order for anti-social behaviour.
  • The tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a person visiting the property has been convicted for breaching a noise abatement notice or order.