West Virginia Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, the 60-day return window, notice periods and the wrongful occupation eviction process in West Virginia, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

West Virginia is one of the lighter-regulated rental states. No deposit cap, no late fee cap, no statutory entry notice, no pay-or-quit notice before you file. What the state does regulate, it regulates tightly, and the security deposit article is where small landlords get hurt.

Here is what a West Virginia landlord has to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Security deposits

There is no cap on the amount. Article 6A of chapter 37 governs residential deposits, and it sets no ceiling. Market rates and your lease decide the number.

The deadline is the notice period. Deliver the deposit, minus lawful deductions, within 60 days of the tenancy ending, or within 45 days of a new tenant moving in, whichever comes first. Any deduction goes out with a written itemization of the damages and charges (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1, § 37-6A-2). Turn a unit fast and you shorten your own clock to 45 days.

You can deduct five things. Unpaid rent, including late charges named in the lease. Damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. Unpaid utilities you were billed for and paid. Removal and storage costs for the tenant's property. Other damages or charges the lease names, including third-party contractor repairs (§ 37-6A-2).

Contractor work buys you 15 more days. If the damage runs past the deposit amount and a contractor has to do the repair, tell the tenant in writing inside the notice period. You then get 15 extra days to deliver the itemized cost (§ 37-6A-2).

If the mail comes back, hold it for six months. A deposit or notice you cannot deliver gets held six months. On a written request from the tenant you hand it over in person at your place of business within 72 hours (§ 37-6A-2).

Keep the records for a year. Keep itemized deduction records for each tenant for one year after the tenancy ends. On a written request you have 72 hours to let the tenant inspect them or give them copies (§ 37-6A-3).

The penalty is one and a half times. Willful or bad-faith noncompliance gets the tenant a judgment for the unreturned deposit plus damages equal to one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld, credited against any rent still owed. The case goes to magistrate or circuit court in the county where the property sits (§ 37-6A-5).

You cannot write the rights away. A lease clause asking the tenant to waive anything in article 6A is unenforceable, and trying to enforce one lets the tenant recover actual damages plus reasonable attorney fees (§ 37-6A-4).

Two absences worth knowing. West Virginia does not require you to hold deposits in a separate escrow account, and it does not require you to pay interest on them. A separate account is still the cleaner habit, since it makes the one-year record trail easy to produce.

Late fees

West Virginia sets no late fee cap and no statutory grace period. The deposit statute lets you deduct "reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement" (§ 37-6A-2), so the fee has to be in the lease and reasonable. Put the amount and the trigger day in writing.

Rent increases and rent control

There is no state rent control law in West Virginia, and no city in the state runs a rent control program. Your lease sets the limit on an increase. Raise rent at renewal, or with proper notice on a periodic tenancy.

Entering the unit

West Virginia has no statute setting a notice period for landlord entry. Write an entry clause into your lease. Twenty-four hours' written notice for non-emergencies is the standard most tenants expect and most judges respect.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

A periodic tenancy shorter than a year ends on written notice of one full period before the end of a period (W. Va. Code § 37-6-5). For a month-to-month, that is one full month's written notice from either side. A year-to-year tenancy takes three months' written notice before the year ends.

When rent isn't paid

West Virginia does not require a pay-or-quit notice. Where the right of reentry comes from rent in arrears, serving the unlawful detainer action stands "in lieu of a demand and reentry" (§ 37-6-19). Filing is the demand.

Two things still bind you. If your lease promises a notice or a cure period, keep it. If the lease names a time for reentry, you cannot start the case until that time has run (§ 37-6-19).

The eviction process, step by step

West Virginia calls it a petition for summary relief for wrongful occupation, under chapter 55 article 3A.

File the petition. A verified petition goes to magistrate or circuit court in the county where the property sits. It states that you are the owner or the owner's agent, describes the property, and gives the ground, being rent in arrears, a lease breach, or damage to the property (§ 55-3A-1).
Get the hearing date. The court sets a hearing no fewer than five and no more than 10 judicial days after filing (§ 55-3A-1).
Serve the notice. Serve notice of the hearing under Rule 4 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice tells the tenant a written defense may be filed and served on you within five days of receipt (§ 55-3A-1).
The hearing. If nothing is filed and nobody appears, the court enters an order granting immediate possession. If the tenant answers, the court holds a hearing. A tenant may raise any defense available in an ejectment or unlawful detainer action, including breach of a material covenant the duty to pay rent rests on (§ 55-3A-2, § 55-3A-3).
Vacate and removal. The judge sets the date the tenant has to be out, weighing the type of property and the harm to each side. A tenant still there after that date is removed by the sheriff (§ 55-3A-3).

If the tenant appeals and wins, the appellate relief is monetary damages only (§ 55-3A-3).

Property left behind gets written notice, posted and mailed certified, with a removal deadline at least 30 days out, or 60 days for a tenant on active military duty (§ 37-6-6, § 55-3A-3).

Repairs and habitability

You have to deliver the unit fit and habitable at the start and keep it that way. That covers health, safety, fire and housing code compliance, every repair needed to keep the place habitable, and good working order for the electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems and appliances you supply. On direct public utility connections, you supply running water, reasonable hot water at all times, and reasonable heat from October 1 through the last day of April. Common areas in multiple housing units stay clean, safe and in repair (§ 37-6-30).

Two limits. A lease promising more than the statute controls to that extent. And the statute does not require repairs where the tenant is in arrears on rent (§ 37-6-30).

Squatters

House Bill 4940 in the 2024 session rewrote § 37-6-31. A squatter is someone occupying a unit with no rental agreement and no authorization from the tenant. A holdover tenant in a periodic tenancy is not one. Squatter occupancy sits outside article 6, and no West Virginia court can make you use the eviction process to remove one (§ 37-6-31).

The short version

No deposit cap, no escrow requirement, no interest requirement
Return it within 60 days of the tenancy ending, or 45 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever is shorter
Written itemization for every deduction, plus 15 extra days for contractor repairs
Keep deduction records one year, produce them within 72 hours of a written request
One and a half times the withheld amount for willful noncompliance
One full month's written notice to end a month-to-month
No pay-or-quit notice required before filing
Hearing five to 10 judicial days after filing, tenant defense due within five days of notice

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks the deposit clock, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records a West Virginia magistrate would ask for. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to a West Virginia attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.