Need suggestion on how to evict the tenant legally

[Charles D.]

My wife has a house in Tacoma Washington. She is managing the property herself 1st time. My wife wants to check the expiration date of the smog and CO detector. The tenant will not allow her to do to the house to check it. What can my wife do? Also the tenant has been late on the rent and the contract will expire on Nov this year. My wife does not want to renew the contract with her after it expires. What are the steps to evict her legally? Thanks in advance

[Michael Haas]

@Charles D. did the tenant site COVID-19 as the reason for not allowing entry? We've halted all non-essential maintenance on our properties given that Seattle and Tacoma are pretty much on quarantine lock-down. To be blunt here, I think pushing for entry right now for something as menial as checking the expiration date on a smoke detector is pretty darn stupid. Ask the tenant to text you a picture of the smoke detector and call it a day!

The non-payment of rent is a much more serious issue... sounds like your wife is pretty new to this. Did she use a professionally drawn up lease (from WA landlords association or a similar source?). You'll need to defer to your lease on this one. As a landlord in Washington state, know that your ideal situation is always NOT TO EVICT. This is true now more than ever since eviction courts have shut down and evictions are frozen for COVID-19. Try to find a solution and get as much payment as you can until November, when their lease is up and you can simply not renew. 

PS: @Will Fraser has good advice as well, but remember to check our state's landlord tenant laws for the specifics- for example, notice to enter in WA is 48 hours minimum for non-emergency issues. 

Cheers and best of luck!