Kentucky landlord-tenant law at a glance
Kentucky has two layers of residential landlord law. KRS 383.500 lets cities, counties and urban-county governments adopt URLTA, codified in KRS chapter 383 beginning at KRS 383.505, but only in its entirety and without amendment. Once a local government adopts it, URLTA governs leases there and the government may not pass other ordinances on the same subjects. Where it has not been adopted, the general landlord-tenant statutes earlier in KRS chapter 383 and the lease itself set the rules.
Ask your county attorney’s office, your local government or a Kentucky attorney whether URLTA is in effect where your building is.
| Rule | Where URLTA is adopted | Where URLTA is not adopted |
|---|---|---|
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date (KRS 383.695) | One month’s written notice for a tenancy at will or by sufferance (KRS 383.195) |
| Ending a week-to-week tenancy | Written notice at least 7 days before the termination date (KRS 383.695) | Check the lease and an attorney |
| Unpaid rent | 7 days after written notice stating the lease ends if rent is not paid (KRS 383.660) | Check the lease and an attorney |
| Other lease breaches | Termination notice of at least 14 days; tenant has 15 days to fix it (KRS 383.660) | Check the lease and an attorney |
| Deposit cap | None (KRS 383.580) | None found |
| Deposit handling | Separate account, move-in and move-out damage lists (KRS 383.580) | Set by the lease |
| Entry notice | At least 2 days, at reasonable times; emergency entry allowed (KRS 383.615) | Set by the lease |
| Late fees | No state cap found | No state cap found |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Kentucky?
Under URLTA, a landlord or tenant can end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date, under KRS 383.695(2). The notice runs to a rent date, so notice served on the 15th with rent due on the 1st ends the tenancy at the end of the following month. A week-to-week tenancy ends on written notice at least 7 days before the termination date.
Outside URLTA areas, KRS 383.195 lets a landlord end a tenancy at will or by sufferance by giving one month’s written notice requiring the tenant to leave.
Holdover tenants under URLTA can be costly for them. If a tenant stays past the end of the term without consent and the holdover is willful and not in good faith, KRS 383.695(4) lets the landlord recover up to three months’ periodic rent or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
Late rent and the 7-day notice
In URLTA areas, a landlord can end the lease if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within 7 days after written notice that states the amount and the landlord’s intention to terminate if it isn’t paid, under KRS 383.660(2).
Other breaches follow a different clock. Under KRS 383.660(1), the landlord delivers a written notice describing the breach and stating that the lease will end on a date at least 14 days after the tenant receives it. If the tenant fixes the problem within 15 days, the lease continues. Keep copies of every notice and proof of delivery for the court file.
Kentucky security deposit law
Kentucky sets no maximum deposit. In URLTA areas, KRS 383.580 controls how you hold and return it, and the rules are strict enough that a mistake can cost you the right to keep any of it.
Deposits must sit in an account used only for tenant deposits, at a bank or lending institution regulated by Kentucky or the federal government, and prospective tenants must be told where the account is and its number. Before taking a deposit, you must give the tenant a written list of existing damage to the unit with estimated repair costs, and both of you sign it. At move-out you prepare a second list of the damage you are charging for, again with estimated costs, which the tenant can inspect and sign or dispute in writing.
If you skip the separate account or either list, you may not keep any part of the deposit. When a tenant leaves owing rent and does not ask for the deposit, you may apply it to the debt after 30 days. When a tenant owes nothing and is due a refund, send a notice to the last known address; if there is no response within 60 days, you may keep it. A tenant can sue in district court over the items disputed in writing at move-out.
Can a landlord enter without notice in Kentucky?
Only in an emergency, under URLTA. KRS 383.615 lets a landlord enter without the tenant’s consent in an emergency. Otherwise the landlord must give at least two days’ notice of the intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times.
Two days is longer than many owners from other states expect, so plan showings for a sale, appraisal or loan inspection with that in mind. Send notices in writing and keep a log. Outside URLTA areas, write an entry clause into the lease, since no statute sets the notice.
The eviction process in Kentucky: forcible detainer
An eviction in Kentucky is a forcible detainer action, defined in KRS 383.200 and heard in the district court of the county where the property sits. A landlord must win in court before a tenant can be removed.
Under KRS 383.210, the case is tried by the judge unless either side demands a jury when the case is called. After the court rules, the losing party has seven days to appeal, under KRS 383.245. If no appeal is filed and the judgment is for the landlord, the court issues a warrant of restitution on request, directing the sheriff or a constable to put the landlord back in possession. How long the case takes overall depends on the county’s docket, so leave time in any sale plan that relies on vacant units.
- Serve the right written notice: 7 days for unpaid rent or 14 days for other breaches in URLTA areas.
- File the forcible detainer complaint in district court once the notice period ends.
- Attend the hearing with the lease, the rent ledger and proof of notice.
- Wait out the 7-day appeal period, then request the warrant of restitution.
Does Kentucky have rent control?
Kentucky has no statewide rent control or rent cap, so rents are set by the market and the lease. We did not find a Kentucky statute in chapter 383 that expressly bars cities from adopting rent control, so if a local proposal comes up, have a Kentucky attorney review it. In URLTA areas, a local government that adopted the act must use it without amendment and may not pass other ordinances on the subjects URLTA covers.
Rent increases on a month-to-month tenancy take effect through the normal notice: give the new rent in writing in time for the change to start at a rental period, and don’t raise rent in response to a tenant’s code complaint, since URLTA’s KRS 383.705 bars retaliation.
Selling a Kentucky apartment building with tenants in place
Leases survive a sale, so the buyer takes the building subject to each lease. A sale is not a reason to end a lease early unless the lease itself allows it.
Deposits should move with the building. KRS 383.580 does not set a transfer procedure, so the purchase contract should list each tenant’s deposit, confirm the move-in damage lists exist, and require the buyer to hold the money in its own separate deposit account from closing. That protects the buyer’s right to make deductions later. Give tenants written notice of the new owner and where to pay rent.
- Deliver the rent roll, every lease, the deposit ledger and the move-in damage lists.
- Transfer deposits at closing into the buyer’s separate deposit account.
- Send each tenant written notice of the sale and the new payment address.
Kentucky landlord-tenant law changes in 2025 and 2026
Two 2025 laws took effect June 27, 2025. KRS 383.290, created by 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 63, gives owners a faster way to remove unlawful occupants who were never tenants. An owner or agent can give a signed petition to a sheriff, deputy, police officer or constable, who serves a notice to vacate. It does not apply to current or former tenants or anyone who once had permission to live there, and a person wrongly removed can sue within 60 days.
KRS 383.199, created by 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 56, applies only in the county with a consolidated local government, Louisville-Jefferson County. For leases that start after June 27, 2025, an owner may not lease a single-family home, a multifamily unit or an accessory dwelling unit on a lot that has a single-family home and sits in a traditional single-family zone unless the owner lives on the lot. A lot with one single-family home and no accessory unit is exempt. Check the zoning of small infill properties in Jefferson County before you buy or sell one.
We did not find 2026 changes to the URLTA notice, deposit or entry sections covered here.
Selling to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Kentucky, occupied or in turnover. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We take over the leases and deposits at closing and set up the deposit account the law requires, so you don’t have to empty units before you sell.
For the tax on a sale, see Kentucky capital gains tax on real estate, and for the yearly tax a buyer will model, the property tax rate in Kentucky.
