Security Deposit Law
What West Virginia landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 16, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
No statutory limit on the security deposit amount.
Interest
No interest is required on security deposits.
Return deadline
Within the statutory 'notice period': 60 days after the tenancy ends, or 45 days after a new tenant moves in — whichever is shorter.
West Virginia's Residential Rental Security Deposits article (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1 et seq.) sets no maximum deposit. It defines a security deposit as 'any refundable deposit of money that is furnished by a tenant to a landlord to secure the performance of the terms and conditions of a rental agreement, or as security for damages to the leased premises' — and a pet fee or application fee counts as part of the deposit unless the parties 'expressly agree, in writing,' that it is nonrefundable.
Nothing in W. Va. Code §§ 37-6A-1 through 37-6A-6 requires a landlord to pay or credit interest on a residential security deposit.
The deposit (minus deductions) must be delivered 'together with a written itemization' of damages or charges. § 37-6A-1(7) defines the notice period as '(A) within 60 days of the termination of the tenancy; or (B) within 45 days of the occupation of the premise by a subsequent tenant, whichever time period is shorter.' If damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor, written notice of that fact within the notice period gives the landlord 'an additional fifteen day period to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair' (§ 37-6A-2(c)). Delivery may be by personal delivery or by mail to the tenant's last known or forwarding address; if mail comes back non-deliverable, the landlord must hold the deposit or notice for six months and hand it over within 72 hours of the tenant's written request (§ 37-6A-2(g)).
W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(a), (c), (g) · W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1(7)
West Virginia does not require deposits to be held in a separate or escrow account. The landlord must instead 'maintain and itemize records for each tenant of all deductions from security deposits... for one year after the termination of the tenancy' and let the tenant inspect or get a copy of those records within 72 hours of a written request (§ 37-6A-3).
If a landlord fails to comply with any provision of the article and the noncompliance is 'willful or not in good faith,' the tenant is entitled to a judgment for 'the amount of any unreturned security deposit' plus damages for annoyance or inconvenience 'equal to one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld' — though if the tenant owes rent, the court credits that award against the rent due (§ 37-6A-5(a)). Separately, lease clauses waiving the tenant's rights under the article are unenforceable, and a landlord who sues to enforce one is liable for the tenant's actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 37-6A-4).
No West Virginia municipality is known to impose its own residential security deposit ordinance; Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown rental regulations defer to the state article. None of the commonly cited overlay cities (Seattle, Portland OR, Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore) are in West Virginia.
Upon termination of the tenancy, the deposit minus deductions 'shall be delivered to the tenant, together with a written itemization' of any damages or charges. The deadline is 60 days from termination or 45 days from a new tenant's occupation, whichever is shorter — so re-renting quickly shortens your clock.
The deposit may be applied only to: (1) rent due, 'including the reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement'; (2) damages from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement, 'less reasonable wear and tear'; (3) 'unpaid utilities that were billed to and paid by the landlord, are the obligation of the tenant under the rental agreement and unpaid by the tenant'; (4) reasonable costs of removing and storing the tenant's personal property; and (5) 'other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement,' a catch-all that expressly includes (but is not limited to) paying a third-party contractor to repair tenant-caused damage. Charges under the fifth ground must actually be provided for in your lease.
If damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor, you must give the tenant written notice of that fact within the notice period; doing so gives you 'an additional fifteen day period to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair.'
You must maintain itemized deduction records for each tenant for one year after the tenancy ends, and either let the tenant (or their agent or attorney) inspect them or hand over a copy during normal business hours within 72 hours of a written request.
A lease may not make the tenant waive rights under the article — such a clause is unenforceable, and suing to enforce it exposes you to the tenant's actual damages plus attorney's fees. Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends must return any deposit the original landlord received, even if the deposit was never transferred with the sale.
The notice period is 60 days from termination or 45 days from the new tenant's occupation, 'whichever time period is shorter.' Re-renting fast can cut weeks off your deadline, and a late return that is willful or not in good faith triggers the unreturned deposit plus 1.5x damages.
The fifth deduction ground covers 'other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement' — if a charge (late fees, contractor repair costs, cleaning charges) isn't specified in the lease and doesn't fit grounds (1)-(4), it isn't a lawful deduction. Even late-payment charges under ground (1) must be 'specified in the rental agreement.'
Damage deductions are limited to losses from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement 'less reasonable wear and tear.' Withholding for ordinary aging of the unit is a wrongful withholding that can be multiplied 1.5x if found willful or not in good faith.
The extra 15-day itemization window exists only '[i]f notice is given as prescribed' — written notice to the tenant within the notice period that damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor. Without it, a late itemization is noncompliance with the article.
If mail to the tenant's last known or forwarding address comes back non-deliverable, you must hold the deposit or notice for six months and personally deliver it at your place of business within 72 hours of the tenant's written request. (The tenant is responsible for giving you an accurate address.)
You must deliver the deposit, minus lawful deductions and with a written itemization, within the statutory 'notice period': 60 days after the tenancy ends, or 45 days after a new tenant occupies the unit, whichever is shorter. If damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor, sending the tenant written notice of that within the notice period gives you an additional 15 days to provide the itemization of damages and repair costs (W. Va. Code §§ 37-6A-1(7), 37-6A-2(a), (c)).
No. West Virginia's security deposit law (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1 et seq.) sets no maximum deposit and requires no interest. Note that pet fees and application fees are treated as part of the refundable deposit unless you and the tenant expressly agree in writing that they are nonrefundable (§ 37-6A-1(14)).
Five grounds under W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(b): (1) rent due, including reasonable late-payment charges specified in the rental agreement; (2) damages from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement, less reasonable wear and tear; (3) unpaid utilities that were billed to and paid by you (the landlord) but were the tenant's obligation under the rental agreement; (4) reasonable costs of removing and storing the tenant's personal property; and (5) other damages or charges provided for in the rental agreement — the statute gives paying a third-party contractor to repair tenant-caused damage as one example. For that fifth ground, the charge must actually appear in your lease.
If your noncompliance with the article is 'willful or not in good faith,' the tenant can get a judgment for the full unreturned deposit plus damages for annoyance or inconvenience equal to one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld. If the tenant owes you rent, the court credits that award against the rent due. Suits go to magistrate or circuit court in the county where the rental is located (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-5).
No separate account and no interest are required. You do have a record-keeping duty: keep itemized records of all deductions for one year after the tenancy ends, and let the tenant inspect or get a copy within 72 hours of a written request (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-3).
If the damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor, give the tenant written notice of that fact within the notice period (60 days from termination / 45 days from re-occupation, whichever is shorter). That notice gives you an additional 15-day period to provide the itemization of the damages and the cost of repair (W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2(c)). You can pursue the excess through the courts; the deposit statute doesn't limit other remedies (§ 37-6A-5(c)).
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 16, 2026.
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