Breaking a Lease in West Virginia: The Re-Letting Rule You Face

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Breaking a lease in West Virginia is mostly governed by the lease itself, because the state’s landlord-tenant article, Chapter 37, Article 6, has no domestic violence or military early-termination section. If you leave early, W. Va. Code § 37-6-7 lets the landlord re-let the unit and hold you liable for the difference between your rent and the new tenant’s rent for the rest of your term. Servicemembers can still use the federal SCRA, and a few narrow state rules cover destroyed buildings and a tenant’s death.

So in West Virginia, your lease and your negotiating position carry more weight than usual. The rules below show where the statute does help you.

West Virginia early-termination rules at a glance

Rule	West Virginia	Statute
Domestic violence exit	No section in Chapter 37, Article 6	Ch. 37, Art. 6 (section list)
Military exit	Federal SCRA only	50 U.S.C. § 3955
Re-letting after you leave	Landlord may re-let; you owe the rent difference for the unexpired term	§ 37-6-7
Abandonment with rent unpaid	Posted notice gives one month to pay before the landlord retakes possession	§ 37-6-6(a)
Building destroyed, not rebuilt	Rent reduced; you may surrender and owe no further rent	§ 37-6-28
Periodic tenancy notice	One full period, unless the agreement fixes another period	§ 37-6-5
Deposit return	Shorter of 60 days after the tenancy ends or 45 days after a new tenant moves in	§§ 37-6A-1(7), 37-6A-2

The legal exits West Virginia does and does not give

Military service

Because West Virginia’s rental article has no military clause, servicemembers rely on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3955. It applies to a lease signed before you entered military service, and to a lease signed while serving if you then receive permanent change-of-station orders or orders to deploy for 90 days or more. Deliver written notice and a copy of your orders to the landlord or its agent. For monthly rent, the lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date following delivery. The landlord may not charge an early termination fee, though prorated rent and lease charges such as excess wear still apply.

Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking

We reviewed every section of Chapter 37, Article 6, which runs from § 37-6-1 to § 37-6-31, and none creates a right to end a lease because of abuse, sexual assault or stalking. If you are in danger, contact a local domestic violence program and Legal Aid of West Virginia about your options, and ask your landlord in writing for a mutual release. Many landlords agree when the alternative is an empty unit and a tenant who cannot safely stay.

Unsafe or uninhabitable housing

Section 37-6-30 requires your landlord to deliver the unit fit and habitable, keep it that way, follow health, safety, fire and housing codes, maintain electrical, plumbing, heating and other supplied facilities, and supply running and hot water. The section lists those duties but does not itself spell out a lease-termination procedure for tenants. Before you leave over conditions, document the problems, give written notice, and get legal advice so that moving out is not treated as an ordinary breach.

One older rule is more specific. Under § 37-6-28, if the building is destroyed in whole or part by fire or otherwise without your fault, you get a reasonable rent reduction unless the lease says otherwise. If the landlord does not rebuild as soon as reasonably possible, you may surrender possession after a reasonable time and be relieved of all rent after the surrender.

When a tenant dies

Under § 37-6-11(b), an heir, personal representative, devisee or assignee may end a deceased tenant’s residential lease. Termination takes effect on the last day of the calendar month that is two months after the notice is hand-delivered or mailed. The estate still owes rent through that notice period and the cost of restoring the unit.

Breaking a lease in West Virginia: what the re-letting rule costs

When rent is unpaid and you abandon the unit, § 37-6-6(a) has the landlord post a written notice in a conspicuous place requiring payment within one month. If you do not pay, the landlord becomes entitled to possession, your right to the unit ends, and the landlord may recover rent up to that point.

Section 37-6-7 then gives the landlord an option. It may include in that notice a statement that it will re-let the unit to someone else. If it does, you “still remain liable” for the unexpired portion of the term, but only for the difference between what the new tenant pays and what your lease required, along with your other lease covenants.

The statute frames re-letting as the landlord’s election rather than a mandatory duty to mitigate, and we did not find a West Virginia statute imposing such a duty. In practice, re-letting is what turns your exposure from full rent into a rent gap, so it is worth helping it happen: give advance written notice, offer the unit for showings, and refer applicants.

If your lease has an early termination or buyout clause, it may be the cleanest exit. Article 6 has no section governing subletting (assignees appear only in § 37-6-11’s rule on who owes rent), so check your lease’s clause and get the landlord’s written approval before anyone moves in.

A Huntington example

Caleb rents a Huntington apartment for $950 a month on a lease ending December 31. He takes a job in Ohio and moves out June 30, giving written notice on June 1 and paying through June. His landlord re-lets the apartment to a new tenant at $900 a month starting August 1.

July, with no tenant in place: $950 of rent under the lease.
August through December: the $50 monthly gap under § 37-6-7, or $250.
Total exposure: about $1,200, compared with $5,700 if the unit had stayed empty for all six months.

Because the new tenant moved in August 1, the 45-day branch of the deposit deadline means the landlord must return Caleb’s deposit balance and itemization by September 15, sooner than 60 days after the tenancy ended. Try your own numbers with the break-lease cost calculator.

Your deposit after an early move-out

Under § 37-6A-2, the landlord must deliver the deposit, minus deductions, with a written itemization within the “notice period” defined in § 37-6A-1(7): 60 days after the tenancy ends or 45 days after a new tenant occupies the unit, whichever is shorter. That second branch is especially relevant when you break a lease and the landlord re-rents quickly. Deductions are limited to items like rent due, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, unpaid utilities the landlord paid, and charges the rental agreement provides. A willful or bad-faith violation can bring a judgment for the unreturned deposit plus one and a half times the amount wrongfully withheld (§ 37-6A-5). Read more in the West Virginia security deposit guide.

Giving notice and documenting the move

Check your lease for a notice requirement. For a periodic tenancy with no agreed period, § 37-6-5 calls for notice of one full period; a tenancy with a fixed end date needs no notice to end on that date.
Send notice in writing to the owner or its agent and keep a dated copy.
Ask for a written mutual release if the landlord agrees to let you go.
Photograph the unit, return the keys, and give a forwarding address.

Our move-out checklist and how to break a lease guide walk through each step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I break a West Virginia lease because of domestic violence?

Not under a specific section of Chapter 37, Article 6, which has no such provision. Talk with Legal Aid of West Virginia or a domestic violence program, and ask the landlord for a written mutual release.

Does a West Virginia landlord have to re-rent my apartment?

Section 37-6-7 describes re-letting as the landlord’s election, and we found no statute requiring it. When the landlord does re-let, your liability for the remaining term drops to the gap between the old and new rent.

How quickly do I get my deposit back if a new tenant moves in?

Within 45 days of the new tenant’s occupancy, if that is sooner than 60 days after your tenancy ended, under §§ 37-6A-1(7) and 37-6A-2.

What if a fire makes my West Virginia rental unlivable?

If it was not your fault, § 37-6-28 entitles you to a reasonable rent reduction unless your lease says otherwise, and if the landlord does not rebuild within a reasonable time you may surrender the unit and owe no more rent.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your next step is to contact Legal Aid of West Virginia or use LSC’s legal help finder, with your lease and any notices. Compare other states on the breaking a lease by state hub.

Sources

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