West Virginia Commercial Lease Agreement

Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

All legal contracts in the US include an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This implies that each party must be honest and act fairly when entering into a contract. This also means that both parties to the commercial lease agreement must show good faith towards each other during the negotiation and signing process.

Statutory Notice Periods

A West Virginia commercial lease agreement must adhere to certain statutory notice periods. It should be noted that the state has stringent eviction laws that benefit the landlord. 

• If the tenant doesn’t pay their rent on time, the landlord can immediately proceed to file for eviction without giving any notice to the tenant. The process will stop if the tenant pays any outstanding rent and late fees before the eviction hearing.
• If a tenant breaks any of the terms of the commercial agreement or conducts any illegal activities at the property, the landlord can file for eviction without any notice. 
• The only notice periods required in West Virginia law are related to the termination policy and will be covered in the section below.

Security Deposits

• A West Virginia commercial lease agreement has no limits to the amount of security deposit that a landlord can charge. Bear in mind that the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealings means that the landlord should set an amount they feel is appropriate. 
• There are also no regulations that govern the returns of security deposits. But, security deposits are typically returned between 45-60 days after the tenant vacates the property. 
• The state also doesn’t have any issues with commingling security deposits and other fees. 
• West Virginia law doesn’t need the security deposit to be stored in an interest-bearing account or that the tenant be paid interest.

Disclosures

West Virginia doesn’t need too many disclosures in their commercial lease agreements. They only need the following legal disclosures:

• Lead-based paint disclosure

Termination and Renewal

• The state of West Virginia allows written and verbal agreements for short-term leases. But, any commercial agreement of a year or longer needs to be in writing. 
• Fixed-term leases will specify an end date. 
• Short-term leases, such as month-to-month agreements, need either party to give notice to end the contract.
• Notice periods will depend on the length of the agreement. Month-to-month leases must provide 30 days’ notice. Any lease longer than one year will need a 90-day notice to terminate.