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One of the downsides to being a property landlord is that occasionally a tenant skips their rent, and it leaves you not quite knowing what to do.
So you ask your friends, and maybe in a few forums, and what answers do you get?

• Change the locks - it's your property!
• Camp outside the property until they pay!
• Spend their deposit!
• Kick them out!
• Take them to court!

Pretty emotional answers to what amounts to a very emotional situation - after all, this is your house they're living in and your money that's not gone into your bank account!

But where do you stand legally? If your tenant hasn't paid their rent, what can you as a property landlord do?

Well, to put it simply, it depends on the kind of tenancy agreement you have. But the most important thing to note first is that you should NEVER harass your tenants - you could be fined heavily (over £10,000) and even imprisoned for this!

According to Landlordzone.co.uk:

In most rent arrears situations you should serve these notices:
1 - A warning letter - a polite letter reminding your tenant that he / she is in arrears which must be made up as soon as possible. Your letter should also include an offer to discuss ways to help with, for example, Housing Benefit claims and the rescheduling of rent payments. 2 - A letter before action explaining that as no response has been received you will be taking legal action within 7 days.3 - Section 21 Notice - 2 month's notice - which cannot be actioned until the end of the fixed term. 4 - Section 8 Notice - usually citing grounds 8 (8 weeks Rent Arrears) 10 (Behind with rent payments) and Ground 11 (Persistent late payments).
In their article "Rent Arrears" http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/rent-arrears.htm they cover the steps you need to take in order to start claiming your money back - without a baseball bat in sight!

One way to ensure that your tenants don't run up unmanageable rent arrears is to keep on top of your rental properties and incoming money using good Landlord Software for efficient property management. You can find out more about this at http://www.propertybookwork.co.uk