West Virginia has no statewide rental license, and unincorporated Kanawha County runs no rental registry. Programs are municipal: West Virginia Code §8-12-16c lets cities register vacant buildings, and Charleston operates a Vacant Structures registry for its older housing stock.
There is no statewide rental-registration or landlord-licensing mandate in West Virginia, and unincorporated Kanawha County requires no rental permit. The county's Planning and Development Department handles building permits, floodplain, subdivision, and property-maintenance enforcement, not rental licensing. Registration programs live in the cities. West Virginia Code §8-12-16c gives every municipality plenary authority to establish a vacant building and property registration and maintenance program, and Charleston uses it to run a Vacant Structures registry aimed at the capital's aging, sometimes vacant housing stock, requiring owners to register unoccupied buildings, carry a plan, and pay annual fees. Landlords everywhere still owe §37-6A deposit duties and habitability.
Outside a city program there is no registration to violate. Under Charleston's vacant-building ordinance, failing to register an unoccupied structure or giving false information draws fines from $250 to $1,000.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
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