What are squatters’ rights in West Virginia?
In West Virginia, no one may enter on land or sue to recover it more than 10 years after the right to do so first accrued. A property owner or authorized agent may ask a law-enforcement officer to immediately remove a person squatting in a residential dwelling or commercial building by submitting a completed and verified complaint. If the agency’s preliminary fact-finding shows probable cause that the statutory conditions are met, it must serve a notice to immediately vacate and put the owner in possession. The remedy is not available against a current or former owner or lawful tenant, an immediate family member of the owner or tenants, or where litigation over the property is pending between the owner and the occupant, and a tenant who holds over in a periodic tenancy is not a squatter. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is W. Va. Code § 55-2-1; W. Va. Code §§ 55-3C-3, 55-3C-2.
| What | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 10 years |
| Removing an unauthorized occupant | Law enforcement can remove the occupant without an eviction case |
Source
W. Va. Code § 55-2-1; W. Va. Code §§ 55-3C-3, 55-3C-2
Read the statute in the West Virginia Code (West Virginia Legislature): code.wvlegislature.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
More West Virginia rules
- How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in West Virginia?
- How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy in West Virginia?
- What happens if a tenant breaks a lease in West Virginia?
- Do contractors charge sales tax in West Virginia?
- Is appliance repair taxable in West Virginia?
- Is contractor labor taxable in West Virginia?
- Every West Virginia rule on one page
The same question in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii