West Virginia HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
West Virginia governs its common interest communities through one main statute. The West Virginia Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, W. Va. Code ch. 36B, controls associations created under recorded declarations and sets the rules for association powers, assessments, budgets, resale disclosures, and declarant rights.1 Chapter 36B speaks in terms of common interest communities, condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities. Chapter 36A sits alongside it as a separate Code chapter that still covers condominiums and unit property.2,3
HOA disputes start in circuit court, West Virginia's trial court of general jurisdiction. From there, parties take appeals to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, and where the law allows, to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.4,5,6 The Intermediate Court opened on July 1, 2022, so older West Virginia association cases predate that middle appellate layer.7
The official state resources reviewed for this page identify no dedicated HOA regulator. The Real Estate Commission oversees real estate brokerage, and the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division handles general consumer complaints.8,9
Recent activity has stayed narrow. Official appellate materials reach Chapter 36B condominium and planned-community disputes, while recent bills target home businesses, accessory dwelling units, association registration, and private infrastructure.10,11,12,13
Within the broader U.S. landscape, West Virginia follows the common-interest statute model: Chapter 36B addresses condominiums and planned communities together rather than through an HOA-only act.14
2. Primary statute and key resources
- West Virginia Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, W. Va. Code ch. 36B. This is the primary common-interest statute, and it governs associations, assessments, budgets, records, and resale disclosures.15
- West Virginia Condominiums and Unit Property, W. Va. Code ch. 36A. This separate condominium and unit-property chapter remains part of the state's association-law framework.16
- West Virginia Judiciary. HOA appeals travel from circuit courts to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, and on to the Supreme Court of Appeals where the law permits further review.17
- West Virginia Real Estate Commission. The Commission regulates real estate brokerage and licensees; it does not regulate HOA governance on its own.18
- West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. The division accepts consumer complaints and investigates unlawful practices involving goods and services.19
4. West Virginia's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
West Virginia's recent bills don't rewrite HOA law wholesale. Instead, lawmakers focus on the boundary between municipal land-use permission and the private covenants that govern communities.
HB 2451 · 2025 Regular Session
This bill makes the use of a residential dwelling for a home-based business a permitted use as a matter of state land-use policy. At the same time, it carves out one important limit: that permission does not override deed restrictions, covenants, master deeds, by-laws, or other documents that apply inside a common interest ownership community.[20][21]
| Property managers | Separate municipal permission from covenant approval when you review home-business requests. |
| HOA board members | Existing recorded use restrictions still drive the board's analysis. |
| Community association attorneys | Read the declaration before treating the statute as controlling inside an association. |
| Homeowners | State land-use permission does not erase recorded community restrictions. |
SB 659 · 2026 Regular Session
This bill prohibits municipalities from adopting policies, regulations, or ordinances that block at least one ADU by right on a single-family parcel. It preserves private restrictive covenants and agreements, and it voids conflicting municipal policies on and after January 1, 2027, to the extent of the conflict.[22][23][24]
| Property managers | Screen ADU requests under both municipal law and governing documents. |
| HOA board members | The statute limits municipalities, not private covenants. |
| Community association attorneys | Draw the line between municipal preemption and private covenant enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Municipal ADU approval may not resolve private covenant limits. |
SB 411 · 2026 Regular Session
The introduced bill would require land use associations — homeowners associations, Chapter 36B unit owners' associations, and Chapter 36A condominium councils — to register annually with the Secretary of State and to update officer or director information within 90 days of any change.[25][26][27]
| Property managers | Keep officer, director, address, and contact data ready for filing if the bill passes. |
| HOA board members | Plan for a possible annual administrative obligation to the Secretary of State. |
| Community association attorneys | Track scope and compliance mechanics before advising clients. |
| Homeowners | Registration could make association contacts easier to confirm. |
Recent Court Rulings
West Virginia's recent appellate rulings test associations against the actual text of Chapter 36B — on assessment exemptions, resale-certificate duties, and the records that hold up on appeal.
Justice Holdings, LLC v. Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association, Inc.
The Supreme Court of Appeals held that Chapter 36B applied to Glade Springs Village, struck down developer-held lot assessment exemptions as a statutory violation, treated those exemptions as severable, and remanded parts of the assessment award for further findings. The practical takeaway: associations and counsel should test assessment allocations, developer exemptions, and budget procedures against Chapter 36B, not against legacy declaration language alone.[28][29][30]
| Property managers | Tie budget, assessment, and lot-class records to Chapter 36B standards. |
| HOA board members | Review developer exemptions carefully before enforcing them. |
| Community association attorneys | Treat severability and statutory variance limits as central drafting issues. |
| Homeowners | Courts may test assessment allocations against statutory limits. |
David G. Maher and Amy C. Maher v. Camp 4 Condominium Association, Inc.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a condominium association and held that Chapter 36B's resale certificate provision did not impose a duty on the association to disclose latent defects to purchasers before closing. The decision narrows resale-certificate exposure when the claimed duty does not appear in the statute, declaration, or contract.[31][32][33]
| Property managers | Issue resale materials against the statute and governing documents. |
| HOA board members | Avoid informal promises that expand association disclosure duties. |
| Community association attorneys | Separate statutory resale duties from tort and contract theories. |
| Homeowners | Resale certificates may not cover every latent-condition concern. |
Michael Walsh v. Beaver Ridge Resort Condo Unit Owners' Association
The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed a circuit court judgment for unpaid maintenance fees, special assessments, fines, late fees, interest, attorney fees, and costs after the appellant failed to provide a record showing reversible error. For associations, the case drives home a basic point: collections litigation rises or falls on preserved records, governing-document authority, and a complete appellate record.[34][35][36]
| Property managers | Preserve ledgers, notices, minutes, and assessment authority. |
| HOA board members | Back collections decisions with clear records. |
| Community association attorneys | Record designation can decide the appeal as much as the merits. |
| Homeowners | Appeals require a record that shows legal or factual error. |
Regulatory Developments
West Virginia has no dedicated HOA regulator. The Real Estate Commission oversees brokerage and licensees, while the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division receives general consumer complaints.
West Virginia Real Estate Commission & Attorney General
The Real Estate Commission's complaint framework reaches real estate licensees, not HOA governance itself. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division investigates unlawful practices involving goods and services. The official resources reviewed for this page surfaced no HOA-specific regulatory enforcement development.[37][38][39][40]
| Property managers | Route licensing concerns to the Real Estate Commission and consumer-trade concerns to the Attorney General. |
| HOA board members | No state agency supervises HOA governance directly — governing documents still drive the work. |
| Community association attorneys | Match the dispute to the correct agency lane before filing a complaint. |
| Homeowners | The Attorney General accepts complaints but does not act as your private attorney. |
Active Policy Debates
What we're seeing in West Virginia right now isn't a push for a brand-new HOA code, but a focus on administrative transparency and private infrastructure. SB 411 would create registration duties for land use associations, and HB 4040 would create Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Associations governed by Chapter 36B for defined road and infrastructure functions.41,42 Signed land-use statutes on home businesses and ADUs preserve private restrictive covenants, so the near-term debate will turn on conflicts between public land-use permission and recorded documents.43,44
5. Closing note
Our look at West Virginia is ongoing. We'll be here as new bills move through the legislature and as the appellate courts weigh in on new disputes. Beyond Charleston, federal frameworks — the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, the FDCPA, the SCRA, and the FCC's OTARD rule — also apply to every West Virginia association. We'll cover those federal layers in more detail as we build out our upcoming sections.45,46,47,48,49
Footnotes
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36B, Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act ↩
- West Virginia Code §36B-1-103, Definitions ↩
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36A, Condominiums and Unit Property ↩
- West Virginia Judiciary, Circuit Courts ↩
- West Virginia Judiciary, Intermediate Court of Appeals ↩
- West Virginia Judiciary, Supreme Court of Appeals ↩
- West Virginia Judiciary, Intermediate Court of Appeals, opening date and jurisdiction ↩
- West Virginia Real Estate Commission, About Us ↩
- West Virginia Attorney General, File a Complaint with the Consumer Protection Division ↩
- Justice Holdings, LLC v. Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 22-0002 ↩
- Maher v. Camp 4 Condominium Association, Inc., No. 22-ICA-249 ↩
- Walsh v. Beaver Ridge Resort Condo Unit Owners' Association, No. 25-ICA-77 ↩
- Senate Bill 411, 2026 Regular Session, Introduced Version ↩
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36B, Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act ↩
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36B, Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act ↩
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36A, Condominiums and Unit Property ↩
- West Virginia Judiciary, Court System Resources ↩
- West Virginia Real Estate Commission, About Us ↩
- West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill 2451, 2025 Regular Session ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill 2451, §8-40-2, 2025 Regular Session ↩
- Senate Bill 659, 2026 Regular Session, Bill History ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 659, §8-40-2, 2026 Regular Session ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 659, §8-40-3, 2026 Regular Session ↩
- Senate Bill 411, 2026 Regular Session, Bill History ↩
- Senate Bill 411, 2026 Regular Session, Status and Last Action ↩
- Senate Bill 411, West Virginia Land Use Association Registration Act, Introduced Version ↩
- Justice Holdings, LLC v. Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 22-0002, opinion filed June 15, 2023 ↩
- Justice Holdings, LLC v. Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 22-0002, holding and disposition ↩
- Justice Holdings, LLC v. Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 22-0002, Chapter 36B analysis ↩
- Maher v. Camp 4 Condominium Association, Inc., No. 22-ICA-249, opinion filed Nov. 15, 2023 ↩
- Maher v. Camp 4 Condominium Association, Inc., No. 22-ICA-249, resale certificate analysis ↩
- Maher v. Camp 4 Condominium Association, Inc., No. 22-ICA-249, duty and remedies analysis ↩
- Walsh v. Beaver Ridge Resort Condo Unit Owners' Association, No. 25-ICA-77, memorandum decision filed Aug. 29, 2025 ↩
- Walsh v. Beaver Ridge Resort Condo Unit Owners' Association, No. 25-ICA-77, judgment and record analysis ↩
- Walsh v. Beaver Ridge Resort Condo Unit Owners' Association, No. 25-ICA-77, appellate record discussion ↩
- West Virginia Real Estate Commission, agency scope and licensing materials ↩
- West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division complaint resources ↩
- West Virginia Real Estate Commission, real estate brokerage regulation ↩
- West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division ↩
- Senate Bill 411, West Virginia Land Use Association Registration Act, Introduced Version ↩
- House Bill 4040, Non-State Owned Roads Improvement Act, Committee Substitute ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill 2451, covenant-preservation language ↩
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 659, private covenant language ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act Overview ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 12 CFR Part 1006, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Regulation F ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩