West Virginia Eviction Process: Notice Periods, Timeline, and Costs

West Virginia is genuinely unusual: W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1 lets a landlord file a petition for summary relief for wrongful occupation without first serving any statutory pay-or-quit notice. The petition itself must state that you own the property or act as the owner's agent, identify the premises, and describe the arrearage, breach, or damage that makes the occupancy wrongful, and it must ask for possession. Because there is no statutory notice, the court filing is what starts the clock. That said, if your written lease requires notice or a cure period before termination, the court will hold you to it, so read the lease before you file.

The same wrongful-occupation petition covers breach of a warranty or leasehold covenant and deliberate or negligent damage to the property, with no statutory pre-suit notice or cure period. West Virginia does not distinguish curable from incurable violations by statute; your lease terms and what you can prove at the hearing control.

W. Va. Code § 37-6-5 requires written notice of one full rental period before the end of a period to terminate a periodic tenancy of less than a year, which means roughly 30 days for a month-to-month tenancy, and at least three months' notice to end a year-to-year tenancy. The parties can agree to a different period, and no notice is needed where the tenancy has a fixed end date. There is no just-cause restriction.

Most residential evictions are filed as a petition for summary relief in the magistrate court for the county where the property sits, though circuit court is available. Magistrate civil filing fees run roughly $50 to $70 under W. Va. Code § 50-3-1, plus about $25 for sheriff service of the hearing notice and another $25 to serve a writ of possession.

The notice of hearing must inform the tenant that any written defense to the petition may be filed and served on the landlord within five days of the tenant's receipt of the notice. If no answer is filed, the court enters an order granting immediate possession to the landlord.

This is one of the fastest processes in the country: the court must set the hearing not less than five nor more than 10 judicial days after the petition is filed, and if no answer is filed the court enters an order for immediate possession. The order specifies when the tenant must vacate, which the judge sets based on the circumstances, so the back end is discretionary rather than fixed.

West Virginia has no statute expressly authorizing a landlord to change locks, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant's belongings, and courts treat doing so as a wrongful eviction rather than a shortcut. The petition for summary relief under § 55-3A-1 is the lawful route to possession, and only a sheriff enforcing a court order may put a tenant out. A landlord who locks a tenant out or cuts utilities risks having the eviction dismissed and facing the tenant's claim for damages and attorney's fees, so the speed of the court process is no excuse for skipping it.

Because there is no statutory notice requirement for nonpayment or breach, some sites publish a '10-day notice' or a generic three-day notice for West Virginia; there is no such statutory requirement, and following a made-up notice period costs you nothing but time. What does bind you is your own lease — if it promises notice or a cure period, the court will enforce that against you. Two other points matter. First, the appeal rules are lopsided in the landlord's favor: under § 55-3A-3, if the tenant appeals and wins, the appellate remedy is generally monetary damages only and does not restore possession once the lease term has expired, absent title, retaliatory eviction, or warranty issues. Second, the hearing comes fast — five to 10 judicial days — so you need your lease, ledger and proof of the arrearage ready when you file, not afterward.

• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1
• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3
• W. Va. Code § 37-6-5