Kentucky eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

7 days — Under the URLTA (where adopted), if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within seven (7) days after written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Under the URLTA (where adopted), either party may end a week-to-week tenancy with written notice at least seven (7) days before the termination date, and a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date.

Late-fee limit

No statutory cap found

Grace period before a late fee

None found in the statutes we read

Notice for unpaid rent

Under the URLTA (where adopted), if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within seven (7) days after written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

“If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within seven (7) days after written notice by the landlord of nonpayment and his intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.660(3)

Paying to stop an eviction

If a remediable breach is adequately remedied before the date in the notice, the rental agreement does not terminate.

“If the breach is remediable by repairs or the payment of damages or otherwise and the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement shall not terminate.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.660(1)

Notice for other lease violations

Under the URLTA (where adopted), for a material noncompliance the landlord may give written notice that the agreement will terminate not less than fourteen (14) days after receipt; if the breach is not remedied in fifteen (15) days, the agreement terminates as stated.

“the landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than fourteen (14) days after receipt of the notice. If the breach is not remedied in fifteen (15) days, the rental agreement shall terminate as provided in the notice subject to the following.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.660(1)

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

Under the URLTA (where adopted), either party may end a week-to-week tenancy with written notice at least seven (7) days before the termination date, and a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date.

“The landlord or the tenant may terminate a week-to-week tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least seven (7) days before the termination date specified in the notice. The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(1)-(2)

Where the URLTA is not in effect, a landlord may end a tenancy at will or by sufferance by giving one (1) month's written notice requiring the tenant to remove.

“In those jurisdictions where the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is not in effect, a tenancy at will or by sufferance may be terminated by the landlord giving one (1) month's notice, in writing, to the tenant requiring him to remove.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.195

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

Under the URLTA (where adopted), if a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant or willfully interrupts heat, water, electric, gas or other essential service, the tenant may recover possession or terminate and recover up to three (3) months' periodic rent plus a reasonable attorney's fee.

“If a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant from the premises or willfully diminishes services to the tenant by interrupting or causing the interruption of heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential service, the tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement and, in either case, recover an amount not more than three (3) months periodic rent and a reasonable attorney's fee.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.655

Retaliation

Under the URLTA (where adopted), a landlord may not retaliate by increasing rent, decreasing services, or bringing or threatening a possession action after the tenant actions listed in the statute.

“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:”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.705(1)

Evidence of a complaint within one (1) year before the alleged retaliation creates a presumption of retaliation.

“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.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.705(2)

Court deadlines and the eviction case

Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.505 to 383.705) applies where a city, county or urban-county government has adopted it, and it must be adopted in its entirety without amendment.

“The General Assembly hereby authorizes cities, counties and urban-county governments to enact the provisions of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act as set forth in KRS 383.505 to 383.705. If adopted, these provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment.”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500

The statutory forcible detainer warrant form directs that the defendants be given at least three (3) days' notice of the time and place of trial.

“and give to the said C D and E F at least three (3) days' notice of the time and place of the meeting of the jury;”
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.210

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the Kentucky rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in Kentucky have to give for unpaid rent?

Under the URLTA (where adopted), if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within seven (7) days after written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.660(3)).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in Kentucky?

Under the URLTA (where adopted), either party may end a week-to-week tenancy with written notice at least seven (7) days before the termination date, and a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(1)-(2)).