West Virginia Rental Lease Agreement Templates (6)

1.) Non-Refundable Fees: Landlords explicitly disclose all charges tenants must pay at the time of execution that the landlord retains.

2.) Lead-Based Paint (42 U.S. Code § 4852d): Discusses potential dangers of lead exposure from lead paint on a pre-1978 property.

Grace Period: West Virginia does not govern a lease’s grace period; however, it expects compliance with such provisions (W. Va. Code § 37-6-19).

Unpaid Rent: Landlords respond to unpaid rent by filing for possession, prompting:

• The magistrate court to set a court date in 5-10 days
• The tenant receives notice of the court date (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1).

Any late fees must be in the lease at the time of signing; additionally, they must be reasonable (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(b)(1)).

Payees (e.g., landlords) pursue the tenants for up to $25 in fees and the check amount when payments bounce ((W. Va. Code §§ 55-3A-1(a)(3)), (W. Va. Code § 61-3-39e)).

West Virginia permits landlords to determine the security amount they deem appropriate accordingly (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2).

Returning to Tenant: Landlords return the security deposit, specifically, within 60 days of termination, or 45 days of a new tenant’s move-in (whichever is shorter) (W. Va. Code §§ 37-6A-1(7)), (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(a)).

Itemized List: An account sheet of every deduction must accompany the security deposit return whenever the landlord subtracts for damages (W. Va. Code §§ 37-6A-1(7)), (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(a)).

Standard Entry: While West Virginia does not explicitly govern landlord entry, it requires notice before entry to investigate abandonment (W. Va. Code art. 37-6).

Emergency Entry: West Virginia does not require or govern landlord notice in order to access the property in emergencies (W. Va. Code art. 37-6).

Tenants may not deduct rent money for repairs, since they must be current in rent to seek court aid (W. Va. Code § 37-6-30).

Duty to Mitigate: Landlords do not need to mitigate, especially when the lease states tenants remain liable after abandonment. ((W. Va. Code § 37-6-7).

Domestic Violence: Domestic violence victims cannot terminate their lease without court orders; however, they may gain sole possession (W. Va. Code § 48-27-503).

Active Military: Whenever service members must relocate, they and their spouses may terminate a lease accordingly (requires 30 days’ notice) (50 USC 3955).

Landlord Noncompliance: Landlord violations may protect against retaliatory evictions; however, tenants must seek court aid as a cure (W. Va. Code § 37-6-30), (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3(b)).

Landlord Harassment: Tenant may not abandon the property since they should seek a court injunction when facing landlord harassment.

Inhabitability: West Virginia does not allow terminations over habitability; however, when the property is destroyed, they may seek lower rent (W. Va. Code § 37-6-28), (W. Va. Code § 37-6-30).

West Virginia only enforces oral leases for 1 year since any lease longer than 1 year must be in writing (W. Va. Code § 36-1-3).

Generally, West Virginia leaves rent control laws up to its counties.

West Virginia explicitly requires landlords to safeguard any tenant property still present after they regain possession of the property:

• Landlords post a 30-day notice informing tenants to remove their property before disposal, as well as mail tenants a copy.
• Landlords wait an additional 30 days before disposing of tenant property whenever it is worth at least $300 and the tenant volunteers to pay for storage before retrieval
• Landlords must give 60 days’ notice before removing tenant property whenever the tenant is active military (W. Va. Code § 37-6-6(c)-(e)).

An account of the state statutes on the legalities surrounding the relationship between the lessor and lessee is detailed in the West Virginia Code Chapter 37 Article 6.