In most states, an eviction starts with a notice taped to the door. In West Virginia it can start at the courthouse. State law lets a landlord file a wrongful occupation petition as soon as rent is in arrears, with no prior notice to the tenant, and the hearing lands 5 to 10 judicial days later (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1). That speed is the defining feature of West Virginia landlord-tenant law, and it shapes everything else here.
The trade-off is a deposit clock that runs long, a habitability duty with real teeth, and a lease that has to do most of the talking because the code stays quiet. Raw numbers live on the West Virginia quick-reference page; this is how they fit together.
From missed rent to a courtroom in about a week
The summary eviction remedy is called wrongful occupation. You file a verified petition in magistrate court (or circuit court) in the county where the property sits, alleging one of three grounds: the tenant is behind on rent, has breached a warranty or leasehold covenant, or has deliberately or negligently damaged the property (§ 55-3A-1). The court must set the hearing not less than 5 nor more than 10 judicial days after filing.
No statute makes you send a pay-or-quit notice first. Two caveats before you sprint to the clerk's window. If your lease promises notice before eviction, courts will hold you to your own paperwork. And a short demand letter still collects more rent than a filing fee does; most West Virginia landlords send one even though the code doesn't ask.
At the hearing, a tenant who doesn't show up or file a responsive pleading loses possession immediately (§ 55-3A-3). If the tenant gets a continuance, any rent coming due during the delay must be paid into court, so the meter keeps running in your favor. The final order sets a vacate date, and the sheriff removes anyone who stays past it. There's no statutory right for the tenant to cure by paying up before judgment.
The sheriff is also the only person who gets to do the removing. Changing locks, cutting power, or stacking a tenant's furniture on the curb invites a damages suit for wrongful eviction that will cost more than the week you saved.
Ending a tenancy without cause
For a month-to-month tenancy, either side may terminate with written notice given one full rental period before the end of a period (W. Va. Code § 37-6-5). In practice that means notice delivered mid-June ends the tenancy July 31, not July 15. Year-to-year tenancies need three months' written notice before the year closes. Fixed-term leases simply end on their date. Compliant notice and petition templates are in the forms library.
Security deposits: the 60/45 clock, a 15-day extension, and a 1.5x penalty
West Virginia caps nothing here; one month's rent is market habit, not law. The rules kick in at move-out. You must deliver the deposit balance, with a written itemization of every deduction, within the statutory notice period: 60 days after the tenancy ends, or 45 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever comes first (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2; the definition sits in § 37-6A-1).
Lawful deductions cover unpaid rent including reasonable late charges spelled out in the rental agreement, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, tenant-owed utilities you ended up paying, and the cost of removing and storing whatever they left behind. If damage exceeds the deposit and you bring in a third-party contractor, written notice within the period buys you 15 extra days to itemize the repair costs.
Blow the deadline in bad faith and § 37-6A-5 awards the tenant the unreturned deposit plus damages equal to one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld. On a $1,000 deposit withheld with nothing in writing, that's $2,500 of exposure over paperwork you could have finished in an afternoon. Rentari tracks each state's deposit deadline for exactly this reason.
Sixty days sounds roomy compared with the neighbors' rules: Delaware gives landlords 20 days, Washington, D.C. allows 45, and Florida runs 15 to 30 depending on whether you claim deductions. Roomy is not optional, though; the 45-day re-rental trigger surprises landlords who turn units fast.
Rent, late fees, and raises: the lease does the heavy lifting
There's no statutory grace period and no late fee cap. But notice the phrasing the deposit statute uses: it honors only "reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement" (§ 37-6A-2). An oral late fee, or one that reads like a penalty, evaporates the moment you try to collect it from a deposit or defend it in magistrate court. Put a defensible number in the lease and apply it consistently.
Rent control doesn't exist anywhere in West Virginia; no city has tried it. Raising rent on a fixed-term lease waits for renewal. On month-to-month, give the same one-full-period written notice you'd use to terminate, since a tenant who declines the new rate is choosing to leave at the period's end.
Entry: the code is silent, so write your own rule
West Virginia has no landlord-entry statute. No 24-hour floor, no list of permitted reasons. That cuts both ways: nothing stops a reasonable entry clause, and nothing protects you if the lease is silent and you let yourself in. Tenants hold exclusive possession, and a pattern of surprise visits feeds harassment or constructive eviction claims. Write 24 hours' notice for repairs, inspections, and showings into the lease, reserve emergency access, and follow what you wrote.
Habitability and the short disclosure list
Since 1978, W. Va. Code § 37-6-30 has required landlords to deliver and maintain the unit in a fit and habitable condition: meet health, safety, fire, and housing codes; keep common areas safe; keep electrical, plumbing, heating, and other systems working; and supply running water, reasonable hot water at all times, and reasonable heat from October 1 through the end of April (unless the tenant controls the installation). The state supreme court's Teller v. McCoy decision made the duty to pay rent depend on that warranty, so a tenant facing your nonpayment petition can answer with photos of a failed furnace and ask the court to abate the rent.
There is no statutory repair-and-deduct right, so the advantage sits with whoever fixes problems fastest. Be that person.
Disclosures are the shortest section in West Virginia law because the state mandates almost none. No statutory meth, mold, flood, or shared-utility disclosure list applies to ordinary rentals. The one that always applies is federal: pre-1978 housing needs the lead-based paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet before signing.
What changed in 2024 and 2025: squatters lost, twice
The legislature left the core landlord-tenant code alone through 2024 to 2026 (the deposit article has been stable since 2011, the eviction article far longer). The action was all about unauthorized occupants.
House Bill 4940, effective June 4, 2024, declared that squatters are not tenants, that no court may force an owner through eviction procedures to remove one, and that squatting is trespassing, letting police act on an owner's complaint (codified in ch. 55, art. 3C).
House Bill 2434, the Stop Squatters Act, signed April 29, 2025 and effective July 10, 2025, built the machinery: an owner can submit a sworn affidavit to the sheriff to have unauthorized occupants removed from residential or commercial property, and new criminal penalties reach occupants who destroy property or people who present fake deeds or list property for sale or rent without title (§§ 55-3C-1 to 55-3C-6).
If someone is living in your vacant unit without ever having had a lease, you now skip magistrate court entirely. Document ownership, contact the sheriff, and use the affidavit route.
West Virginia landlord FAQ
Do I have to send an eviction notice before filing in West Virginia?
Not under state law. For nonpayment, lease breaches, or property damage you may file the wrongful occupation petition directly (§ 55-3A-1), and the hearing follows in 5 to 10 judicial days. Check your own lease first, though; if it promises notice, give it.
How long do I have to return a security deposit?
Sixty days after the tenancy ends, or 45 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever comes first, with a written itemization (§ 37-6A-2). Contractor repairs that exceed the deposit can add 15 days if you send notice. Bad-faith lateness costs the deposit plus 1.5 times the amount withheld.
Is there a limit on late fees?
No cap, but the fee must be reasonable and written into the rental agreement to be collectible from a deposit (§ 37-6A-2). Courts trim penalty-sized fees, so keep the number tied to your actual cost of chasing late rent.
How much notice do I need to raise rent on a month-to-month tenant?
One full rental period, in writing, effective at the end of a period (§ 37-6-5). There's no limit on the amount of the increase anywhere in the state.
Can I remove a squatter without an eviction case?
Yes. Since 2024, squatters aren't tenants in West Virginia, and the 2025 Stop Squatters Act added a sheriff affidavit procedure for removal plus criminal penalties for damage and fraudulent listings (ch. 55, art. 3C). Eviction court is only for people who once had the right to be there.
This article is general information about West Virginia law for rental owners, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and courts reinterpret them, so before you act on any deadline or notice here, check the current text of the West Virginia Code or ask a local landlord-tenant attorney.