Rent Arrears

Given the prevalence of arrears as one of the main grounds on which possession of assured shorthold tenancies is sought by landlords, we shall consider the specific rules applying to rent arrears. To terminate a tenancy during the fixed term due to rent arrears, section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 should be used. This enables possession to be granted where the landlord serves notice in accordance with the section and can establish one of the 17 grounds provided in Schedule 2 to the Act.
For rent arrears, the landlord is generally relying on one of the three statutory grounds 8, 10 and 11.
Ground 8 is a mandatory ground and thus the most powerful ground to use since the court must grant possession if this ground applies.  However, the practical drawback with relying on this ground alone is that the tenant can pay off part of the arrears shortly before the hearing and render the ground (and thus the possession proceedings) unsuccessful.

In Coltrane v Day [2003] the tenant sent a cheque for all the arrears to the landlord's solicitors but it had not been cleared.  The Court held that "an uncleared cheque delivered to the landlord or his agent at or before the hearing and which is accepted by him, or which he is bound by an earlier agreement to accept, is to be treated as payment at the date of delivery provided the cheque is subsequently paid on the first presentation."  There is therefore some advantage to waiting for three months of arrears to accrue and starting proceedings under all three grounds.  What constitutes rent arrears?
The tenancy agreement should clearly define the period of the tenancy (e.g. monthly), the date throughout this period when the rent is due (e.g. 1st of every month) and whether the rent is due in advance or arrears. 
If the rent has not been received by the due date, then the rent is technically in arrears.  Allowing for normal bank payment delays, clearing and weekends etc. it is common to give a few days of grace; fourteen days is commonly specified in tenancy agreements.

Quantification

If you are seeking possession under s8 as a result of rent arrears, it is important, on serving the notice, that the amount of arrears outstanding is clearly indicated or may be readily ascertained from the information given on the notice. Marath v MacGillivray [1996].