Your Tenant Stopped Paying. Now What?

You can't just change the locks

Tempting, but no. Don't padlock the unit. Don't cut the water or the power. Don't put their things out on the street. That's self-help eviction, it's illegal, and it can leave you facing charges of your own. Which is a much bigger problem than unpaid rent. However far behind they are, only a court can order a tenant out.

The three-month rule

Article 1673 of the Civil Code gives you the right to evict for unpaid rent. But if the unit is covered by the Rent Control Act, you can't act on it until the rent is three months unpaid and the tenant has ignored a written demand from you. Two months of silence is infuriating. It's still not a case.

Put the demand in writing

Your demand letter has to say two things: pay, and vacate. Both, not one. Send it so you can prove you sent it, keep a copy, and write down the date. That date matters. You get one year from your last demand to file.

Barangay first, then court

Where the law requires it, you go to barangay conciliation first. If nothing is settled there, you file an unlawful detainer case at the first-level court covering your property. It's a summary proceeding, so it's quicker than a normal case. It still moves at the speed of a court, not the speed of your bills.

What actually wins it: your records

All of it rests on proof. The court wants to see what was owed, what was paid, when it was paid, and what you sent the tenant. If that's spread across a notebook and a chat thread you have to scroll through, you're starting on the back foot. This is the boring part of being a landlord that suddenly matters a lot. It's the part MyRentals keeps for you: the ledger, the payment dates, the receipts, in one place.

Keep the records before you need them.