Has my tenant abandoned the property?

Your steps, 5 of them in this order

• Rule out the reasons that are not abandonmentSilence can mean the tenant is in hospital, in custody, has died, or needs help. If you have reason to think so, contact the police on 101 or the local authority's adult safeguarding team. Do not enter to find out.
• Write to the property and every other address you holdSay what you have seen, ask them to confirm whether they are living there, and give a date to reply by. Keep a copy and the date it went.
• Ask for access in writing, and do not enter without itAsk for access in writing, say what the visit is for, and give at least 24 hours' notice. The access right in section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 is for viewing the condition and state of repair, so it is not a general right to go in and find out whether somebody has moved out. Entering without consent may be trespass or, if repeated, harassment under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Establish the basis for access and get the tenant's agreement where it is needed.
• Photograph and write down what you findPost behind the door, the state of the kitchen, whether the utilities are on, which belongings are there. Dated.
• Keep the rent account runningThe rent keeps falling due, and the arrears figure is what one of the routes below rests on.
• Take a route that actually ends a tenancyTwo separate questions. A tenancy ends when the tenant gives a valid notice, or when the tenant surrenders it and you accept, by agreement or by conduct. Getting the property back is the second question, and where somebody is still living there it runs through the court under section 3 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. There is no abandonment notice that does either, and nothing you decide on your own ends a tenancy.
• Deal with the belongings properlyThey are still the tenant's property and you hold them as an involuntary bailee. Write, say what you have and where it is, and give a reasonable period to collect.

The rent has stopped and nobody has replied, so the first job is to put the position in writing and get inside lawfully to see it for yourself.

Worth knowing before you act. The property is still the tenant's home until the tenancy ends properly, so changing the locks, removing belongings or re letting before the position is settled can expose you to civil and criminal liability under section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. A property that looks empty does not, on its own, show that the tenancy has ended.