Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in West Virginia
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | W. Va. Code § 37-6A-1(2), (14) defines an application fee and its relationship to a security deposit; Article 6A applies to all residential rental premises or dwelling units (§ 37-6A-6(a)) |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | Application fee expressly recognized; exclusion from the security-deposit definition as nonrefundable requires the parties' express written agreement (§ 37-6A-1(14)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No numeric, actual-cost, reasonable-cost, customary-cost, per-applicant, per-household, or indexed ceiling in the audited statutes |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No fee-component, vacancy, charge-when-considered, multiple-concurrent-application, or repeat-charge restriction |
| Before-screening disclosures | Express written agreement required for nonrefundable status; no special unit-availability, fee-basis, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, or application-order disclosure |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No application-fee-specific receipt, landlord-obtained-report-copy, unused-fee refund, or return deadline; Article 6A's security-deposit return rule is not expressly written as an application-fee refund clock |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No statewide applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process for rental applications |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Article-wide waiver and willful-or-bad-faith noncompliance remedies exist (§§ 37-6A-4 to -5), but no application-fee-specific damages formula; no application-fee local-preemption or stronger-local-law clause |
West Virginia's written nonrefundable-fee rule
West Virginia Code § 37-6A-1(2) defines an “application fee” as money paid to a landlord, lessor, or landlord's agent for the purpose of being considered as a tenant for a dwelling unit. Section 37-6A-1(14) then separates an application fee from a security deposit only when “the parties expressly agree, in writing,” that the application fee is nonrefundable.
That is the state's specific application-fee rule. The current statute does not set a maximum amount, tie the charge to screening costs, limit when it may be collected, or require a receipt or screening-report copy. It also creates no reusable-report, application-order, or state adverse-action-notice procedure.
Coverage and remedies
West Virginia Code § 37-6A-6(a) applies Article 6A to all residential rental premises or units used for dwelling purposes. The same article bars a rental agreement from waiving its rights or remedies. Under § 37-6A-4, an attempted waiver is unenforceable, and a tenant may recover actual damages and reasonable attorney fees if the landlord brings an action to enforce it.
Section 37-6A-5 separately addresses willful or bad-faith noncompliance with the article. Its judgment language is framed around an unreturned security deposit and an amount wrongfully withheld. The text does not provide a separate application-fee refund deadline or an application-fee-specific damages formula.
What trips people up
A defined application fee is not the same as a comprehensive screening-fee statute. Section 37-6A-1 recognizes the fee and states what writing is needed for nonrefundable treatment, but it does not regulate the amount or the screening process.
Do not automatically import the security-deposit return clock. Section 37-6A-2 requires return and itemization of a security deposit after a tenancy ends. It does not expressly state an applicant-stage deadline for returning an application fee. The consequences of omitting the express written nonrefundable agreement are therefore not fully spelled out as a separate application-fee procedure.
Real-estate-license application charges are unrelated. Application, background-check, fee, and refund provisions in West Virginia Code chapter 30, article 40 concern professional licensure and broker administration, not money charged to a prospective residential tenant.
Common questions
Is there a statewide dollar cap? No numeric, cost-based, or indexed maximum appears in the current audited statutes.
Must nonrefundable status be in writing? Yes. Section 37-6A-1(14) requires the parties to expressly agree in writing that the application fee is nonrefundable for it to be excluded from the security-deposit definition on that basis.
Must the landlord provide a credit or background report? The audited state statutes create no application-fee-specific report-copy duty.
Does West Virginia require reusable screening reports? No statewide applicant-supplied or reusable-report procedure appears in the audited statutes.
Statutes and sources
- West Virginia Code § 37-6A-1(2), (14) — application-fee definition and
express written agreement for nonrefundable status.
“Application fee” means any deposit of money, however denominated, which is paid by a tenant to a landlord, lessor or agent of a landlord for the purpose of being considered as a tenant for a dwelling unit. ... Security deposit does not include ... application fee: Provided, That the parties expressly agree, in writing, that a ... application fee is nonrefundable.
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/37-6A-1/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code § 37-6A-4 — prohibited waiver.
A rental agreement may not contain a provision that the tenant agrees to waive or forego rights or remedies under this article.
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/37-6A-4/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code § 37-6A-5 — article-wide willful-or-bad-faith noncompliance remedy.
If a landlord fails to comply with any of the provisions of this article, and such noncompliance is willful or not in good faith, the tenant is entitled to a judgment for ... The amount of any unreturned security deposit; and ... one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld.
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/37-6A-5/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code § 37-6A-6 — residential scope.
The provisions of this article shall apply to all residential rental premises or units used for dwelling purposes.
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/37-6A-6/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code chapter 37, article 6A — complete current article audited for application-fee rules.
§37-6A-1. Definitions. ... §37-6A-6. Application and effective date of this article.
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/pdf/37-6A/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code chapter 37, article 6 — complete current landlord-and- tenant article audited for a separate applicant-screening process.
WEST VIRGINIA CODE CHAPTER 37 ARTICLE 6
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/pdf/37-6/ (accessed 2026-07-21) - West Virginia Code chapter 30, article 40 — complete current Real Estate License Act audited for tenant-facing application and screening rules.
WEST VIRGINIA CODE CHAPTER 30 ARTICLE 40
Official source: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/pdf/30-40/ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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