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Renting a home that was foreclosed in West Virginia: your rights

If you rent a home in West Virginia and it is sold at a trustee's sale, the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is usually your strongest protection: at least 90 days' written notice, and often the rest of your lease. West Virginia's own rule is shorter, letting the buyer end a lease on as little as 30 days' notice in some cases, so for a bona fide tenant the federal floor controls. Your lease terms stay in force during the notice period, and whoever owns the home when you move out must return your deposit.

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Reviewed against West Virginia law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

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Your rights as a renter in West Virginia, in order

  1. Federal floor: 90 days' notice, and your lease may continue

    After the sale

    A bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, and a lease signed before the foreclosure runs to its end unless the buyer will live in the home. State laws that give less do not cut this down. If you have a Section 8 voucher, the new owner takes over your lease and housing assistance contract. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

    Pub. L. 111-22 § 702; Pub. L. 115-174 § 304; 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)

  2. West Virginia's notice rule after a trustee's sale

    90 days, or 30 days before the lease ends, whichever is shorter; 30 days month to month

    State law lets the buyer at a trustee's sale end an unexpired written lease that was not recorded before the deed of trust with 90 days' written notice or notice at least 30 days before the lease ends, whichever is shorter, and a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' notice. If you are a bona fide tenant, compare this with the federal 90 days and your lease, and use the longer protection.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-16(a)

  3. Your lease stays in force during the notice period

    Until the move-out date

    The terms and conditions of your lease remain fully enforceable during the notice period, and if you do not follow them, the new owner can go to court under the state's eviction law. Keep paying rent as your lease requires to the owner you confirm, and keep every receipt.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-16(a)

  4. What the notice must say

    When you get it

    The notice must identify the home you live in, give the date of the trustee's sale and identify the buyer. Use it to confirm who the new owner is before you pay anyone new, and ask in writing for a mailing address for rent.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-16(b)

  5. The new owner must return your deposit

    When your tenancy ends

    Whoever holds the landlord's interest when your tenancy ends, however it got that interest, must return any deposit the original landlord received that is owed to you, even if the old landlord never passed it along. The landlord can deduct only for things the law lists, such as unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear, with a written itemization.

    W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2

Common questions in West Virginia

My West Virginia notice gives me 30 days to leave after foreclosure. Is that legal?

W. Va. Code § 38-1-16 allows 30 days in some cases, but if you are a bona fide tenant, the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act usually requires at least 90 days' written notice, and a lease signed before the foreclosure may let you stay longer. Do not move because of the notice alone; call Legal Aid of West Virginia.

Who returns my security deposit after my West Virginia rental was foreclosed?

The owner holding the landlord's interest when your tenancy ends, which after a trustee's sale is usually the buyer. W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2 makes that owner responsible for a deposit the original landlord received, whether or not it was transferred. Give your forwarding address in writing when you move.

Do I keep paying rent to my old landlord after a West Virginia trustee's sale?

Your lease terms stay in force during the notice period (W. Va. Code § 38-1-16), but the sale changes who owns the home. The buyer's notice must name the buyer, so ask it in writing where to pay, check the county land records if you are unsure, and keep receipts for every payment.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in West Virginia

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What is happening and how much time there is.

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What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

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Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in West Virginia

Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds Deficiency judgments HOA and condo liens Renters after foreclosure (this page)Letters you may get

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Sources for this page

  1. W. Va. Code § 36B-3-116 (lien for assessments)
  2. W. Va. Code § 36B-1-201 (new common interest communities)
  3. W. Va. Code § 36B-1-204 (preexisting common interest communities)
  4. Fleet v. Webber Springs Owners Association, No. 14-0637 (W. Va. Apr. 23, 2015)
  5. W. Va. Code § 37-6A-2 (security deposits)
  6. W. Va. Code § 38-1-3 (sales under trust deeds)
  7. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4 (notice of sale)
  8. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a (statute of limitations for sales by trustees)
  9. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7 (application of proceeds; action to recover a deficiency)
  10. W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106 (notice of consumer's right to cure default)
  11. W. Va. Code § 59-3-2 (legal advertisements; frequency of publication)
  12. WVHDF news release: WV Homeowners Rescue Program closed to new applications
  13. Legal Aid of West Virginia: Foreclosure podcast
  14. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8 (return of account of sale)
  15. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8a (trustee's report of sale disclosure form)
  16. W. Va. Code § 38-1-16 (sale under deed of trust; preexisting tenancy)
  17. W. Va. Code § 46A-1-102 (definitions; consumer loan)
  18. W. Va. Code § 55-3-1 (unlawful entry and detainer)
  19. W. Va. Code § 55-3-3 (return day and service of summons)