Why the Kentucky eviction process depends on where your building is
Kentucky has two sets of eviction notice rules. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), KRS 383.505 to 383.715, only applies in a city, county or urban-county government that has adopted it in full (KRS 383.500). Everywhere else, the lease and the older parts of KRS chapter 383 control.
The court part is the same statewide. Every eviction is a forcible detainer case under KRS 383.200 to 383.285, heard in the district court of the county where the property sits. Before serving anything, check with the local government or your attorney whether the URLTA is in force where your building is. Our Kentucky landlord tenant law guide covers deposits, entry and the 2025 unlawful-occupant law, so this page stays on the eviction itself.
Kentucky eviction notices under the URLTA
Where the URLTA applies, the statute fixes each notice period and what the notice must say.
- Unpaid rent: written notice of the nonpayment and your intent to terminate if rent isn’t paid within 7 days (KRS 383.660(2)). If the tenant pays in that window, the tenancy continues.
- Lease violation: written notice that names the breach and says the agreement ends on a date at least 14 days after the tenant receives it. If the breach isn’t fixed in 15 days, the agreement ends as stated (KRS 383.660(1)). A substantially similar breach within 6 months can be met with a 14-day notice that offers no cure.
- No-cause, month-to-month: written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (KRS 383.695(2)). Week-to-week needs 7 days.
- Holdover after a written lease ends: a tenancy that began when a written lease expired can be ended on 10 days’ written notice, and if the tenant is more than 10 days late on rent, without notice (KRS 383.695(3)).
Notices outside URLTA areas and for criminal activity
Where the URLTA hasn’t been adopted, a tenancy at will or by sufferance ends on one month’s written notice requiring the tenant to leave (KRS 383.195). For unpaid rent and lease breaches, the lease terms control, so read the default and notice clauses before serving anything. A clear written demand to vacate is still worth sending, because the court’s forcible detainer complaint form asks for the date you gave written notice to vacate.
Kentucky’s URLTA has no separate shortened notice for drug activity or violence. That conduct is usually handled as a material lease breach under KRS 383.660(1), so a clear lease clause on criminal activity matters. Count the days in the notice from the date the tenant receives it, and keep proof of how and when you delivered it.
The Kentucky forcible detainer case, step by step
After the notice period ends and the tenant is still there, the case moves to district court.
- File the complaint. The Administrative Office of the Courts publishes a statewide Forcible Detainer Complaint, form AOC-216, which you sign under oath and which states the date of the notice to vacate.
- Service. The court issues a warrant to the sheriff or a constable, who must give each tenant at least 3 days’ notice of the time and place of the trial (KRS 383.210 and 383.215). If a tenant gets less than 3 days, the hearing is postponed on request until the 3 days pass.
- Trial. The judge decides the case unless either side demands a jury when the case is called (KRS 383.210(2)). Bring the lease, the rent ledger and proof of the notice.
- Judgment. If you win, the judgment gives you restitution of the premises and your costs (KRS 383.240).
- Appeal window. Either side has 7 days after the judgment to appeal (KRS 383.255). A tenant who appeals must deposit the rent owed since the case started with the circuit court clerk and keep paying each month’s rent into court while the appeal is pending. Only then are further proceedings stayed.
- Warrant of restitution. If no appeal is filed on or before the seventh day, the court issues a warrant of restitution on your request (KRS 383.245), using form AOC-220. The sheriff or a constable puts you back in possession.
Self-help, retaliation and the tenant’s chance to pay
Where the URLTA applies, a landlord may not take possession by any means other than a court action, including cutting heat, water, electricity or gas, except after abandonment or surrender (KRS 383.690). A tenant who is unlawfully removed or has essential services cut can recover possession or end the lease and collect up to three months’ rent plus attorney’s fees (KRS 383.655). Outside URLTA areas, a landlord’s entry on a tenant at will’s possession is itself defined as a forcible entry under KRS 383.200(2)(b), so the court route is the safe one everywhere.
Under the URLTA, you can’t raise rent, cut services or bring or threaten an eviction to retaliate for a code complaint, a repair complaint or joining a tenants’ union. A complaint within one year before your action creates a presumption of retaliation. You can still evict for unpaid rent or for code problems the tenant caused (KRS 383.705).
The tenant’s chance to pay is the 7-day notice window. Once it runs out, the URLTA gives no statutory right to reinstate by paying, though accepting rent with knowledge of a default can waive your right to terminate for it (KRS 383.675). Decide before the case whether you’ll take partial payments.
Federal rules that can change the Kentucky timeline
If the building carries a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, the CARES Act notice rule may apply. Section 4024(c), codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars a landlord of a covered property from requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text is still in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. Giving 30 days at a covered building sidesteps the question.
If the tenant doesn’t appear, file an affidavit on military status before asking for a default. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires one in every default case (50 U.S.C. 3931).
Kentucky eviction timeline at a glance
This table follows a nonpayment case in a URLTA area from notice to warrant.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Rent notice | 7 days after written notice | KRS 383.660(2) |
| Lease violation notice | 14 days, with 15 days to cure | KRS 383.660(1) |
| Month-to-month termination | 30 days before a rental date | KRS 383.695(2) |
| File complaint | After the notice period ends | KRS 383.210, form AOC-216 |
| Notice of trial | At least 3 days before trial | KRS 383.210, 383.215 |
| Appeal | Within 7 days after judgment, with rent paid into court | KRS 383.255 |
| Warrant of restitution | On request after day 7 with no appeal | KRS 383.245, form AOC-220 |
Worked example: one nonpaying unit in a URLTA-area building
Assume a unit in a 16-unit building in a URLTA area rents for $1,000 a month, or $32.88 a day. Rent is due on the 1st and isn’t paid, and you deliver the 7-day notice on the 2nd (day 1). Assume an attorney charges $700 for an uncontested case.
The notice expires on day 8 and you file that day. If the tenant is served the same day, the earliest trial with 3 days’ notice is day 11. You win, the 7-day appeal window closes on day 18, and the warrant issues on request. If the sheriff executes it that day, you’re back in possession on day 18.
That minimum path costs $592 in lost rent plus $700 in fees, or $1,292. Each extra day the docket, service or the sheriff’s schedule adds costs another $32.88. A contested case or an appeal, where the tenant must pay rent into court, runs longer.
| Item | Days or rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rent at $1,000 a month | $32.88 a day | |
| Lost rent, due date to possession | 18 days | $592 |
| Assumed attorney fee, uncontested | $700 | |
| Total, statutory minimum path | $1,292 |
Alternatives to a Kentucky eviction
If the tenant can catch up, a written payment plan inside the 7-day window is the cheapest fix. Spell out the dates, and keep in mind that taking rent with knowledge of a default waives your right to terminate for it unless you agree otherwise after the breach (KRS 383.675).
If the tenant can’t pay, compare the $1,292 minimum above with a cash for keys offer. A modest payment for a move-out within a week, keys returned and the unit left clean, often costs less than a case that drags past the first hearing.
Selling a Kentucky apartment building with a pending eviction
You can sell while a forcible detainer case is open. Leases transfer with the building, and the buyer becomes the landlord. Disclose the notice, the case number and any payment plan, and share the ledgers and court papers. Depending on timing, the buyer continues the case after closing or serves a fresh notice. Tenant estoppel certificates confirm what each tenant says they owe. A buyer will price the nonpaying unit, which can still beat carrying the case and the vacancy yourself.
Selling your Kentucky apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Kentucky and nationwide with tenants in place, including nonpaying tenants, notices already served and cases on the docket. You don’t need to finish an eviction first.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
