Senate Bill No. 71
(By Senators Bailey, Love, Oliverio and Hunter)
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[Introduced; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article six, chapter thirty-seven of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
thirty-one, relating to making the destruction of a
landlord's property which has been rented for residential
purposes a criminal offense; providing that damage greater
than three hundred dollars but less than one thousand
dollars constitutes a misdemeanor; providing that damage
greater than one thousand dollars constitutes a felony;
providing that tenants who leave trash when vacating a
premises may be guilty of a misdemeanor if it costs more
than one hundred dollars to remove it; providing that damage deposits be used to offset ascertainment of value of damage;
providing for the determination of prima facie evidence
under certain circumstances; and providing that tenants or
others in privity of contract with landlords or lessors have
a duty to report damage not caused by themselves while,
additionally, providing a criminal penalty for failure to
report the damage under certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six, chapter thirty-seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
thirty-one, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. LANDLORD AND TENANT.
§37-6-31. Crime to destroy landlord's rented residential
premises; misdemeanor offense; felony offense;
requirement to use damage deposit as offset;
prima facie evidence; duty to report damage.
(a)
Misdemeanor offenses. -- In the event of the intentional
infliction of damage, or damage otherwise inflicted in reckless
disregard for the property interests of others, which equates an
amount required for cost of repair or replacement greater than three hundred dollars but less than one thousand, to a
residential leasehold, or any part, fixture, structure or
appurtenance attached thereto, by a tenant or other person
present in the premises with the tenant's permission or
authority, the tenant or other person shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than three hundred dollars, or confined in a regional jail
facility not more than six months, or both:
Provided, That the
court may alternatively order restitution in lieu of a fine, in
the event the court determines it appropriate to do so under the
circumstances.
(b)
Felony offense. -- In the event of the intentional
infliction of damage, or damage otherwise inflicted in reckless
disregard for the property interests of others, which equates an
amount required for cost of repair or replacement greater than
one thousand dollars, to a residential leasehold, or any part,
fixture, structure or appurtenance attached thereto, by a tenant
or other person present in the premises with the tenant's
permission or authority, the tenant or other person shall be
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not more than ten thousand dollars, or confined in a correctional facility for one to ten years, or both:
Provided, That upon a
first conviction under this subsection, the court in imposing any
confinement may, alternatively, confine an offender in a regional
jail facility up to eight months:
Provided, however, That the
court may alternatively order restitution in lieu of a fine, in
the event the court determines it appropriate to do so under the
circumstances.
(c)
Failure to remove trash. -- Any tenant who, upon
vacating the premises of a residential leasehold, leaves trash or
other debris on the premises that reasonably causes or requires
a landlord, owner or lessor to expend in excess of one hundred
dollars to remove, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed three
hundred dollars. The court shall have the option, in lieu of a
fine, to order restitution in a like sum for which a landlord,
owner or lessor was reasonably caused or required to expend in
order to remove the trash or other debris.
(d)
Offset of deposit. -- For the purposes of this section,
any existing damage deposit shall be used as an offset in
determining value.
(e)
Prima facie evidence. -- For the purposes of this section, prima facie evidence shall be determined to exist upon
the viewing by the court of video or photographic images of a
leasehold or a part, fixture, structure or appurtenance of the
property, as it existed immediately before a tenant took
possession of the property, in contrast to the condition upon
which any criminal charge made under this section arose:
Provided, That the court shall find to its reasonable
satisfaction, the subject damage was not caused by normal wear
and tear or simple negligence:
Provided, however, That before
any finding of prima facie evidence of guilt may be made, it
shall be necessary to present, in conjunction with the video or
photographic images, credible and trustworthy testimony or other
evidence concerning the cost of repair or replacement of the
damaged property.
(f)
Duty to report. -- In the event of the infliction or
existence of damage, other than normal and reasonable wear and
tear, to a residential leasehold or any part, fixture, structure
or appurtenance to the property, caused by any person other than
the tenant in possession or other person in privity of contract
with the landlord, owner or lessor, or other cause unrelated to
any duty imposed in this article upon landlords, the tenant or other person, upon discovering or receiving trustworthy notice of
the damage shall, within ten days of the discovery or notice,
provide notice to the landlord, owner or lessor of the existence
of the damage
. Any person who, without good or otherwise
justifiable cause, fails to provide the notice required under
this subsection, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined up to one thousand dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make a criminal offense
for the destruction of a landlord's property which has been
rented for residential purposes. The bill provides that damage
greater than three hundred dollars but less than one thousand
dollars may constitute a misdemeanor while providing that damage
greater than one thousand dollars may constitute a felony.
Failure to remove trash upon vacating a leasehold is also
designated as a criminal offense if the landlord is required to
expend more than one hundred dollars to remove it. It further
provides as follows: That damage deposits be used to offset
ascertainment of value of damage; that a finding of prima facie
evidence under certain circumstances may be made; and that
tenants or others in privity of contract with landlords or
lessors have a duty to report damage not caused by themselves
while additionally, providing a criminal penalty for failure to
report such damage under certain circumstances. This reporting
requirement takes into consideration the tenant or other person's
right against self-incrimination to the extent it does not
require the tenant or other person to report damage caused by
themselves.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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