Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in West Virginia

In West Virginia, a landlord must post and mail written notice giving the tenant at least 30 days (60 for active duty service members) to remove property, after which it becomes the landlord's.

Last checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Written notice required: Yes, posted and mailed; Sent by first class mail with a certificate of mailing to the premises, any known post office box and any forwarding address.
Holding period: 30 days (60 for active duty military); If the property is worth more than $300, the landlord must store it up to 30 more days if the tenant or a secured party says they will remove it and pays storage and removal costs.
After the holding period: Unclaimed property becomes the landlord's; The landlord may take, dispose of or remove it without liability once the notice period passes.

Sources

Last checked October 2026

The rules in West Virginia

Does a landlord in West Virginia have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes, posted and mailed. Written notice required in West Virginia: yes, posted and mailed. Sent by first class mail with a certificate of mailing to the premises, any known post office box and any forwarding address.

How long must a landlord in West Virginia keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in West Virginia: 30 days (60 for active duty military). If the property is worth more than $300, the landlord must store it up to 30 more days if the tenant or a secured party says they will remove it and pays storage and removal costs.

What can a landlord in West Virginia do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in West Virginia: Unclaimed property becomes the landlord's. The landlord may take, dispose of or remove it without liability once the notice period passes.

Where do the West Virginia tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from W. Va. Code 37-6-6. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

The procedure applies when a tenant in rent arrears abandons the property and the landlord regains possession after a posted one month notice to pay rent.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.

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