West Virginia Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: No statutory presumption window
• Governing authority: None (no general state anti-retaliation statute); Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout, 179 W. Va. 776 (1988); W. Va. Code § 37-15-7 (mobile home only)

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in West Virginia — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

西弗吉尼亚**普通住宅无报复成文法**：55-3A-3(g) 只是上诉抗辩条款；实质报复保护靠判例 Imperial Colliery v. Fout (1988)。

55-3A-3(g) 原文仅「absent an issue of ... retaliatory eviction」——上诉时若涉报复不得恢复占有，非实质报复条款。真正报复抗辩来自判例 Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout (1988) 与 Criss v. Salvation Army Residences (1984)。**无推定窗口**。唯一成文报复法是 mobile home park 的 37-15-7。tenantrightsinfo 明确「NONE for ordinary residential tenants」。

None (no general state anti-retaliation statute); Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout, 179 W. Va. 776 (1988); W. Va. Code § 37-15-7 (mobile home only) ↗

The protection window

West Virginia does not set a statutory presumption window. Whether an action counts as retaliation depends on the facts rather than a fixed clock.

无固定推定窗口（判例 Fout 无时间推定；37-15-7 亦无）。

None (no statutory presumption window) ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

无推定窗口，举证责任在主张报复的租客（判例 Fout）。

Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout (1988) ↗

Remedies

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
None (no general state anti-retaliation statute); Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout, 179 W. Va. 776 (1988); W. Va. Code § 37-15-7 (mobile home only)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
None (no statutory presumption window)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Imperial Colliery Co. v. Fout (1988)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
W. Va. Code § 37-15-7 (mobile home only)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
W. Va. Code § 55-3A-3(g); 37-15-6a	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More West Virginia guides

West Virginia Security Deposit Return · West Virginia Security Deposit Rules · West Virginia Eviction Process · West Virginia Rent Increase Rules · West Virginia Repairs & Habitability

→ All West Virginia tenant rights topics

Common questions