Security Deposit Alternative in West Virginia
West Virginia sets no ceiling on a security deposit, and the deadline to return it is not a fixed number of days. It is the shorter of 60 days after the tenancy ends or 45 days after a new resident occupies the unit, so re-letting quickly pulls the date forward. Where damage exceeds the deposit and needs a contractor, you have to tell the resident so in writing inside that same window.
What West Virginia law says about security deposits
Read from the West Virginia statute on 2026-09-11. Deposit rules change, and this is general information rather than legal advice. Confirm the current text with your own counsel before you change a lease.
Can you require it of every West Virginia resident?
West Virginia has no statute written for a monthly fee charged instead of a deposit, so the arrangement rests on your lease and the general deposit rules. The deadline is the unusual part. The statute does not give a fixed number of days from move-out; it gives a notice period defined as the shorter of 60 days from the end of the tenancy or 45 days from a new resident occupying the unit. Turn a unit quickly and the clock shortens without anyone telling you. What you may apply the deposit to is a closed list: rent due including late charges in the lease, damage from noncompliance less reasonable wear and tear, unpaid utilities the landlord was billed for and paid, reasonable removal and storage of the resident's property, and other damages or charges the rental agreement provides for, including a third-party contractor's repairs.
Rules differ by state and by city, and subsidized housing is its own question. This is general information for property managers, not legal advice. Get a written opinion before you make the fee a condition of tenancy anywhere.
How the program works in West Virginia
The mechanics are the same in every state Beagle operates in. The program is designed to comply with applicable state and local regulations, and the rate is set by the deposit amount rather than by geography, so a West Virginia property and one two states over are quoted the same way.
The resident chooses at signing
Instead of producing the full deposit, the resident pays a smaller non-refundable monthly fee that is billed with rent. Nothing is held, so nothing has to be returned.
The property keeps its protection
Damage beyond normal wear is reimbursed up to the deposit amount the unit would otherwise have required, so what you can recover does not shrink.
Move-out stops being a negotiation
A claim is filed against the program rather than deducted from money you are holding, which takes the itemised-deduction letter and the dispute that follows it off your team's desk.
You earn on every resident who takes it
You set an administrative fee on top of the premium, up to $5 per unit per month, and keep it.
West Virginia security deposit alternative FAQs
West Virginia has no statute answering that, so a mandatory version is a question for your own attorney. The operational point to raise is the notice period, which shortens when a unit re-lets, and the closed list of things a deposit may be applied to.
See it on your West Virginia units
Run the program against your own unit count, or walk through it with our team. No upfront fees, no onboarding charges, no long-term contracts.