Need suggestion on how to evict the tenant legally

Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 3 votes

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

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Michael HaasBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes

@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!

[email protected]408-439-7873

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Will FraserPro Member
Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
HI @Charles D.! I'll give you a short answer and then a longer one:
Short: right now you won't be evicting them. . . you'll have to wait until the courts are open again and evictions are unfrozen.
Longer: refer to your lease for this one. My leases provide me the right to enter the property when I have given 24 hours notice. That right also extends to any contractor I deem essential to providing service. The consequence for preventing entry is a fee. Every time.
So, if you have the key, you should be able to gain entry. If you can't, there are fees associated with it.

Be prepared for the worst, here.  With the courts suspended it will be tough to do anything quickly, so your best hope is reasoning with the tenant, based on the rights established in your lease (subject to your local Landlord Tenant laws)
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Theresa HarrisPro Member
Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
6y
@Charles D. You wife just needs to give notice that she needs to enter. She can tell them why and explain that she will be in an out quickly.
As for the lease renewal, wait on that. Check the local laws about how much notice is required (30-90 days depending on your location) and give them notice at that time-not any sooner.
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Michael HaasBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
6y
@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!
[email protected]408-439-7873
HouseHack Seattle | Michael Haas & Team572 Reviews
Website View Page
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Kyle J.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
@Charles D. On the first issue of the tenant not wanting your wife in the property, I’m going to assume it’s related to the Coronavirus (or at least that’s the reason the tenant will cite). So in that case, just postpone it for now or find another way to get the information (like have the tenant get it for you). This isn’t an urgent/emergency maintenance issue that needs immediate attention. Especially since there’s other ways to accomplish it without entering against the tenant’s wishes.

As to the second issue, eviction is not the appropriate way to deal with the expiration/non-renewal of a tenant’s lease. Typically, you would send some sort of notice of your intent to non-renew and terminate the tenancy. The tenant would/should then voluntarily move out.

Now, if for some reason the tenant refused to move out, then at that point you may need to file an eviction (unlawful detainer) to remove them and recover possession of the property. But not as your initial step.

If you (or your wife) aren’t sure what to do, it may be wise to hire a property manager or at least consult a local landlord-tenant attorney. It sounds like it could be money well-spent.

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Charles D.
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Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 3 votes
6y
Thanks for all the replies. My wife is new to this. I fully agree it is not the time to go to the tenant home because of the lockdown. The tenant is a complainer. The tenant wants to paint the room and put on new flooring and got upset when my wife said no. The flooring is linoleum. Becasue of the lockdown, the tenant maybe wants to do something with the rental house. What is your experience when the tenant wants to modify the rental property himself? Will you allow him to do it? Thanks
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Kyle J.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Charles D.:
Thanks for all the replies. My wife is new to this. I fully agree it is not the time to go to the tenant home because of the lockdown. The tenant is a complainer. The tenant wants to paint the room and put on new flooring and got upset when my wife said no. The flooring is linoleum. Becasue of the lockdown, the tenant maybe wants to do something with the rental house. What is your experience when the tenant wants to modify the rental property himself? Will you allow him to do it? Thanks

I don't allow my tenants to make any modifications to the property such as repainting, installing new flooring, etc. My lease actually forbids it.

There's all kinds of reasons not to allow it (i.e. they rarely/never do a good job, there's no incentive for them not to cut corners since it's not really their house, they could get hurt doing the work, they tend to pick weird colors, if the work doesn't come out good you have have little/no recourse, etc). And there's really no good reason in favor of allowing it.
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Charles D.
OP
Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 3 votes
6y
fully agree
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