The tenant did a moonlight flit to avoid paying the rent.
moonlight flit
idiomAn act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night.
Origin
disputed originFrom moonlight + flit.
When the landlord arrived to collect the overdue money, he discovered the apartment was empty after the tenant's moonlight flit.
Fearing the consequences of his mounting debts, he packed his few remaining belongings and performed a desperate moonlight flit under the cover of darkness.