Kentucky Landlord-Tenant Law

Maximum deposit

Kentucky sets no limit on the amount of a residential security deposit, including in localities that adopted the URLTA (KRS 383.580, silent). (KRS 383.580 (no amount limit))

Return deadline

Kentucky sets no fixed deadline to return a deposit; in URLTA localities the landlord must send the tenant notice of any refund due and may keep an unclaimed refund only after 60 days without a response (KRS 383.580(7)). (KRS 383.580(6), (7), KRS 383.500)

Itemized deductions

In URLTA localities the landlord must inspect at move-out and give the tenant a signed, itemized list of damages with estimated repair costs before charging the deposit; state law imposes no such duty elsewhere (KRS 383.580(3), 383.500). (KRS 383.580(2), (3), KRS 383.500)

Interest on deposits

Kentucky law does not require landlords to pay interest on security deposits (KRS 383.580, silent). (KRS 383.580 (silent on interest))

Penalty for wrongful withholding

In URLTA localities a landlord who skips the separate deposit account and the move-in and move-out damage lists loses the right to keep any of the deposit (KRS 383.580(4)). (KRS 383.580(4), KRS 383.500)

Late-fee limit

Kentucky sets no statutory cap on residential late fees, so the fee comes from the lease (KRS ch. 383, silent). (KRS Chapter 383 (no late-fee limit), KRS 383.565 (URLTA rental agreement terms; no late-fee limit))

Grace period

Kentucky law sets no grace period before a late fee may be charged; the lease controls (KRS ch. 383, silent). (KRS 383.565(2) (rent payable without demand at the agreed time))

In URLTA cities and counties, landlords must give at least two days' notice and enter only at reasonable times except in an emergency; outside those places Kentucky has no entry-notice statute and the lease governs (KRS 383.615(3), 383.500). (KRS 383.615, KRS 383.500, KRS 383.700)

In URLTA areas either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least 30 days before a rental due date, and elsewhere a landlord must give one month's written notice to end a tenancy at will (KRS 383.695(2), 383.195). (KRS 383.695, KRS 383.195, KRS 383.500)

Kentucky has no rent-increase notice statute, so a fixed-term lease controls; on a month-to-month tenancy an increase in practice needs the same notice as ending the tenancy, at least 30 days before a rent due date (KRS 383.565, 383.695(2), 383.195). (KRS 383.565, KRS 383.695, KRS 383.195)

Kentucky has no rent control and no statute that names rent control, but local governments may not adopt landlord-tenant ordinances that conflict with state law or, in URLTA areas, any other ordinance on URLTA subjects (KRS 383.198, 383.500). (KRS 383.198, KRS 383.500)

Statewide, landlords of pre-1978 housing must give the federal lead-paint disclosure, and in URLTA cities and counties the landlord must also give the tenant in writing, at or before move-in, the name and address of the manager and of the owner or agent for service and notices (40 CFR 745.107; KRS 383.585). (KRS 383.585, KRS 383.500, 40 CFR 745.107)

• Lead-based paint disclosure, lead warning statement and EPA pamphlet (Housing built before 1978 (unless exempt under 40 CFR 745.101)) — 42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F (§ 745.107)
• Name and address of the manager and of the owner or agent for service of process and notices (URLTA localities only) (In writing at or before the start of the tenancy; keep current) — KRS 383.585

Unpaid rent

In cities and counties that adopted the URLTA, serve a written 7-day notice of nonpayment stating the landlord will end the rental agreement if rent is not paid; elsewhere in Kentucky no statute sets a pre-filing notice period, so follow the lease (KRS 383.660(2), 383.500). (KRS 383.660(2), KRS 383.500)

Lease violations

In URLTA cities and counties, serve a written notice describing the breach that ends the agreement no sooner than 14 days after receipt and let the tenant cure within 15 days; a repeat within six months allows a 14-day notice with no cure (KRS 383.660(1), 383.500). (KRS 383.660(1), KRS 383.500)