UK Landlord Forum / Life

Have given up on trying to get rent from tenants.  They now owe 3 months.  Did not pay 2 months arrears on date they said they would and are now moving out. I have sent them letter telling them of my intention to take legal action if arrears are not paid in 7 days Can I issue N1 for non payment of rent even though they still in property.  I know I will not be able to continue with this if they leave with no forwarding address which I am certain they are planning to do but know there are ways to to trace them if I pay for the service.  Would I then just tell the court where they moved to? would I have to pay again to have it served at new address? I intend to ask for costs as well as rent owing although will not claim interest.
Also how much detail do I need to go into on form ie do I just have to state amount owing and what it is for or do I include dates that it is owed from and steps I already tried to retrieve it.
I am also having difficulty in gaining access to property to check inventory.  I think they will already be gone by date they have told me they are moving but are being evasive about giving date for someone to call.  I am being very careful here as I imagine they are quite capable of saying that I am harrassing them but I need to check property as I have let it part furnished and do not want to find it completely empty
Any advice appreciated

You can issue an N1 (money claim) for non-payment of rent. MoneyClaimOnline is good because it's easy and the court issue fees are lower. However, you just need to remember that if further rent arrears accrue before the tenants finally leave the property, you would need to issue another claim for that debt, so more fees. You could apply to amend the existing claim but that would also involve a fee.
If the court serves the claim form and the Defendant has moved, the court will send you a return informing you of this and will not attempt to serve the claim form again. Therefore, you would need to effect personal service yourself (or someone on your behalf). You would only have to pay for this if you need to employ process servers.
You don't need to go into too much detail on the N1. As long as you state the amount owing and the nature of the debt, that should be sufficient. If you can provide any further information, such as rent payment dates missed, then this can only benefit your claim, but is not essential.
The tenancy agreement should set out your power of entry for inspection and usually provides for a short notice (usually 24-48 hours) then you can enter, unless the tenant specifically refuses entry, in which case the only way you can enforce entry is by getting an order from the court to enforce the term of the tenancy agreement.