West Virginia Eviction Laws: Notice, Court Process, and Writ

West Virginia eviction laws require a landlord to move through magistrate or circuit court to remove a tenant, and every step from written notice through the sheriff’s lockout is governed by statute. A straightforward case usually runs two to four weeks from filing to a possession order, but skipping notice, using the wrong court, or trying to force a tenant out privately can sink the case and expose the landlord to damages. Here is how the process actually works, what it costs, and where tenants have real defenses.

Grounds a Landlord Can Use

A West Virginia landlord can only file for eviction on a reason the law recognizes. The common ones are unpaid rent, a material lease violation such as unauthorized pets or property damage, a holdover after the lease has ended, and a broken covenant that triggers a right of re-entry.¹

State law does not require a separate statutory “pay or quit” grace period for non-payment, so a landlord can move quickly once rent is overdue. If the lease itself includes a cure period, though, that contract term controls and must be honored first. The stated ground matters because it dictates the notice required, the court path available, and the defenses the tenant can raise.

Written Notice Before Filing

West Virginia Code requires written notice in every case. Verbal notice does not count.² The length depends on the tenancy:

Year-to-year tenancy: at least three months before the end of any lease year.
Month-to-month tenancy: one full rental period before the end of a period. This is not simply 30 days. A notice delivered mid-month does not satisfy the rule because it does not cover an entire rent cycle from one due date to the next.
Week-to-week tenancy: one full weekly period before the end of a period.

For non-payment specifically, the re-entry statute lets a landlord file an unlawful detainer action once rent is in arrears without a separate statutory cure period, subject to any cure language in the lease.¹

One boundary worth flagging: properties covered by HUD Public Housing or Project-Based Rental Assistance carry a 30-day notice requirement for non-payment filings that state timelines do not shorten.

Which Court, How Fast, What It Costs

There are two paths.

Wrongful Occupation in Magistrate Court

Most residential landlords use the summary eviction statute in magistrate court. It is designed for rental disputes and moves on a fast track: the hearing must be scheduled within 10 business days of filing. Magistrate court can hear civil claims up to $10,000.³ Once served, the tenant has five days to file a written response.⁴

Unlawful Detainer in Circuit Court

For larger money claims or more complex property disputes, a landlord can file an unlawful detainer action directly in circuit court. The action must be filed within three years of the unlawful entry or detainer.⁵

Filing Costs

In magistrate court, a possession-only case with no money claim costs $30. When back rent or damages are claimed, the fee scales from $30 for claims up to $500 to $50 for claims over $2,000. A separate $20 civil filing fee applies, so the practical minimum lands near $50.⁶ Sheriff’s service fees are added on top. After filing, a summons is issued and typically served by the local sheriff.

The Hearing and the Judgment

At the hearing, the landlord has to show a superior right to the property and that the tenant’s right to remain has ended. If the tenant never files a response or fails to appear in a wrongful occupation case, the court enters a default order granting immediate possession.⁷

When both sides appear and the court rules for the landlord, the order grants possession and can include money damages for unpaid rent, late fees, and property damage. The court also sets a specific move-out date, weighing whether the unit is furnished and the practical harm to each side.⁷

Tenants who show up without documents often lose cases they could have won. The signed lease, rent receipts, photographs of conditions, and any written communication with the landlord matter here. The hearing is generally the only chance to raise a defense before the court orders removal.

Tenant Defenses

A tenant in a wrongful occupation case can raise any defense that would be available in an ejectment or unlawful detainer action.⁸

Breach of Habitability

Landlords have a statutory duty to deliver and maintain the property in a fit and habitable condition, including working plumbing, heating, electrical, and ventilation, compliance with health and safety codes, and running water, hot water, and heat between October 1 and the end of April.⁹ Failure to meet those duties can be raised as a defense; the West Virginia Supreme Court recognized this in Teller v. McCoy (1978).

There is a limit. The statute says a landlord is not required to make repairs while the tenant is behind on rent.⁹ A tenant who stops paying first and then complains about conditions has a much harder case than one who documented the problems in writing before falling behind.

Retaliation

A landlord cannot file for eviction, raise rent, or cut services because a tenant complained to a government agency about code violations, filed a lawsuit, joined a tenant organization, or testified against the landlord. The West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed this defense in Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout (1988), and the wrongful occupation statute preserves it.

Bad Notice or Procedure

If the landlord skipped written notice, gave too short a period, or filed in the wrong posture, the case can be dismissed on procedural grounds. A month-to-month tenant given only verbal notice, for example, has a strong defense because the statute requires written notice for a full rental period.²

Payment

In a non-payment case, proof the rent was actually paid ends the case. Bank statements, receipts, money order stubs, or written confirmations belong in the file.

The Writ, the Sheriff, and No Self-Help

A judgment does not authorize the landlord to change the locks. If the tenant stays past the court’s move-out date, the landlord goes back to court, and the sheriff carries out the removal.⁷ A writ of possession can also issue on any judgment for the recovery of specific property.¹⁰ When the sheriff executes the removal, statute requires precautions against damage to both the landlord’s and the tenant’s property. The sheriff generally provides notice before the actual lockout.

State law explicitly prohibits a landlord from causing an eviction by interrupting gas, electricity, water, or any other essential service, or by any other self-help measure.¹¹ A tenant locked out or cut off can seek emergency relief and damages, and the underlying eviction case can be undermined as a result.

Belongings and the Security Deposit After Removal

Personal property left behind cannot simply be thrown away. The landlord must post written notice on the property and mail it by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing to the tenant’s last known address, any known post office box, and any forwarding address on file.¹²

The notice must state that the property is considered abandoned and give the tenant at least 30 days from the mailing date to retrieve it. For tenants on active military duty, the window extends to 60 days. If nothing is claimed by then, ownership transfers to the landlord. When abandoned property is worth more than $300 and the tenant or a secured party notifies the landlord of intent to pick it up, the landlord must hold it for up to 30 additional days, and storage and removal costs are the tenant’s.¹²

The security deposit can be applied to unpaid rent and late fees, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid tenant utilities, reasonable costs of removing and storing personal property, and other charges the lease specifies. Any balance goes back to the tenant with a written itemization. If damage exceeds the deposit and requires a third-party contractor, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing within the applicable notice period and has an additional 15 days to provide the full itemization.¹³ Landlords who ignore these rules can lose the right to claim deductions.

Federal Rules That Can Override the State Timeline

Two federal laws can pause or block a West Virginia eviction even when state procedure was followed.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The SCRA bars evicting a servicemember or their dependents from a primary residence without a court order when the monthly rent falls below the federally adjusted threshold. As of January 1, 2026, that threshold is $10,542.60 per month, which covers nearly every residential rental.¹⁴ If military service has materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay, the court can halt the case for 90 days or adjust the lease. If the servicemember cannot appear because of active duty, the court must appoint an attorney before entering default.

Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act prohibits evictions motivated by race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.¹⁵ Tenants with disabilities also have the right to request reasonable accommodations that can bear on eviction, such as aligning a rent due date with when disability income arrives.

Appeals

Either side can appeal a magistrate court eviction to the circuit court. The notice of appeal is filed in the magistrate court within 20 days of the decision. If that deadline passes, the circuit court can still grant an appeal up to 90 days after judgment for good cause. Filing requires an appeal bond and a circuit court filing fee, and the appealing party must then file a petition for appeal with the circuit clerk and ask for a hearing date.¹⁶

One trap for tenants: if the lease term has already expired and the tenant wins on appeal, the remedy is limited to money damages. The tenant is not restored to possession once the lease period has run out, unless the case involved retaliation or a breach of the warranty of habitability. During the appeal itself, a tenant whose lease has expired has no right to remain in the unit.

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-6-19 – Right of Reentry; Ejectment; Unlawful Detainer; Judgment by Default
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-6-5 – Notice to Terminate Tenancy
3
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 50-2-1 – Civil Jurisdiction of Magistrate Courts
4
West Virginia Judiciary. Rules of Civil Procedure for Magistrate Courts
5
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-3-1 – Issuance of Summons
6
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 50-3-1 – Costs in Civil Actions
7
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-3A-3 – Hearing and Judgment
8
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 55-3A-2 – Defenses
9
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-6-30 – Landlord to Deliver Premises; Duty to Maintain Premises in Fit and Habitable Condition
10
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 38-4-4 – Writs of Possession and Fieri Facias on Judgments for Specific Property
11
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-15-6
12
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-6-6
13
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 37-6A-2 – Security Deposits
14
Federal Register. Notice of Publication of Housing Price Inflation Adjustment
15
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act
16
West Virginia Judiciary. Information Regarding the Appeal Process