Tenants in parts of Kentucky where the URLTA applies have the legal right to repairs for issues that place the property in violation of state health and safety standards. To exercise this right, they must properly notify the landlord in writing and allow 14 days for repairs to be made.
NOTE: In many of Kentucky’s jurisdictions, there is no right to repair for rentals, and the landlord’s only responsibility to the tenant is to keep the terms of the lease. This article applies only to places which have passed Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (URLTA).
Kentucky Landlord Responsibilities for Repairs
Kentucky landlords are responsible for keeping all of the following in good working condition:
- Plumbing.
- Electricity.
- Heating (Oct. 1-May 1).
- Hot running water.
- Provided appliances.
- Common areas.
- Smoke alarms and required carbon monoxide detectors.
- Utility services.
- Features that impact health and safety.
If any of the above stops working properly, and the tenant isn’t at fault for the damage, the landlord is the one responsible for making the repairs necessary to fix it.
What Repairs Are Tenants Responsible for in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants are responsible for damage they cause deliberately or negligently. If it’s not an emergency, tenants can usually wait until the landlord asks in writing for repairs.
For landlords of four rental units or fewer, the landlord and tenant can agree for the tenant to handle specific maintenance that doesn’t pass off the landlord’s legal obligations regarding habitability. For single-family homes only, this can include the basic obligations of heating and hot water.
Requesting Repairs in Kentucky
Kentucky tenants must request repairs by writing to the landlord describing the issue. To reserve the relevant legal options, the tenant must also state actions they might take if the landlord does not make timely repairs, such as canceling the lease altogether.
An example of language a tenant might use to state these intentions is: “If the landlord hasn’t remedied the issue in 14 days, the renter may exercise his right to cancel the rental agreement on [date], which is 30 or more days from today.”
How Long Does a Landlord Have To Make Repairs in Kentucky?
Kentucky landlords have 14 days to perform repairs after getting a written request.
Can the Landlord Refuse To Make Repairs in Kentucky?
Kentucky landlords cannot refuse to make repairs that are their responsibility. However, the landlord’s refusal to repair does not excuse a renter failing to keep the terms of the rental agreement. For example, a landlord who fails to repair may still be able to evict for a default on rent.
Do Landlords Have To Pay for Alternative Accommodation During Repairs in Kentucky?
Kentucky landlords are not required to pay for alternative accommodation while they conduct repairs. However, if there’s a repair issue so severe that it forces the tenant off the property, the tenant can usually choose to cancel the rental agreement 14 days after notice and stop paying rent.
Tenant’s Rights if Repairs Aren’t Made in Kentucky
Kentucky tenants can cancel the rental agreement if the landlord doesn’t make timely repairs. They can also sue for damages or get an injunction. .
Can the Tenant Withhold Rent in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants can’t withhold rent. They’re allowed to repair and deduct part of the rent, or recover overpayment of rent through a court action, but they aren’t allowed to preemptively withhold the entire rent.
Can the Tenant Repair and Deduct in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants can repair and deduct the cost from the next rent payment, when repairs aren’t done 14 days after written notice. Tenants must give the landlord an itemized invoice proving paid reasonable costs. The total cost must be under $100 or half the monthly rent (whichever is greater).
Can the Tenant Break Their Lease in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants can break the lease after 30 days, when a breach of the rental agreement or other legal landlord noncompliance hasn’t been corrected 14 days after written notice.
Tenants can also move out and break the lease 14 days after written notice, when the same habitability issue comes up twice within six months, or when the property is destroyed or severely damaged by an action that wasn’t the tenant’s fault (for example, a hurricane).
Can the Tenant Sue in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants can sue to force repairs or recover monetary damages.
Can the Tenant Report the Landlord in Kentucky?
Kentucky tenants can report landlords for code violations that affect health or safety. Tenants should usually report to the local inspections or code enforcement department. If an inspecting officer finds a violation, the tenant could cancel the rental agreement, or sue to force repairs.
Landlord Retaliation in Kentucky
In places that have passed Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, it’s illegal for landlords to retaliate with raised rent, reduced services, or threatened eviction against a tenant who has taken one of these protected actions within the past year:
- Reporting health and safety violations.
- Complaining to the landlord about statutorily required repairs.
- Participation in a tenant organization.
The law allows an exception when the landlord can prove a non-retaliatory, good-faith reason for the alleged retaliatory action. For example, a landlord who raises rent proportionately in response to a large increase in property tax is not retaliating, even if a tenant has recently complained about maintenance.
Sources
- 1 Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (URLTA)
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As of December 2022, Fayette, Jefferson, Oldham, and Pulaski counties have adopted Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (URLTA), in addition to the following cities: Barbourville, Bellevue, Bromley, Covington, Dayton, Florence, Georgetown, Ludlow, Melbourne, Newport, Silver Grove, Southgate, Shelbyville, Taylor Mill, and Woodlawn. Outside of these places, the landlord doesn’t owe the tenant a duty to repair the premises up to code except as agreed in the lease. See Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.500 (2022) (“If adopted [by cities or counties], these [URLTA] provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment. No other ordinance shall be enacted by a city, county or urban- county government which relates to the subjects.”)
Source Link - 2 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.625(1)(a) (2022)
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“…if there is a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or a noncompliance with KRS 383.595 materially affecting health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in fourteen (14) days, and the rental agreement shall terminate as provided in the notice subject to the following: If the breach is remediable by repairs, the payment of damages or otherwise and the landlord adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement shall not terminate by reason of the breach.”
Source Link - 3 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.595(1) (2022)
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“A landlord shall: (a) Comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety; (b) Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition; (c) Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition; (d) Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him; and (e) Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1…”
Source Link - 4 Ky. Resid. Code § R314.2.1 (2018)
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“Smoke alarms shall be provided in dwelling units.”
Source Link - 5 Ky. Resid. Code § R315.2.1 (2018)
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“[In non-exempt construction,] carbon monoxide alarms shall be provided in dwelling units where either or both of the following conditions exist. 1. The dwelling unit contains a fuel-fired appliance. 2. The dwelling unit has an attached garage with an opening that communicates with the dwelling unit.”
Source Link - 6 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.665 (2022)
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“If there is noncompliance by the tenant with KRS 383.605 [tenant maintenance obligations] or 383.610 [landlord’s community rules] materially affecting health and safety that can be remedied by repair, replacement of a damaged item or cleaning, and the tenant fails to comply as promptly as conditions require in case of emergency or within fourteen (14) days after written notice by the landlord specifying the breach and requesting that the tenant remedy it within that period of time, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit and cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and submit the itemized bill for the actual and reasonable cost or the fair and reasonable value thereof as rent on the next date periodic rent is due, or if the rental agreement has terminated, for immediate payment.”
Source Link - 7 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.595(3) & (4) (2022)
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“The landlord and tenant of a single family residence may agree in writing that the tenant perform the landlord’s duties specified in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and also specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling, but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord… [and a] tenant of any dwelling unit other than a single family residency may agree [minus paragraph (e)… only if: (a) The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord and is set forth in a separate writing signed by the parties and supported by adequate consideration; (b) The work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subsection (1)(a) of this section; and (c) The agreement does not diminish or affect the obligation of the landlord to other tenants in the premises.”
Source Link - 8 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.705(3) (2022)
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“A landlord may bring an action for possession if the tenant is in default in rent.”
Source Link - 9 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.650(1) (2022)
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“If the dwelling unit or premises are damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty or so injured by the elements, act of God, or other cause to an extent that enjoyment of the dwelling unit is substantially impaired, the tenant or the landlord may terminate the rental agreement upon fourteen (14) days’ notice; however, the tenant may immediately vacate the premises.”
Source Link - 10 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.625(2) & (3) (2022)
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“(2) Except as provided in KRS 383.505 to 383.715 [Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act], the tenant may recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for any noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement of KRS 383.595 [landlord’s maintenance obligations]. (3) The remedy provided in subsection (2) is in addition to any right of the tenant arising under subsection (1) of this section.”
Source Link - 11 Wildcat Prop. Mgmt., LLC v. Franzen, No. 2014-CA-000964-MR, 17 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015)
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Rent withholding is not an available remedy at common law, nor is it provided for in Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. “[A] tenant must look to the rental agreement or statutory provisions for remedies when a rental unit is defective or requires repair. In fact, without an express covenant to repair, the landlord has no obligation to repair.”
Source Link - 12 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.635(1) (2022)
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“If the landlord willfully and materially fails to comply with the rental agreement or fails to comply with KRS 383.595 [landlord’s maintenance obligations] and such noncompliance materially affects health and safety and the reasonable cost of compliance is less than one hundred dollars ($100), or an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the monthly rent, whichever amount is greater, the tenant may notify the landlord of his intention to correct the condition at the landlord’s expense. If the landlord willfully fails to comply within fourteen (14) days after being notified by the tenant in writing or as promptly as conditions require in case of emergency, the tenant may cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner and, after submitting to the landlord an itemized statement for the work actually done and for which the tenant has paid in full, deduct from his rent the actual and reasonable cost or the fair and reasonable value of the work, not exceeding the amount specified in this subsection.”
Source Link - 13 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.625(1)(b) (2022)
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“If substantially the same act or omission which constituted a prior noncompliance covered by subsection (1) of which notice was given recurs within six (6) months, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement upon at least fourteen (14) days’ written notice specifying the breach and the date of termination of the rental agreement.”
Source Link - 14 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.705(1) (2022)
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“Except as provided in this section, a landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession after: (a) The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety; (b) The tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under KRS 383.595 [landlord’s maintenance obligations]; (c) The tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant’s union or similar organization.”
Source Link - 15 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.705(2) (2022)
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“If the landlord acts in violation of subsection (1) of this section, the tenant is entitled to the remedies provided in KRS 383.655 and has a defense in any retaliatory action against him for possession. In an action by or against the tenant, evidence of a complaint within one (1) year before the alleged act of retaliation creates a presumption that the landlord’s conduct was in retaliation. The presumption does not arise if the tenant made the complaint after notice of a proposed rent increase or diminution of services. “Presumption” means that the trier of fact must find the existence of the fact presumed unless and until evidence is introduced which would support a finding of its nonexistence.”
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