H. B. 2123
(By Delegates Walters, Sprouse and Calvert)
[Introduced January 23, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty, article six, chapter
thirty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to real property;
landlord and tenant; requiring landlords to give tenants
reasonable notice before entering an occupied rental unit;
and defining reasonable notice.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty, article six, chapter thirty-seven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. LANDLORD AND TENANT
.
§37-6-30. Landlord to deliver premises; duty to maintain
premises
in fit and habitable condition; reasonable notice required
before entering occupied unit.
With respect to residential property:
(a) A landlord shall:
(1) At the commencement of a tenancy, deliver the dwelling
unit and surrounding premises in a fit and habitable condition,
and shall thereafter maintain the leased property in such
condition; and
(2) Maintain the leased property in a condition that meets
requirements of applicable health, safety, fire and housing
codes, unless the failure to meet those requirements is the fault
of the tenant, a member of his family or other person on the
premises with his consent; and
(3) In multiple housing units, keep clean, safe and in
repair all common areas of the premises remaining under his
control that are maintained for the use and benefit of his
tenants; and
(4) Make all repairs necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition, unless said repairs were necessitated
primarily by a lack of reasonable care by the tenant, a member of
his family or other person on the premises with his consent; and
(5) Maintain in good and safe working order and condition
all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating,
air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including
elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him by written
or oral agreement or by law; and
(6) In multiple housing units, provide and maintain
appropriate conveniences for the removal of ashes, garbage,
rubbish and other waste incidental to the occupancy of the
dwelling unit; and
(7) With respect to dwelling units supplied by direct public
utility connections, supply running water and reasonable amounts
of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat between the first
day of October and the last day of April, except where the
dwelling unit is so constructed that running water, heat or hot
water is generated by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant.
(b) If a landlord's duty under the rental agreement exceeds
a duty imposed by this section, that portion of the rental
agreement imposing a greater duty shall control.
(c) None of the provisions of this section shall be deemed
to require the landlord to make repairs when the tenant is in
arrears in payment of rent.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "multiple
housing unit" shall mean a dwelling which contains a room or
group of rooms located within a building or structure forming
more than one habitable unit for occupants for living, sleeping,
eating and cooking.
(e) Before entering an occupied unit, the landlord is
required to give the tenant reasonable notice and even then, to
enter only at reasonable times. "Reasonable notice" means notice
of not less than twenty-four hours prior to entry, unless there
is a bona fide emergency requiring entry without reasonable
notice.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require landlords to
give tenants occupying rental units reasonable notice before
entering the unit. Reasonable notice is defined as "not less
than twenty-fours prior to entry, unless there is a bona fide
emergency".
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.