New Form 3A to Use and Ground 4A: What Student Landlords Need to Know Now

1. The Form Has Changed From 1 May 2026

From 1 May 2026, private landlords in England seeking possession of an assured tenancy must use Form 3A. GOV.UK describes Form 3A as the notice seeking possession for a property let on an assured tenancy or assured agricultural occupancy in the private rented sector. It is also the form most landlords will think of as the new section 8 notice.

For student landlords, that matters because the old private rented possession route has changed. If you are planning ahead for the next academic cycle and think you may need to rely on Ground 4A, you should now be working from the new Form 3A framework rather than older notice assumptions.

2. Ground 4A Is Still Separate From The Form Itself

Form 3A is the notice you use when you are actually seeking possession. Ground 4A is one of the specific possession grounds that may sit behind that notice.

Current GOV.UK guidance says Ground 4A can be used where:

the property is an HMO
it is let to full-time students
it is needed for a new group of students in line with the academic year between 1 June and 30 September

For the standard ongoing rule, GOV.UK also says the tenancy must usually have been signed less than 6 months before the date the tenants could move in, and the tenant must usually have been given the Ground 4A warning before they signed.

But that is not the full 2026 picture: for student tenancies that began before 1 May 2026, the transitional rules disapply those two standard timing conditions. Instead, landlords have until 31 May 2026 to give the written Ground 4A warning, and they can still use Ground 4A even if the tenancy was signed more than 6 months before the move-in date.

Important: using Form 3A later does not fix Ground 4A notice problems by itself. For the standard rule, the warning normally needs to have been given before the tenancy was signed. For older tenancies in the 2026 transition, the special deadline is 31 May 2026. If the notice timing is wrong, Ground 4A may not be available even if the rest of the student letting facts look right.

3. Notice Period: 2026 Has Transitional Rules

For the standard ongoing rule, GOV.UK says Ground 4A requires 4 months' notice, and that notice period must end between 1 June and 30 September.

But 2026 is different for tenancies that began before 1 May 2026. GOV.UK says landlords have a transition window this year:

you have until 31 May 2026 to give the written notice saying you may rely on Ground 4A
you can then serve a notice seeking possession giving 2 months' notice instead of 4 months
that shorter possession notice must be served between 1 May and 30 July 2026
during this transition, you can still use Ground 4A even if the tenancy was signed more than 6 months before the date the tenants could move in

What that means in practice: if you are looking at a student tenancy that started before 1 May 2026, do not assume the normal 4 month Ground 4A timetable or the usual up-front notice rules are the whole story. This year, the transition wording and dates matter just as much as the form itself.

4. Form 3A Needs To Be Completed Properly

Government guidance says landlords must use the prescribed forms and should not alter the wording unless the form says they can. GOV.UK also publishes a separate Form 3A guidance document and a legal wording for possession grounds document to support completion.

That matters because if you are relying on Ground 4A, it is not enough to simply say “student property” in broad terms. The notice needs to be completed correctly, with the right ground and the correct wording.

Practical point: for many student landlords the key risk is not just serving the form, but serving the right form, on the right timeline, backed by the right prior Ground 4A notice and evidence trail.

Item	What it means now
Form to use	Private landlords in England now use Form 3A for possession notices from 1 May 2026.
Ground 4A use	Student HMO ground for possession where the property is needed for a new group of students in line with the academic year.
Notice period	Usually 4 months, but for tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 there is a transitional route allowing 2 months if the notice is served between 1 May and 30 July 2026.
Prior notice needed?	Usually yes, but for tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 the transition rules allow that written Ground 4A warning to be given up to 31 May 2026 instead.
Extra help	Use the official Form 3A page, the landlord completion guidance, and the legal wording document together.

5. What Student Landlords Should Do Now

If you think Ground 4A may be part of your student lettings strategy this year, the safest approach is:

review whether the property actually fits the Ground 4A student HMO conditions
check whether you are dealing with a standard case or a pre-1 May 2026 transitional case, because the prior Ground 4A warning rules differ
check first whether you are on the standard 4 month route or the 2026 transitional 2 month route
use the new Form 3A, not the older private-sector form route
use the official wording and completion guidance, not a home-made summary

Form 3A PDF

This is the new prescribed possession notice form landlords must use from 1 May 2026.

Open Form 3A

Notes for completing Form 3A

This is the official government completion guide landlords can use alongside the form.

Open the landlord guidance notes

Legal wording for possession grounds

This document contains the official legal wording that sits behind the possession grounds referred to in Form 3A.

Open the legal wording document

Read this first if you have not already

Our earlier student landlord guide explains the wider Renters’ Rights changes, information sheet deadlines, and the separate Ground 4A notice point.

Read: What Student Landlords Need to Do Now Under the New Renters’ Rights Rules

Need help checking whether Ground 4A is actually available before you serve anything?

Speak to Our Team Open Form 3A

This article is for general information only and reflects GOV.UK landlord guidance reviewed on 1 May 2026. It is not legal advice. Ground 4A strategy, transitional timing, notice wording and service steps should be checked carefully against your own tenancy facts and the current official forms.