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West Virginia Notice to Vacate Letter

Fill in your details, review the west virginia notice to vacate letter, and edit the wording before you send. Copy the finished text or download a Word file for free.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under West Virginia Code - Notice to terminate tenancy (W. Va. Code § 37-6-5), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on one full month written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in West Virginia

Tenant notice required: One full month
Governing statute: W. Va. Code § 37-6-5
How the clock runs: A periodic tenancy shorter than year-to-year may be terminated by written notice given one full period before the end of any period - for month-to-month, a complete month's notice that expires on a rent-period boundary. Notice given mid-month starts counting against the next full period.
Delivering the notice: The statute requires notice in writing to the other party; hand delivery to the landlord or agent, or certified mail with return receipt, is the safe course.
Fixed-term leases: A fixed-term lease ends at its stated expiration without statutory notice - § 37-6-5 itself makes notice unnecessary where the term has a fixed end date - but a tenant who holds over and pays accepted rent can find the tenancy continued as a periodic arrangement, so follow any notice clause in the lease.

Worth knowing: Year-to-year tenancies require a full three months' written notice before the year ends - a trap for tenants on old oral farm-style or annual arrangements. The statute expressly does not apply where by special agreement some other notice period is fixed or no notice is to be given, so the lease can shorten, lengthen, or eliminate the requirement. Week-to-week tenants owe one full week's notice under the same one-period formula. West Virginia has no statewide rent control and a thin landlord-tenant code, so the written agreement does most of the work.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for West Virginia: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

The statute requires notice in writing to the other party; hand delivery to the landlord or agent, or certified mail with return receipt, is the safe course.
A periodic tenancy shorter than year-to-year may be terminated by written notice given one full period before the end of any period - for month-to-month, a complete month's notice that expires on a rent-period boundary. Notice given mid-month starts counting against the next full period.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in West Virginia?

A periodic tenancy shorter than year-to-year may be terminated by written notice given one full period before the end of any period - for month-to-month, a complete month's notice that expires on a rent-period boundary. Notice given mid-month starts counting against the next full period. The governing statute is West Virginia Code - Notice to terminate tenancy.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in West Virginia?

A fixed-term lease ends at its stated expiration without statutory notice - § 37-6-5 itself makes notice unnecessary where the term has a fixed end date - but a tenant who holds over and pays accepted rent can find the tenancy continued as a periodic arrangement, so follow any notice clause in the lease. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else West Virginia renters should know before moving out?

Year-to-year tenancies require a full three months' written notice before the year ends - a trap for tenants on old oral farm-style or annual arrangements. The statute expressly does not apply where by special agreement some other notice period is fixed or no notice is to be given, so the lease can shorten, lengthen, or eliminate the requirement. Week-to-week tenants owe one full week's notice under the same one-period formula. West Virginia has no statewide rent control and a thin landlord-tenant code, so the written agreement does most of the work.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in West Virginia, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, West Virginia law generally requires one full month written notice from the tenant, under West Virginia Code - Notice to terminate tenancy. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites W. Va. Code § 37-6-5 by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.