Free West Virginia Rent Increase Notice

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West Virginia has no rent control and no cap on how much you can raise the rent, and it has no rent-increase notice statute – a rent increase is a change of terms governed by the lease. For a month-to-month tenancy, change the rent the way you end the tenancy: with at least one full month’s written notice before the end of a monthly period (W. Va. Code 37-6-5), and never in retaliation for a tenant’s exercise of a right tied to the tenancy. Generate a clean notice below.

One month (month-to-month) W. Va. Code 37-6-5 West Virginia Free PDF

This West Virginia Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy. West Virginia sets no rent control and no cap on the amount, and it has no rent-increase notice statute – an increase is a change of terms the lease controls. For a month-to-month tenancy the floor is the one full month’s written notice before the end of a monthly period under W. Va. Code 37-6-5, and the increase may not be retaliatory for a tenant’s protected, tenancy-related action (a common-law defense under Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout). Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a West Virginia rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable West Virginia law; retain proof of service.

A West Virginia rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. West Virginia is a market-rate state: there is no statewide rent control and no statutory cap on how much the rent can go up, and no West Virginia city imposes rent control. West Virginia is also not a Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act state – it dissented when that uniform act was approved in 1972 and never adopted it, so its landlord-tenant rules come from Chapter 37, Article 6 of the West Virginia Code together with decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals rather than from a single comprehensive code. What the law does regulate is when an increase can take effect and why it is being made.

West Virginia has no rent-increase notice section of its own. A rent increase is treated as a change of the terms of the tenancy, and the lease controls how and when that change can happen. On a fixed-term lease the rent is locked for the term: it cannot be raised mid-lease unless the lease itself contains an escalation clause, and any increase takes effect at renewal. On a month-to-month tenancy, the landlord changes the rent the same way a periodic tenancy is ended – under W. Va. Code 37-6-5, which provides that a tenancy from year to year may be terminated by either party giving written notice at least three months before the end of any year, and that a periodic tenancy shorter than a year may be terminated by like notice or by notice for one full period before the end of any period. For a month-to-month tenancy that means at least one full month’s written notice before the end of a monthly period before the new rent starts. The same statute adds that it does not apply where, by special agreement, some other period of notice is fixed or no notice is to be given – so a lease may set a different, usually longer, notice term, and a landlord should always check the lease first.

Even with proper timing, an increase can be challenged because of its motive. West Virginia has no statute that bars a retaliatory rent increase, but the Supreme Court of Appeals recognized a common-law retaliatory-eviction defense in Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout (1988). Under that decision a residential tenant sued for possession may assert retaliation as a defense, but only where the landlord’s motive was the tenant’s exercise of a right incidental to the tenancy – for example, reporting a building or housing code violation or asserting the implied warranty of habitability – not activity unrelated to the tenancy. Practically, a landlord should never time a rent increase to a tenant’s protected, tenancy-related complaint. Federal fair housing law and the West Virginia Human Rights Act independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic. West Virginia also recognizes an implied warranty of habitability from Teller v. McCoy (1978): the duty to pay rent is dependent on the dwelling being fit and habitable, the warranty cannot be waived, and the landlord’s duty to deliver and maintain a fit dwelling is reflected in W. Va. Code 37-6-30.

Because West Virginia sets no required method to serve a rent-increase notice, the practical standard is provable written delivery within the notice period – and W. Va. Code 37-6-5 requires the change/termination notice to be in writing, so a verbal increase does not count. Personal delivery to the tenant, delivery left at the premises when the tenant is absent, certified mail with a return receipt, or first-class mail all work; email or text is fine only when the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

There is one figure worth stating plainly because it is often gotten wrong: West Virginia’s notice periods under W. Va. Code 37-6-5 are one full month for a month-to-month tenancy and three months for a year-to-year tenancy. There is no 60-day rule and no 90-day rent-increase rule anywhere in West Virginia law. Put together, a clean West Virginia increase is simple but exact: confirm the tenancy is month-to-month or at renewal, treat the increase as a change of terms, give at least one full month’s written notice before the end of a monthly period (or follow a longer period the lease sets), keep the timing and motive clear of the retaliatory-eviction defense, deliver the notice in writing with proof, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint about the condition of the property. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• No statewide cap on the amount of a rent increase, and no rent control – West Virginia has no rent-control law and no West Virginia city has rent control.
• No separate notice statute for increases — an increase is a change of terms the lease governs; for a month-to-month tenancy give at least one full month’s written notice before the end of a monthly period (W. Va. Code 37-6-5).
• Written notice required — W. Va. Code 37-6-5 requires the change/termination notice to be written; a verbal rent increase does not satisfy it. State the new rent and the effective date.
• No mid-term increase on a fixed-term lease unless the lease expressly allows it; the increase applies at renewal.
• No retaliatory increase — West Virginia has no retaliation statute, but courts recognize a retaliatory-eviction defense (Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout) for action tied to a tenant’s protected, tenancy-related conduct.
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and the West Virginia Human Rights Act).
• Year-to-year tenancy needs three months’ written notice, not one month (W. Va. Code 37-6-5).

• West Virginia sets no required method to serve a rent-increase notice, but the change-of-terms notice must be written under W. Va. Code 37-6-5 — verbal notice does not satisfy it.
• Personal delivery to the tenant, or delivery left at the rental premises if the tenant is absent.
• Certified mail with a return receipt, or U.S. first-class mail, gives a dated paper trail; allow added days for receipt when you mail.
• Email or text works only if the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it; keep the send record either way.

• Giving less than one full month’s written notice on a month-to-month tenancy, or setting the effective date before the end of a monthly period (W. Va. Code 37-6-5).
• Raising the rent mid-term on a fixed-term lease that does not allow it.
• Assuming a 60- or 90-day rule applies — West Virginia’s figures are one full month (month-to-month) and three months (year-to-year); there is no 90-day rent-increase rule.
• Raising the rent right after a tenant’s code complaint or other tenancy-related protected action — that can trigger the retaliatory-eviction defense from Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout.
• Relying on a verbal notice with no written record or proof of delivery.

• Read the lease first — a notice period or escalation clause there controls, and W. Va. Code 37-6-5 lets the lease set a different (often longer) period.
• Give written notice at least one full month before the end of a monthly period for a month-to-month tenancy.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly on the notice.
• Deliver by a method you can prove, and keep the increase clear of any tenant complaint about conditions so it cannot look retaliatory.

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