West Virginia Late Fee Rules

No provision of W. Va. Code Chapter 37, Article 6 caps late fees, requires a grace period, or sets a maximum percentage. Late charges are therefore purely contractual: a landlord may collect a late fee only if the written lease provides for one, and the amount and trigger date are whatever the lease specifies. West Virginia courts apply general contract principles, so a fee that functions as an unreasonable penalty rather than a good-faith estimate of the landlord's loss may be unenforceable, but there is no bright-line statutory limit. Because the rule is contractual, tenants should read the lease's late-fee clause closely, since it controls both the amount and when the charge attaches.

No specific statutory penalty. A late fee not authorized by the lease is uncollectable, and a court applying contract principles may refuse to enforce an unreasonable charge as a penalty.