Debt recovery guide · Tricky situations
Your tenant moved out owing rent — recovery, step by step
Once a tenant has left, the possession complexities are gone and what remains is a plain money debt: rent owed under a signed tenancy agreement — some of the best-evidenced debt there is. The obstacles are practical, not legal: finding them, and choosing the fastest pocket to recover from.
First: the deposit and the arithmetic
Claim against the deposit through its protection scheme for arrears and damage — but treat it as a first instalment, not the settlement. Build a clean arrears schedule (rent due vs received, plus evidenced damage beyond fair wear) — this document drives everything that follows.
The guarantor shortcut
If the tenancy had a guarantor, start there. A properly executed guarantee makes them liable for the arrears, and guarantors — typically homeowners with credit ratings to protect — settle formal demands at a striking rate. It's routinely faster than chasing the tenant at all.
No forwarding address? Trace, then collect
Tracing a departed tenant is routine for recovery agencies — credit activity, electoral roll and utility data usually locate them quickly, often on no-trace-no-fee terms. Once found: formal demand, then a money claim if needed; judgment opens enforcement like attachment of earnings. You generally have six years (five in Scotland), but tenants get harder to find, not easier — start the trace early. Our rent arrears page covers the wider landlord picture, including current tenants and CRAR for commercial lets.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
This is one step of a well-trodden path — demands, statutory add-ons, professional recovery, court, enforcement. The complete debt recovery guide walks the whole process, and the late payment calculator works out what you can add to a commercial debt today.
Related situations
General information, not legal advice.