Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 37 > Article 6A - Residential Rental Security Deposits

• Action: means recoupment, counterclaim, set off or other civil suit and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including without limitation actions for possession, rent, unlawful detainer, unlawful entry and distress for rent. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Application fee: means any deposit of money, however denominated, which is paid by a tenant to a landlord, lessor or agent of a landlord for the purpose of being considered as a tenant for a dwelling unit. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dwelling unit: means a structure or part of a structure that is used as a home or residence by one or more persons who maintain a household, including, but not limited to, a manufactured home. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Facility: means something that is built, constructed, installed or established to perform some particular function. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Landlord: means the owner or lessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which such dwelling unit is a part. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Managing agent: means a person authorized by the landlord to act on behalf of the landlord under a management agreement. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Notice period: means : (A) within 60 days of the termination of the tenancy. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested:

  (A) All or part of the legal title to the property, or

  (B) All or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the premises, and the term includes a mortgagee in possession. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1

• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, group of individuals, corporation, partnership, business trust, association or other legal entity, or any combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Premises: means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is a part and facilities and appurtenances therein and grounds, areas and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Rent: means all money, other than a security deposit, a nonrefundable fee or money paid to the landlord by the tenant for damage caused by the tenant to the dwelling unit, owed or paid to the landlord under the rental agreement. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Rental agreement: means all agreements, written (including an electronic record as defined by paragraph (7), section two, article one, chapter thirty-nine-a of the code) or oral, express or implied, embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Roomer: means a person occupying a dwelling unit that lacks a major bathroom or kitchen facility, in a structure where one or more major facilities are used in common by occupants of the dwelling unit and other dwelling units. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Security deposit: means any refundable deposit of money that is furnished by a tenant to a landlord to secure the performance of the terms and conditions of a rental agreement, or as security for damages to the leased premises. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Tenant: means a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others and shall include a roomer. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1
• Utility: means electricity, natural gas, propane gas, water, sewer, telephone and cable television provided by a public utility or such other person providing residential utility services. See West Virginia Code 37-6A-1