West Virginia Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in West Virginia?

West Virginia regulates mobile home communities more tightly than ordinary rentals. If you rent lots to residents who own their own factory-built homes, the tenancy is governed by W. Va. Code Chapter 37, Article 15, and the lease must be in writing, dated, and signed by all parties before the tenant moves in. A verbal lot lease is not acceptable under this statute.

Under Section 37-15-3, within seven days after the tenant signs, you must hand the tenant a copy of the signed agreement AND a copy of Article 15 itself. The written agreement must state the terms of the tenancy and the rent; include your park rules and regulations; include the provisions of the article; describe the physical improvements and maintenance each side is responsible for; and list the services you provide and the fees for them.

The statute also caps what your lease can do: it cannot prohibit the tenant from selling the home, cannot impose recurring charges beyond fixed rent, utility charges, and reasonable incidental charges disclosed in the lease, and cannot require the tenant to waive any right granted by the article. Get the lease packet right up front, because these are hard statutory requirements, not best-practice suggestions.

West Virginia's dedicated mobile home community law (Chapter 37, Article 15)

Article 15, House Trailers, Mobile Homes, Manufactured Homes and Modular Homes, is West Virginia's site-lease statute for communities where the resident owns the home and rents the pad. It sets the rules for lease formation, fees, termination, and retaliation.

On fees, Section 37-15-5 is strict: you may not demand or collect any fee that is not listed in the rental agreement, and you may not charge an entrance fee for the privilege of renting or occupying a site. You also cannot restrict where a homeowner buys their home or goods and services, though you may set reasonable, occupancy-based requirements about the style, size, or quality of the home and other structures.

Termination is heavily protected. Section 37-15-6 requires at least three months' written notice to end a covered tenancy, and only for good cause. A single-section home cannot be forced off the site for twelve months after placement, and a multi-section home cannot be forced off for five years, absent good cause. Section 37-15-6a limits mass evictions of more than twenty-five tenants within eighteen months, and Section 37-15-7 prohibits retaliatory conduct against tenants who assert their rights.

Landlord duties and the fit-and-habitable standard

Separately from Article 15, the general landlord duty in W. Va. Code Section 37-6-30 applies: at the start of the tenancy you must deliver the premises in a fit and habitable condition and keep them that way. You must meet applicable health, safety, fire, and housing codes (unless the tenant caused the problem), keep common areas under your control clean, safe, and in repair, make necessary repairs, and keep supplied electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning facilities in good and safe working order.

Where you supply them, you must provide running water, reasonable hot water, and reasonable heat from October 1 through April 30. In a lot-only community this duty runs to what the park actually controls, such as roads, water and sewer connections, and common areas, rather than the interior of a resident-owned home. If your lease promises more than the statute requires, the greater promise controls, so write park-service commitments carefully.

Security deposits: the 60-day rule

Article 15 does not set its own deposit deadline, so West Virginia's general deposit law in W. Va. Code Sections 37-6A-1 to 37-6A-5 governs. The key deadline is the notice period in Section 37-6A-1: you must act within 60 days of the tenancy ending, or within 45 days of a new tenant taking the space, whichever is shorter.

Within that window, Section 37-6A-2 requires you to return the deposit and, if you are keeping any of it, deliver a written itemization of the damages or charges. Delivery must be by personal delivery or by mail to the tenant's last known or forwarding address. If repairs require a third-party contractor, you get an additional fifteen days to provide the itemized cost.

Do not withhold deposits loosely. Under Section 37-6A-5, if your noncompliance is willful or not in good faith, the tenant can recover the unreturned deposit plus damages equal to one and one-half times the amount wrongfully withheld, offset against any rent the tenant owes. Document move-in and move-out condition to defend any deduction.

Lease requirements at a glance in West Virginia

• Written lease required
  The lot lease must be written, dated, and signed by all parties before the tenant moves in (Section 37-15-3). Verbal lot leases do not satisfy the statute.
• Deliver copies within 7 days
  Give the tenant a copy of the signed agreement and a copy of Article 15 within seven days after signing (Section 37-15-3).
• Mandatory lease contents
  State the terms and rent, attach park rules, include the article, describe each party's improvements and maintenance duties, and list services and their fees (Section 37-15-3).
• No hidden or entrance fees
  You may not charge any fee not listed in the lease, and you may not charge an entrance fee to rent a site (Section 37-15-5).
• No prohibited terms
  The lease cannot block a home sale, cannot add recurring charges beyond fixed rent/utility/reasonable incidental charges, and cannot waive tenant rights (Section 37-15-3).
• Three months' notice, good cause
  Terminate a covered tenancy only for good cause with at least three months' written notice (Section 37-15-6).
• Removal protection
  A single-section home cannot be forced off for 12 months and a multi-section home for 5 years after placement, absent good cause (Section 37-15-6).
• Fit and habitable premises
  Maintain the premises you control in a fit and habitable condition, meeting applicable codes and keeping supplied utilities in working order (Section 37-6-30).
• Deposit return in 60 days
  Return the deposit or a written itemization within 60 days of termination (or 45 days after re-rental, whichever is shorter) (Sections 37-6A-1, 37-6A-2).
• Deposit penalty
  Willful or bad-faith withholding exposes you to the deposit plus 1.5x the amount wrongfully withheld (Section 37-6A-5).

Operator best practices in West Virginia

• Build a relationship with a West Virginia MHP attorney
  Article 15's fee limits, termination timelines, and mass-eviction rules carry real penalties. Have WV counsel review your lease template and any termination before you serve notice.
• Use one compliant lease packet
  Bundle the signed lease, park rules, the full text of Article 15, the improvement/maintenance description, and a fee schedule, then deliver copies within seven days every time.
• Disclose every fee in the lease
  If a charge is not written into the agreement, you cannot collect it, and entrance fees are banned. Audit your fee list so nothing lives only in a side policy.
• Calendar termination timelines
  Track placement dates so you honor the 12-month single-section and 5-year multi-section protections, and never issue less than three months' good-cause notice.
• Document move-in and move-out condition
  Photograph each lot at turnover and keep dated records so any deposit deduction survives the Section 37-6A-5 willful-withholding penalty.
• Run the 60-day deposit clock deliberately
  Set a reminder at move-out to return the deposit or mail a written itemization within the notice period, and use the 15-day contractor extension only when genuinely needed.
• Keep park-controlled infrastructure maintained
  Roads, water and sewer connections, and common areas fall under your Section 37-6-30 duty, so log maintenance and respond to repair requests promptly.
• Avoid anything that looks retaliatory
  Section 37-15-7 bars retaliation. Do not raise fees, restrict services, or move to terminate right after a tenant complaint or code report.