How long is squatters' rights in West Virginia?
Ten years under W. Va. Code § 55-2-1. Since July 2025 the Stop Squatters Act also lets a property owner ask police to remove a squatter on a verified complaint, with no eviction case.
If someone is living in your home now, the clock matters far less than getting them out lawfully, and that is where we can help.
- Statutory period
- 10 years
- What's different here
- since 2025 police can remove a squatter on a verified complaint
- Statute
- W. Va. Code § 55-2-1
Someone living in your home in West Virginia? Dardaris helps you get them out.
Changing the locks or cutting the power turns the law against you. We hand it to people who remove squatters lawfully, for a living.
If they are moving in right now, call the police first. Once they have settled in, it takes a formal process, and that is where we come in.
Your contact at Dardaris
Dardaris is not a law firm and removes nobody itself. If you hire the specialist we introduce, they pay us a referral fee, and you deal with them under their own terms. We pass your details on only once you agree.
- Tell us what is happening, by email or on a call. Talking to us costs nothing.
- We put you in touch with a removal specialist who works through the court and the sheriff, never around them.
- Once the home is free, Dardaris manages the letting for you.
West Virginia's limit is a flat ten years. Section 55-2-1 says no one may make an entry on land, or bring an action to recover it, more than ten years after the right first accrued, and an occupant who holds the land openly, exclusively and against the owner for that long ends the owner's right to take it back. The section itself names no tax payment condition and no shorter route for a squatter.
The Stop Squatters Act changed removal. It is House Bill 2434, codified at W. Va. Code §§ 55-3C-1 to 55-3C-6, in effect since July 10, 2025. It says a squatter is not a tenant, that squatting is criminal trespass under § 61-3B-2 or § 61-3B-3, and that a court shall not require an eviction case to remove one.
The owner or an authorized agent submits a completed and verified complaint to a law-enforcement officer with authority where the property is. The agency checks it, which can include reading an alleged lease and interviewing people, and if there is probable cause that the conditions are met it serves a notice to vacate immediately and puts the owner in possession. The conditions: a residential dwelling or commercial building, not open to the public when the person entered, the owner has told them to leave, they are not a current or former owner or lawful tenant or immediate family, and no litigation is pending between them. A person removed wrongly can sue for restored possession, costs, damages and attorney fees, and an owner who files in bad faith can be prosecuted for false swearing.
Where West Virginia sits against the rest of the United States, in years
Of 50 places in the United States on these pages, 17 have a shorter clock and 18 a longer one or none at all.
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After 10 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
What are the squatting laws in West Virginia?
West Virginia's squatter law comes down to W. Va. Code § 55-2-1: 10 years before an owner loses the right to take land back. What sets West Virginia apart is the Stop Squatters Act (§§ 55-3C-1 to 55-3C-6, in effect July 10, 2025): a squatter is not a tenant, and police can remove one on the owner's verified complaint. Squatting is trespassing. Removal goes through that complaint or the courts, never by changing the locks or cutting the utilities yourself.
How long is squatters' rights in West Virginia?
Ten years, under W. Va. Code § 55-2-1. After that, the owner can no longer enter or sue to recover the land.
What applies to an ordinary squatter with no deed in West Virginia?
The same ten years, with no paper needed and no tax condition in the section. The occupation still has to be open, exclusive and against the owner for the whole period, so permission from the owner defeats the claim. Under the Stop Squatters Act a squatter is also not a tenant and has no right to an eviction case.
Can police remove a squatter in West Virginia without a court order?
Yes, under W. Va. Code § 55-3C-3. The owner or authorized agent submits a verified complaint, the agency checks the facts, and if there is probable cause it serves a notice to vacate immediately and puts the owner in possession. The agency can charge a fee, and the owner can ask it to remove anyone who does not leave. A squatter who causes less than $1,000 of damage commits a misdemeanor, and over $1,000 a felony.
Can I change the locks on a squatter in West Virginia?
No. Changing the locks, removing belongings or shutting off utilities yourself is not the lawful route. Use the verified complaint under § 55-3C-3 when its conditions fit, or the courts. Call the police while someone is still moving in.
Can someone help me get squatters out of my home in West Virginia?
Yes. Removal specialists do it through the court and the sheriff. Changing the locks or cutting the power would put you in the wrong. Dardaris can put you in touch with one, and once the home is free, manage the letting for you.
Elsewhere in the United States
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- See every place
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.