Skip to content
PayByTown

Breaking a lease in West Virginia

Source: W. Va. Code §§ 37-6-5, 37-6-6, 37-6-7, 37-6-11, 37-6-28; § 15-1F-11 · Checked against the statute

Tenant notice, month-to-month
1 rental period, ending with a rental period
Landlord must try to re-rent
Yes
State early-termination rights
Military service (state law); Unit unlivable or landlord fails to repair; Other

When can I move out in West Virginia?

Choose your state, your situation and the date your landlord will receive notice.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

If you are the tenant

  • Tenant or landlord: A periodic tenancy shorter than a year (e.g., month-to-month) may be ended by either party with notice for one full rental period before the end of any period; the tenancy ends at the end of that period.

Written notice required: Not stated. W. Va. Code § 37-6-5 requires written notice for year-to-year tenancies and allows shorter periodic tenancies to be ended 'by like notice, or by notice for one full period'; it does not expressly say the one-period notice must be written. Giving it in writing is the safe course.

Week-to-week and other periodic tenancies

  • year-to-year, both: 3 months, ending with a rental period. A year-to-year tenancy may be ended by either party with written notice at least three months before the end of any year.

Leaving a fixed-term lease early

No statute sets the general rule. If a tenant behind on rent abandons, the landlord may post a notice, retake possession after one month, and re-let; if the landlord gives the re-letting notice, the tenant stays liable for the difference between the new rent and the lease rent for the unexpired term (§§ 37-6-6, 37-6-7). Legal Aid of WV says a tenant found to have breached may owe vacancy rent, advertising and other reasonable re-renting costs.

Landlord's duty to re-rent: Yes. Legal Aid of West Virginia states a landlord has a duty to 'mitigate damages', i.e., must try to find a new tenant. No statute or Supreme Court of Appeals opinion was located that states the rule; W. Va. Code § 37-6-7 describes re-letting as the landlord's election.

Lease-break fees: No statutory limit; the lease controls (subject to mitigation). For death terminations, any lease clause requiring longer notice than § 37-6-11 is void.

When West Virginia law lets you leave early

  • Military service (state law) (W. Va. Code § 15-1F-11)

    A West Virginia National Guard member called to state active duty by the Governor for 30+ days gets all federal SCRA protections, including lease termination.

    Proof:
    State active duty orders from the Governor for 30 days or more.
    What you still owe:
    Same as federal SCRA lease termination.

  • Unit unlivable or landlord fails to repair (W. Va. Code § 37-6-28)

    If the rented building is destroyed without the tenant's fault and the landlord doesn't rebuild within a reasonable time, the tenant may surrender possession and stop owing rent.

    Proof:
    Buildings destroyed in whole or part by fire or otherwise without tenant fault, and the landlord fails to rebuild or replace as soon as reasonably possible.
    What you still owe:
    Relieved of all rent after surrender of possession.

  • Other (W. Va. Code § 37-6-11(b))

    When a residential tenant dies, the estate may end the lease early; termination takes effect on the last day of the calendar month two months after notice (leases entered or renewed on/after July 1, 2012).

    Proof:
    Written notice by the deceased tenant's heir, personal representative, devisee or assignee.
    What you still owe:
    Estate owes rent through the termination date (last day of the calendar month two months after notice) and restoration costs.

Military orders, every state: the federal SCRA lets servicemembers with orders (permanent change of station or deployment of 90+ days) end a lease with written notice and a copy of the orders. How the SCRA date is counted.

Also good to know

  • West Virginia has no statute letting domestic-violence victims end a lease early; a 2026 bill (HB 5334) proposing one is not in the official code.
  • Legal Aid of WV says that if the landlord breaches the warranty of habitability badly enough (Teller v. McCoy; W. Va. Code § 37-6-30), a tenant may move out without notice, but the tenant risks a suit and should document conditions first.
  • No notice is needed to end a tenancy whose term ends at a set date (§ 37-6-5).

Next steps

Sources

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.