Month-to-Month Tenancy Termination Notice Requirements in West Virginia
At a glance
| Governing law | W. Va. Code § 37-6-5 governs notice to terminate year-to-year and shorter periodic tenancies. For an ordinary residential month-to-month tenancy, it supplies the state-law default for both landlord and tenant. It does not govern a fixed term that ends at a stated time, and local or federally regulated housing rules may add protections |
|---|---|
| Landlord's notice period | Written notice for one full rental period before the end of a rental period (§ 37-6-5). For a month-to-month tenancy, the landlord must allow one complete monthly period; this is an interval rule, not a flat 30-day rule |
| Tenant's notice period | The same written notice for one full rental period before the end of a rental period (§ 37-6-5). The statute permits termination by either party, so the default clock is symmetric |
| When termination takes effect | End-of-period. The termination must take effect at the end of a rental period after one full period of notice. If a monthly period runs from the 1st through the last day, notice must precede the entire final month; notice given after that month begins ordinarily reaches the end of the following period (§ 37-6-5) |
| Form and required contents | Written notice stating the sender's intention to terminate. Section 37-6-5 requires notice 'in writing' of the intention to terminate but prescribes no additional statewide form, warning, or cause statement |
| How notice must be delivered | For a landlord's notice, § 37-6-5 permits service on the tenant or anyone holding the leased premises, or any part, under the tenant. For a tenant's notice, it permits service on anyone who then owns all or part of the premises, the owner's agent, or according to common law. The current text supplies no mail-specific or posting method |
| What the lease can change | Expressly variable by special agreement. Section 37-6-5 does not apply where the parties fix a different notice period or agree that no notice is required; no notice is required when a fixed term ends at a certain time |
| Just-cause limits | No statewide just-cause condition appears in § 37-6-5: either party may terminate through the prescribed written notice, and the statute requires no reason or cause statement. A landlord still must satisfy the full-period timing and service rules; local ordinances and special housing programs may add stricter limits |
Requirements one by one
Governing law and the notice period
West Virginia uses a rental-interval rule rather than a fixed number of days. Section 37-6-5 says a periodic tenancy shorter than a year may be ended by written notice “for one full period before the end of any period.” Because the section applies to “either party,” the default is the same for landlord and tenant.
When the tenancy ends
The termination date must align with the end of a rental period. For example, if each monthly period runs from the 1st through the last day, notice delivered before August begins can end the tenancy on August 31. Notice delivered during August has not supplied one full August period and ordinarily reaches the end of September instead.
Form and service
The notice must be written and communicate the sender's intention to terminate. For a landlord's notice, § 37-6-5 permits service on the tenant or anyone who holds all or part of the premises under the tenant. A tenant may serve anyone who then owns all or part of the premises, the owner's agent, or use a method recognized by common law. The current statute does not supply a mail-specific or posting procedure.
What the lease can change
The statute expressly yields to a “special agreement” fixing another notice period or requiring no notice. That makes the written lease especially important in West Virginia: check it before relying on the one-full-period default. A fixed term that ends at a certain time also ends without this notice.
What trips people up
One full period is not always 30 days. A calendar month may contain 28, 29, 30, or 31 days. More importantly, the statute requires the entire final rental period, not merely that many days counted from delivery.
The two sides have different service language. The notice period is symmetric, but § 37-6-5 separately identifies who may receive a landlord's notice and who may receive a tenant's notice.
The statutory rule is a default. A special agreement may replace the one-period rule with a longer period, a shorter period, or no notice.
Common questions
What if my rental month runs from the 15th through the 14th?
Use that rental period, not the calendar month. To end on September 14, the notice must be given before the full August 15-to-September 14 period begins, unless the lease validly sets another rule.
Does a fixed one-year lease need this notice when its stated term ends?
No. Section 37-6-5 says notice is unnecessary when the tenant's term ends at a certain time. This page addresses periodic month-to-month tenancies instead.
Statutes and sources
- W. Va. Code § 37-6-5. Written notice to terminate a periodic tenancy; one-full-period timing; who may receive each side's notice; special-agreement and fixed-term exceptions — official current text reproduced in 2026 HB 4570 (accessed July 15, 2026; the bill's proposed posting language did not become law).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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