Renter rights by state

West Virginia renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

West Virginia doesn't have one comprehensive landlord-tenant act. The rules are spread across the West Virginia Code: security deposits in Chapter 37, Article 6A; habitability and notice to end a tenancy in Chapter 37, Article 6; and the fast-track eviction process in Chapter 55, Article 3A. This guide summarizes those sections as published by the West Virginia Legislature, along with the Magistrate Court's eviction summons form and the Human Rights Commission.

Quick facts

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

• Cap: state law doesn't set a maximum deposit. Pet fees and application fees count as part of the deposit unless you both agree in writing that they're nonrefundable.
• Allowed deductions: unpaid rent (including reasonable late charges in the lease); damage beyond reasonable wear and tear; unpaid utilities the landlord paid for you; reasonable costs to remove and store belongings you left; and other charges the lease provides for, such as a contractor to fix damage you caused.
• Return: the landlord must deliver the deposit, minus deductions, with a written itemization within the “notice period”: 60 days after the tenancy ends, or 45 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever is shorter. If damage exceeds the deposit and needs a contractor, the landlord can notify you within that period and gets 15 more days to itemize.
• Your address: the landlord can hand-deliver or mail to your last known or forwarding address, and it's your job to give an accurate one. If mail comes back, the landlord holds the deposit for 6 months for you to pick up.
• Records: the landlord must keep records of deductions for one year and let you see or copy them within 72 hours of a written request.
• Penalty: if the landlord's failure is willful or not in good faith, you can get the unreturned deposit plus damages of 1.5 times the amount wrongfully withheld (credited against any rent you owe). File in magistrate or circuit court in the county where the rental is. A lease can't waive these rights.

Rent increases and late fees

• Rent increases: the state code sections covered here don't limit increases or set a notice period, so check your lease.
• Late fees: state law doesn't set a cap. The deposit law refers to “reasonable” late charges specified in the lease.
• Abandonment: if a tenant who owes rent abandons the unit, the landlord must post a written notice on the property giving one month to pay before taking possession.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

• Month-to-month (or other periods under a year): either side can end it with written notice of one full rental period before the end of a period.
• Year-to-year: written notice at least three months before the end of the year.
• Fixed-term lease: no notice is needed for a lease that ends on a set date, and a lease can set a different notice period.

When the landlord can come in

West Virginia's code doesn't have a general statute on when a landlord can enter or how much notice is required. Check your lease for entry terms, and ask that notices be given in writing.

Repairs and living conditions

For residential rentals, the landlord must:

• deliver the unit in a fit and habitable condition and keep it that way;
• meet applicable health, safety, fire, and housing codes (unless you, your family, or guests caused the problem);
• keep common areas clean, safe, and in repair;
• keep electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and supplied appliances in good working order;
• provide trash facilities in multi-unit buildings; and
• supply running water, reasonable hot water at all times, and reasonable heat from October 1 through the end of April (where the utilities are directly connected).

The landlord isn't required to make repairs while you're behind on rent. The statute doesn't spell out a repair-and-deduct or rent-withholding procedure, so get advice before withholding rent. Breach of a material duty by the landlord can be raised as a defense in a nonpayment eviction.

Eviction basics

• Grounds: the fast-track (“summary relief”) process covers unpaid rent, breach of the lease, or deliberate or negligent damage to the property. The landlord files a verified petition in magistrate or circuit court.
• Hearing: set 5 to 10 judicial days after filing. You're served in person or by certified mail.
• Answer: the court's summons says you may submit your written answer within 5 days of receiving it, and no later than the fifth day before the hearing. Mail or deliver it to both the court and the landlord. If nothing is filed by the hearing, the court grants the landlord immediate possession.
• Jury: you can ask for a jury trial by notifying the magistrate court in writing within 5 days of service.
• Defenses: you can raise any defense available in an ejectment or unlawful detainer case. In a nonpayment case, the court holds a hearing if you claim the landlord breached a material duty that your rent depends on.
• Continuances: only for cause. If you get one, you must pay rent into court as it comes due.
• Move-out: the order sets the move-out time. After that, the sheriff removes the tenant. Belongings left behind can generally be disposed of after 30 days, with extra time if they're worth over $300 and you say you intend to remove them.

Retaliation and discrimination

Retaliation: the code sections covered here don't include a general anti-retaliation statute, though the eviction statute recognizes retaliatory eviction as an issue on appeal. Get legal advice if you believe an eviction is retaliatory.

Discrimination: the West Virginia Fair Housing Act (W. Va. Code § 16B-18-5) bans housing discrimination because of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex, familial status, blindness, disability, or national origin. The West Virginia Human Rights Commission takes complaints.

City and county rules

Some West Virginia cities have their own rental housing codes and inspection programs. Check with your city's code enforcement office.

Move-in checklist for West Virginia renters

• ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
• ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
• ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
• ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
• ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
• ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
• ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
• ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in West Virginia

• West Virginia Judiciary (magistrate court forms) — eviction summons and answer forms.
• West Virginia Human Rights Commission — housing discrimination complaints.
• Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
• File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

• Legal Aid of West Virginia — free legal help (nonprofit).

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

• W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1 to -6, Security deposits
• W. Va. Code § 37-6-5, Notice to terminate tenancy
• W. Va. Code § 37-6-6, Desertion of leased property
• W. Va. Code § 37-6-30, Landlord's duty to maintain fit and habitable premises
• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1 to -3, Summary relief for wrongful occupation of residential rental property
• W. Va. Code § 16B-18-5, Fair Housing Act
• WV Magistrate Court Civil Summons: Wrongful Occupation (MLTSMWO)

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

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