West Virginia Security Deposit Demand Letter

It is the written demand a West Virginia tenant delivers to a former landlord who did not return the deposit, with a written itemization, within the notice period set by W. Va. Code Sections 37-6A-1 and 37-6A-2. The letter fixes the sum owed, contests deductions outside the statute, and sets a payment date. Sent before any magistrate court case, it records your request and can flag that a willful or bad-faith withholding adds damages of one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld under Section 37-6A-5.

The demand letter is the informal, cost-free request that asks a West Virginia landlord to pay before a case begins. Magistrate court, which handles the civil claims other states route to small claims, is the formal step you file when the demand is ignored, with the amount in controversy capped at $20,000 exclusive of interest and cost (W. Va. Code Section 50-2-1). Most demands settle the deposit on their own; if yours does not, it serves as evidence you tried to resolve it before filing.

West Virginia measures the deadline as a notice period that closes at the shorter of two clocks: 60 days after the tenancy terminates, or 45 days after a subsequent tenant occupies the premises (W. Va. Code Sections 37-6A-1, 37-6A-2(a)). By then the deposit, minus deductions, and a written itemization must reach the tenant. Where damages exceed the deposit and need a third-party contractor, written notice inside the notice period earns the landlord an extra 15 days (Section 37-6A-2(c)). Once the period lapses with no deposit and no itemization, the demand letter is the usual next step.

Where a West Virginia landlord's noncompliance is willful or not in good faith, the tenant takes judgment for the unreturned deposit plus damages of one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld (W. Va. Code Section 37-6A-5). If the tenant still owes rent, an amount equal to the award is credited against that rent. Naming this penalty in your letter tells the landlord that a bad-faith withholding can add half again as much as the sum kept.

West Virginia limits the deposit to a set list: unpaid rent with any reasonable late charges named in the rental agreement, damages from the tenant's noncompliance less reasonable wear and tear, unpaid utilities the landlord covered that were the tenant's obligation, reasonable removal and storage costs for the tenant's property, and other damages or charges the rental agreement provides (W. Va. Code Section 37-6A-2(b)). A charge outside that list, or one for reasonable wear and tear, can be contested in your demand letter.

Yes. West Virginia requires the deposit to be delivered with a written itemization of any damages or other charges within the notice period (W. Va. Code Section 37-6A-2(a), (c)). Only where the damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor may the landlord give written notice within the notice period and take an added 15 days to itemize the damages and repair cost. A missing or late itemization supports treating the withholding as improper in your demand.

West Virginia keeps no separate small claims court; civil claims within the dollar limit go to magistrate court, where the amount in controversy may not exceed $20,000 exclusive of interest and cost (W. Va. Code Section 50-2-1). Your claim can combine the unreturned deposit with, for a willful or bad-faith withholding, damages of one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld under W. Va. Code Section 37-6A-5. A claim on a written lease may be filed within ten years (W. Va. Code Section 55-2-6).