West Virginia Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent

West Virginia is one of the fastest eviction states in the country, and it does not require you to send a statutory pay-or-quit notice before you go to court. Once a lot resident is behind, the statute lets you seek removal on the ground that the tenant is in arrears in the payment of rent (W. Va. Code §55-3A-1). There is no fixed number of days you must wait to cure that the state imposes — any grace period comes from your written lot lease, not the code.

Because a resident on a rented lot enjoys a protected tenancy — a single-section home may not be terminated until twelve months and a multi-section home until five years after placement except for good cause (§37-15-6(a)) — you should treat nonpayment as the good cause that lifts that protection. Do it cleanly: serve a written notice of termination that states the reason with specifics, as §37-15-6(e) requires the landlord to set forth in a notice of termination the reason relied upon for the termination with specific facts.

After you file, the court sets the hearing quickly — not less than five nor more than 10 judicial days following the filing of the petition (§55-3A-1). Note that a resident can generally stop the case by paying the full rent and fees before judgment, so keep an exact, current ledger.

Other lease violations and good cause

Beyond nonpayment, §55-3A-1 lets you remove a tenant who has breached a warranty or a leasehold covenant, or has deliberately or negligently damaged the property or knowingly permitted another person to do so. For a mobile-home lot, any termination inside the 12-month / 5-year protected window must rest on good cause (§37-15-6(a)), and your termination notice must again set forth the reason relied upon for the termination with specific facts to permit determination of the date, place, witnesses and circumstances concerning that reason (§37-15-6(e)). Vague notices get cases dismissed.

Do not confuse the three-month notice in the statute with a violation notice. The written notice at least three months before the termination date (§37-15-6(c)) is for ending an ongoing or end-of-term lot tenancy without cause — it is not the path for a breach or damage eviction, and it is not a cure period.

West Virginia does not set a statutory cure-period day-count for lease violations, so whatever cure right exists comes from your lot lease and park rules. Well-drafted, clearly delivered rules are what make an other-violation eviction stick here.

Filing and the court process

You start by filing a verified petition for summary relief for wrongful occupation of residential rental property in the magistrate court or the circuit court of the county in which the property is located (§55-3A-1). The petition must state that you are the owner or agent with a right to possession, describe the property, and identify the ground — the rent arrearage, the breached covenant, or the damage.

The court then schedules the hearing not less than five nor more than 10 judicial days after filing, and you must serve the tenant with notice under Rule 4 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure or by certified mail, return receipt requested; the tenant may file a written defense within five days of the receipt by the tenant of the notice (§55-3A-1). In West Virginia the hearing summons itself functions as the tenant's notice — there is no separate pre-suit notice the state forces on you.

If the court finds wrongful occupation, or the tenant fails to appear, it shall make and enter an order granting immediate possession, the order shall specify the time when the tenant shall vacate the property, and if the tenant overstays the sheriff shall forthwith remove the tenant (§55-3A-3). Only the sheriff enforces — never you.

What happens to the home — West Virginia specifics

The resident owns the home, and West Virginia is strict that you cannot touch it yourself. A landlord may not cause the eviction of a tenant by willfully interrupting gas, electricity, water or any other essential service, or by removal of the factory-built home from the factory-built home site, or by any other willful self-help measure (§37-15-6(d)). Shutting off utilities, changing locks, or towing the home creates wrongful-eviction liability.

Removal of the home is the resident's obligation, and it happens only after the court process. The judge's possession order fixes the date to vacate (§55-3A-3); the statute does not grant the resident a separate fixed storage or removal grace window beyond that court-set date, so the vacate time in your order is what controls.

There is one explicit code window, and it is for an abandoned home: the landlord mails a certified-mail notice of abandonment to the owner and any secured party, and the secured party shall have ten business days to remove the factory-built home (§37-15-4); if the home stays past that, the arrangement converts to a month-to-month tenancy under the prior rental agreement. When a lienholder is involved, coordinate with them early.

Typical timeline in West Virginia

• Day 0 — Rent past due
  No state pay-or-quit notice is required; the only grace period is whatever your lot lease provides (§55-3A-1 lists arrearage as a ground).
• Before filing — Written termination notice
  For a lot tenancy, serve a written notice of termination stating the reason with specific facts as required by §37-15-6(e); nonpayment is the good cause that lifts the 12-month/5-year protection of §37-15-6(a).
• Filing day — Verified petition
  File the wrongful-occupation petition in magistrate or circuit court of the county where the lot sits (§55-3A-1).
• 5 to 10 judicial days — Hearing
  The court sets the hearing not less than five nor more than 10 judicial days following the filing of the petition (§55-3A-1); the tenant may file a written defense within five days of receiving notice.
• Hearing — Order for possession
  On a wrongful-occupation finding or no appearance, the court enters an order for immediate possession that specifies the vacate date (§55-3A-3).
• After vacate date — Sheriff enforces
  If the tenant overstays, the sheriff shall forthwith remove the tenant (§55-3A-3); you never self-help (§37-15-6(d)).
• Mass displacement — Six months
  Terminating more than twenty-five tenants within a single eighteen-month period not for breach requires not less than six months' notice to each tenant (§37-15-6a).

Operator best practices in West Virginia

• Build a relationship with a West Virginia MHP attorney
  The interplay between the §37-15 lot-tenancy protections and the §55-3A wrongful-occupation procedure is technical; retain WV counsel to review your notices and petitions before you file.
• Put every lot tenancy in a signed written agreement
  §37-15-3 requires a dated agreement signed prior to commencement of tenancy, with a copy plus a copy of the article given to the tenant within seven days — a missing lease undercuts every later eviction.
• Draft termination notices with specific facts
  §37-15-6(e) requires the notice to state the reason with specific facts; date, dollar amount of arrears, rule violated, and witnesses belong in writing.
• Never use self-help
  §37-15-6(d) bars shutting off utilities, removing the home, or any willful self-help measure — route everything through the court and sheriff.
• Keep a precise rent ledger
  Because §55-3A-1 hinges on the tenant being in arrears and a resident can pay to stop the case, an accurate, current ledger is your core evidence.
• Calendar the protected-tenancy clock
  Track placement dates so you know when the 12-month (single-section) and 5-year (multi-section) good-cause windows in §37-15-6(a) apply.
• Plan for lienholders on the home
  If a home may be abandoned, use the §37-15-4 certified-mail notice and the secured party's ten-business-day removal window rather than moving the home yourself.
• Use cash-for-keys where it pencils out
  A negotiated cash-for-keys move-out is a common market practice that can be faster and cheaper than a contested §55-3A hearing and protects the home from damage during removal.