Eviction Process In West Virginia

Evicting a tenant in West Virginia means following petition for summary relief for wrongful occupation of residential rental property (statutory alternative to a common-law unlawful detainer action) in Magistrate Court (or Circuit Court) exactly, start to finish. Skipping a step, whether it's the notice period, how the tenant is served, or the lockout procedure, can restart the clock or expose a management company to liability. This guide walks through each step with the statute or court rule behind it.

Everything below is sourced to West Virginia's own statutes and court self-help pages. Specific deadlines and dollar figures do change, so confirm the current text before you rely on a date in a live case.

Overview Of The Eviction Process

West Virginia offers an expedited residential eviction proceeding called a petition for summary relief for wrongful occupation of residential rental property, filed in magistrate court or circuit court under W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1 et seq. A traditional unlawful entry and detainer action also exists under W. Va. Code § 55-3-1 et seq.

• A person seeking to remove a tenant from residential rental property may apply for relief to the magistrate court or the circuit court of the county where the property is located, by verified petition. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• Separately, a person against whom possession is unlawfully detained may sue out a summons for unlawful detainer from the clerk's office of the circuit court or any court of record empowered to try common-law actions. (W. Va. Code § 55-3-1)
• In a wrongful-occupation proceeding, a tenant against whom a petition has been brought may assert any and all defenses available in an action for ejectment or an action for unlawful detainer. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-2)

Lawful Grounds For Eviction

The wrongful-occupation statute defines wrongful occupation as arrears in rent, breach of a warranty or leasehold covenant, or deliberate/negligent damage to the property.

• A tenant is in wrongful occupation if the tenant is in arrears in the payment of rent. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• A tenant is in wrongful occupation if the tenant has breached a warranty or a leasehold covenant. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• A tenant is in wrongful occupation if the tenant has deliberately or negligently damaged the property, or knowingly permitted another person to do so. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)

Notice Requirements

The wrongful-occupation petition itself carries the notice to the tenant; a periodic tenancy of less than one year may otherwise be terminated by notice of one full rental period.

• The petitioner must serve notice on the tenant in accordance with Rule 4 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail, return receipt requested, and the notice must inform the tenant that written defenses may be filed within five days of the tenant's receipt of the notice. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• A periodic tenancy of less than one year may be terminated by notice for one full rental period before the end of any period (e.g., one month's notice for a month-to-month tenancy), unless the parties' agreement fixes some other notice period. (W. Va. Code § 37-6-5)

Filing The Case

The landlord files a verified petition in magistrate court (or circuit court) on the official West Virginia Judiciary wrongful-occupation forms.

• The official petition form is Petition for Summary Relief - Wrongful Occupation of Residential Rental Property, Form MLTPTWR. (Form MLTPTWR)
• The corresponding civil summons form is Civil Summons: Wrongful Occupation of Residential Rental Property or Factory-Built Home Site, Form MLTSMWO. (Form MLTSMWO)
• The petition must state the petitioner's ownership or agency status and right to recover possession, a brief description of the property, and the specific grounds for wrongful occupation. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)

Serving The Tenant

Service is made under the civil-procedure rules or by certified mail, and sets the clock for the tenant's five-day defense window and the scheduled hearing.

• The petitioner must serve notice on the tenant under Rule 4 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail, return receipt requested. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• In the traditional unlawful detainer action, the summons must be made returnable not more than 90 days after its date and must be served at least 10 days before the return day. (W. Va. Code § 55-3-1)

The Tenant's Response

The tenant has a short statutory window to file written defenses, and specific statutory defenses are available in rent-arrears cases.

• The tenant may file written defenses within five days of receiving the notice/petition. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• In a rent-arrearage case, the tenant may raise as a defense that the landlord breached a material covenant upon which the duty to pay rent depends. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)
• Continuances of the hearing are granted for cause only, and are not a matter of right; if a continuance is granted, the tenant must pay rent accruing during the continuance into court. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)

Hearing And Judgment

The court must schedule the hearing within a fixed window after filing, and enters an order of immediate possession if the landlord prevails or the tenant fails to appear or respond.

• Upon filing the petition, the court must schedule a hearing not less than 5 nor more than 10 judicial days following the filing of the petition. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1)
• If the tenant fails to appear or respond, or if the court finds wrongful occupation after a hearing, the court enters an order granting immediate possession of the property to the landlord. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)

The Writ And Lockout

The possession order itself sets the vacate date; the sheriff removes the tenant if that deadline passes.

• The order granting possession must specify the time when the tenant is to vacate the property, considering the property type, potential harm to the parties, and other relevant facts. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)
• If the tenant remains in the property beyond the deadline set in the order, the sheriff shall forthwith remove the tenant. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)
• A landlord may dispose of a removed tenant's personal property after 30 days if storage/removal costs are not paid; an additional 30-day storage period applies if the tenant or a lienholder claims the property. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)

Prohibited Practices

West Virginia's statutory self-help eviction ban located in official sources applies specifically to factory-built home communities; the wrongful-occupation and unlawful-detainer statutes otherwise channel removal exclusively through the sheriff after a court order.

• A landlord may not cause the eviction of a tenant by willfully interrupting gas, electricity, water, or any other essential service, by removing a factory-built home from its site, or by any other willful self-help measure. (W. Va. Code § 37-15-6(d))
• Outside the factory-built-home context, removal of a tenant found in wrongful occupation is carried out only by the sheriff under a court order specifying the vacate deadline; the statute does not authorize landlord self-help removal. (W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3)

Eviction is the last step in a relationship that's already gone wrong. See our guide to West Virginia property management laws and regulations for the licensing, disclosure, and trust-account rules that apply before it gets to this point.

Doing It By The Book

Self-help evictions, changing locks, removing doors, shutting off utilities, are illegal in every state and expose a management company to real liability regardless of how clear the nonpayment is. The court process exists because it's the only lawful way to remove a tenant, and skipping a step (a defective notice, bad service) is the single most common reason a case gets dismissed and restarted from day one.

This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific case, a contested filing, or anything unusual, work with a West Virginia attorney, and confirm the current text of any rule cited above with Magistrate Court (or Circuit Court) or the West Virginia legislature.

Sources

Every fact above is drawn from one of the official sources below.

• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-1, West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)
• W. Va. Code § 55-3-1, West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)
• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-2, West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)
• W. Va. Code § 37-6-5, West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)
• Form MLTPTWR, West Virginia Judiciary - Magistrate Court Forms
• Form MLTSMWO, West Virginia Judiciary - Magistrate Court Forms
• W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3, West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)
• W. Va. Code § 37-15-6(d), West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature)