Things Left Behind
W. Va. Code § 37-6-6 and W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3 — thirty days' notice before belongings are kept, and thirty more for anything over $300
If a tenant behind on rent abandons the place, the landlord posts a written notice on the property requiring the rent within one month, and if it is not paid, the landlord may take possession.
Posted and mailed. To dispose of what is left, the landlord posts a notice and mails it, marked Please Forward, to the rental, any known post office box and any forwarding address. It gives a date not less than thirty days after mailing, or sixty days for a tenant on active duty who told the landlord, after which the belongings are forfeited.
After an eviction order, belongings not removed by the ordered time may be thrown out if the tenant says in writing they are abandoned or they are garbage, or stored or left in place and disposed of after thirty days if the tenant has not paid the costs and taken them.
If the belongings are worth more than $300 and the tenant or a lienholder says they intend to remove them and pays the costs, the landlord stores them up to thirty additional days. A particular dispute is a question for a licensed West Virginia attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- W. Va. Code § 37-6-6 — Desertion of leased property; entry; recovery of rent, disposition of abandoned personal property; notice
- W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3 — Proceedings in court; final order; disposition of abandoned personal property
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed West Virginia attorney.