The twelve-month protected period

Grounds 1 and 1A, which cover the landlord or their family moving in and the landlord selling, cannot be used during the first twelve months of a tenancy.

Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants.

Deadlines on this property, including the next rent increase.

What you are deciding

If you let the property: when Ground 1 or 1A becomes available. If you are the tenant: what the date on your tenancy means.

Your options

• Before the date. Ground 1 or 1A is shown as not available if you choose it.
• After the date. The ground can be chosen. Its own notice period and the re-letting restriction still apply.
• The property is sold with the tenant in place. The tenancy carries on and its dates do not start again.

If you are a tenant

Your tenancy shows the date your protected period ends. It is there for information. It does not mean you will be asked to leave on that date.

A worked example

A tenancy began on Saturday 1 August 2026. Its protected period ends on Sunday 1 August 2027. A landlord who decides in March 2027 to sell sees Ground 1A marked as not available until then. If the tenancy's start date had been entered as 1 July by mistake, correcting it on the tenancy moves the date shown.

What Abide.Rent does for you

• Shows the date the protected period ends, worked out from the tenancy start date.
• Marks Ground 1 and 1A as not available before that date.
• Shows the tenant the same date on their tenancy.

If something goes wrong

• “Ground 1 or 1A cannot be relied on: the earliest date for court proceedings … falls within …”
  What to do: Grounds 1 and 1A are not available in the first 12 months. Choose a later date.

Common mistakes

• Reading the end of the protected period as a date the tenancy ends. It is not.
• Leaving a wrong tenancy start date in place. The period is counted from it.

What to do next

• Section 8 grounds and notice periods
• The re-letting restriction after Ground 1 or 1A
• See your notices