A Kentucky rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. Kentucky landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Kentucky Rental Agreement Types
A Kentucky roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
Kentucky Required Residential Lease Disclosures
- Landlord’s Name and Address (required for all leases) – Kentucky landlords must give the tenant their name and address, or that of their authorized agent. This allows required communication (for example, about repairs) to happen in a smooth way. Typically also contains phone numbers and email addresses.
- Move-In Checklist (required for some leases) – Kentucky landlords collecting a security deposit must provide a move-in checklist for both parties to agree on the condition of the rental property. This ensures accurate deductions from the security deposit later.
- Security Deposit Holdings (required for some leases) – Kentucky landlords collecting a security deposit must give holding information to the tenant. This includes the bank and account number holding the tenant’s deposit.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some) – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
To learn more about required disclosures in Kentucky, click here.
Kentucky Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Kentucky landlords can only rent out habitable property. This means providing certain basic health and safety features like heat, plumbing, and electricity. Landlords must repair any issues within 14 days after proper notice. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, end the lease, or repair and deduct from the rent. Tenants usually can’t withhold rent.
- Evictions – Kentucky landlords may evict for rent nonpayment, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay, comply or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Kentucky take between a few weeks to a month.
- Security Deposits – Kentucky does not cap the maximum amount of a security deposit. When a lease ends, a landlord must return any unused portion of a tenant’s security deposit within 30 days.
- Lease Termination – Kentucky lets tenants end a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice. Terminating a fixed-term lease usually requires active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Kentucky does not limit the amount or timing of a rent increase. Late fees are capped at $20 or 20% of the rental fee plus reasonable expenses incurred (whichever is greater). Returned check fees have a cap of $50 per check.
- Landlord Entry – Kentucky landlords may enter rental property for reasonable business purposes like maintenance, inspections, and property showings. They must enter at reasonable times on reasonable advance notice (by custom at least 24 hours), except in emergencies.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Kentucky allows landlord-tenant disputes in small claims courts, as long as the amount in controversy is under $2,500. Unlike many states, Kentucky allows evictions in small claims. Rent-related cases have a 15-year statute of limitations, while cases involving property damage have a 5-year statute of limitations.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Kentucky, click here.
Sources
- 1 Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.040(4)(b)
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A maker makes good on a check or similar sight order for the payment of money by paying to the holder the face amount of the instrument, together with any merchant’s posted bad check handling fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) and any fee imposed pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.
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