Off-Grid Living in Raleigh County, West Virginia

Raleigh County is one of the few places in West Virginia that has actually opted into countywide zoning, so if you're picturing "unregulated WV land" here, I want to correct that up front. The Raleigh County Commission adopted a Planning & Zoning Ordinance (most recently amended July 2025) and a separate Building Code Ordinance, and both apply across the unincorporated county. If you're inside Beckley, Lester, Mabscott, Rhodell, or Sophia town limits, none of this county-level material applies to you directly, you'd need that municipality's own code.

Zoning: Under the county ordinance, you can't build, alter, or change the use of a structure or parcel without approval from Raleigh County Planning & Zoning, and you need a Certificate of Occupancy before anyone lives there. This is a real permitting regime, not a "raw land, do what you want" situation.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: The ordinance handles manufactured homes, campgrounds, and RV parks as a special/conditional use category. That tells me long-term RV living outside a designated park isn't a standard allowed use in most districts, so check first. Tiny homes on a permanent foundation get treated like any other house under the building code and zoning district rules; tiny homes on wheels tend to get treated like RVs for zoning purposes. Either way, call Planning & Zoning before you place anything.

Building permits: Required countywide. Raleigh County runs its own Building Code Office under the State Building Code framework, and contractors need to be properly licensed under West Virginia's contractor licensing law. Plan on plan review and inspections.

Septic, greywater, wells: I could not find a Raleigh County Health Department page specifically covering septic permitting, greywater, or well certification. My working assumption, based on how West Virginia structures this statewide, is that these fall under the WV Bureau for Public Health's Office of Environmental Health Services, administered locally through the county health department. But I couldn't confirm that county-level page exists, so treat this as unclear and call the health department directly before you dig anything.

Rainwater: Nothing in the zoning ordinance, building code ordinance, or the county's list of ordinances addresses rainwater collection one way or the other. That silence generally means it's allowed for non-potable uses, consistent with the state's general posture, but there's no county rule confirming it either way.

Utilities: There's no explicit ordinance forcing a hookup to public water or sewer. But because occupancy isn't legal until you get that Certificate of Occupancy, your off-grid water and waste setup (well, septic, etc.) will get looked at as part of that inspection process rather than skipped.

Bottom line: Raleigh County is more regulated than the "wild and wonderful" reputation suggests. Call Planning & Zoning early, before you buy land or move a structure onto it.