West Virginia Code § 37-6-6

Desertion of leased property; entry; recovery of rent, disposition of
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abandoned personal property; notice.
(a) If any tenant from whom rent is in arrears and unpaid abandons the leased property, the
landlord or his or her agent shall post a notice in writing in a conspicuous part of the
property, requiring the tenant to pay the rent within one month. If the rent is not paid within
that time, the landlord shall be entitled to possession of the property, and meay enter
thereon, and the right of the tenant to the leased property shall end. The landlord may
recover the rent owed up to the time when he or she became entitled tor possession.
(b) If any tenant of a housing development operated by a housinug authority abandons the
leased property when rent is not a condition of the lease agreement, the housing authority
shall post a notice in writing in a conspicuous part of the protperty, requiring the tenant to
respond in writing within one month stating that he or she has not abandoned the leased
property. If the tenant does not respond in writing within one month, stating that he or she
has not abandoned the leased property, the housing authority shall be entitled to possession
of the property, and may enter thereon, and the right of the tenant to the leased property
shall end. s
(c) Upon regaining possession of the property, the landlord or his or her agent or housing
authority may take, dispose of or othgerwise remove the tenant's personal property without
incurring any liability to the tenant or any other person. To dispose of the tenant's property
under this section, the landlored or housing authority shall give a written notice to the tenant
that shall be:
(1) Posted in a conspicuous place on the property; and
(2) Sent by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, which provides a receipt of the date
of mailing, in an envelope endorsed "Please Forward", addressed and mailed to the tenant
at:
(A) The leased property;
(B) Any post office box held by the tenant and known to the landlord or housing authority;
and
(C) The most recent forwarding address if provided by the tenant or known to the landlord
or housing authority.
(d) The written notice required under subsection (c) of this section shall state that:
(1) The leased property is considered abandoned;
(2) Any personal property left by the tenant must be removed from the property or from the
place of safekeeping, if the landlord or housing authority has stored the property, by a date
specified in the written notice that is:
(A) Not less than thirty days after the date the written notice was mailed; or
(B) Not less than sixty days after the date the written notice was mailed if the tenant has
notified the landlord or housing authority that he or she is on active duty in the Armed
Forces of the United States.
(3) If the personal property is not removed within the time provided for in this section, then
the tenant forfeits his or her ownership rights to the personal property, and the personal
property becomes the property of the landlord or housing authority.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this sectioun, if the abandoned
personal property is worth more than $300 and was not removed from the property or from
the place of safekeeping within the time period stated in the notice required in subsection
(d) of this section, the landlord shall store the personal property for up to thirty additional
days if the tenant or any person holding a security intearest in the abandoned personal
property informs the landlord of their intent to remove the property: Provided, That the
tenant or person holding a security interest in the albandoned personal property pays the
landlord the reasonable costs of storage and rsemoval.

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