Kentucky Landlord-Tenant Law
Know your rights as a renter in Kentucky. This guide covers security deposits, landlord entry, rent increases, eviction protections, and more under Kentucky law.
Legal basis: Kentucky landlord-tenant law — Kentucky Revised Statutes
No set deadline
Days to Return Deposit
No limit
Max Deposit
2 days
Entry Notice
Some areas
Deposit Escrow
Entry notice and deposit escrow apply only where your city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act (KRS 383.500) — see the places.
Only in the cities and counties that adopted it
Most of the renter protections on this page — how a deposit must be handled, two days' notice before a landlord enters, repair rights, and protection from retaliation and lockouts — come from Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. State law makes that act the law only where a city or county has adopted it (KRS 383.500). There is no statewide version and no population rule.
Campbell County's adoption covers every city in it, including Alexandria, Bellevue, Dayton, Fort Thomas and the rest.
Anywhere else in Kentucky
If your city or county is not listed — that includes cities as large as Bowling Green, Owensboro and Elizabethtown, whose codes of ordinances contained no adoption when we read them — these rules are not law where you live. Your lease decides entry notice, repairs and how the deposit is handled, so read it closely and negotiate before you sign. Statewide protections still apply everywhere: the domestic-violence protections in KRS 383.300, fair housing law, and the federal lead-paint disclosure.
List checked against local codes of ordinances in . A city or county can adopt the act at any time, so confirm with your city or county clerk if your home is not listed.
What Kentucky law says about deposits
Maximum Deposit
No limit
Return Deadline
No fixed statutory deadlineKRS 383.580, only where the city or county adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: a landlord may apply the deposit to unpaid rent after 30 days if the tenant does not ask for it, and keep a refund the tenant does not claim within 60 days of the landlord's notice
Penalties, interest & late-fee rules under Kentucky law
If your deposit is wrongfully or late returned
No statutory multiplier. Only where the city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act: a landlord who skipped the separate deposit account and the signed damage lists may keep none of the deposit (KRS 383.580(4)), and a tenant may dispute the final damage list in District Court (KRS 383.580(5)).
Interest on your deposit is not required
Grace period
No mandatory grace period
Must be in the lease
Yes — a late fee is only enforceable if it is written into your lease
Your privacy protections
Required Notice Period
2 days
KRS 383.615(3) — 2 DAYS, only where the city or county adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
In Kentucky, a landlord must give this notice only where your city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act (KRS 383.500) — see the places. Anywhere else no statute sets entry notice, so your lease's entry terms apply. Emergencies are an exception everywhere.
No notice statute; no caps
Legal basis: No Statute
14 days, only where your city or county adopted URLTA
Legal basis: KRS 383.595, 383.625, 383.635, 383.640
Protected (some areas)
Legal basis: KRS 383.705
30 days with a protective order
Legal basis: KRS § 383.300
Up to 3 months' rent (some areas)
Legal basis: KRS 383.655
Important facts about Kentucky rental law
Kentucky has no limit on security deposits.
Kentucky's landlord-tenant act only applies in the cities and counties that adopted it, such as Louisville and Lexington (KRS 383.500).
No Kentucky law sets a deadline in days for returning a security deposit (KRS 383.580).
Where the act was adopted, Kentucky landlords must keep deposits in a separate account and give tenants a signed move-in damage list (KRS 383.580).
Something else? Contact our team
Kentucky does not have a statutory limit on security deposits.
Kentucky sets no fixed statutory deadline to return a security deposit (KRS 383.580, only where the city or county adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: a landlord may apply the deposit to unpaid rent after 30 days if the tenant does not ask for it, and keep a refund the tenant does not claim within 60 days of the landlord's notice).
In Kentucky, landlords must give 2 days' notice before entering your rental unit (KRS 383.615(3) — 2 DAYS, only where the city or county adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act).
Late fees in Kentucky: No statutory cap. No mandatory grace period.
No notice statute; no caps. No Kentucky statute sets how much notice a landlord must give before raising rent. Where your city or county adopted the landlord-tenant act, a month-to-month tenancy ends with written notice at least 30 days before the rent date (KRS 383.695(2)); elsewhere, one month's written notice (KRS 383.195). No statewide rent cap. Source: No Statute.
14 days, only where your city or county adopted URLTA. These rules apply only where your city or county adopted Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.500). Landlord must make all repairs to keep the home fit and habitable and supply water, hot water, and reasonable heat from October 1 to May 1 (KRS 383.595(1)). Give written notice; if not fixed in 14 days, the lease can end at least 30 days after the notice (KRS 383.625(1)). For a health-and-safety repair costing under $100 or half a month's rent (whichever is greater), if the landlord willfully fails to fix it within 14 days of written notice (sooner in an emergency), you may have it done and deduct the cost with an itemized bill (KRS 383.635). If the landlord willfully fails to supply heat, water, hot water, electric or gas, after written notice you may buy it and deduct the cost, or use substitute housing and not owe rent for that time (KRS 383.640). Source: KRS 383.595, 383.625, 383.635, 383.640.
Protected (some areas). This rule applies only where your city or county adopted Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.500). There, a landlord may not raise rent, cut services, or file or threaten eviction because you complained to a code agency, complained to the landlord about repairs, or joined a tenants' group (KRS 383.705(1)). A complaint made within one year before the landlord's act creates a presumption of retaliation (KRS 383.705(2)). Elsewhere in Kentucky the only statewide retaliation rule protects tenants covered by a domestic violence or interpersonal protective order: a landlord may not end, refuse to renew, or otherwise retaliate over that status (KRS 383.300(3), leases made or renewed on or after June 29, 2017). Keep complaints in writing with dates. Source: KRS 383.705.
30 days with a protective order. A tenant protected by a domestic violence order or interpersonal protective order may end the lease with written notice effective at least 30 days after the landlord receives it. Include a copy of the order; an emergency or temporary order is not enough. If the order came before you signed the lease, you must also show a safety concern that arose after signing. Rent is owed only to the end date, with no early termination charge; leases made or renewed on or after June 29, 2017. Source: KRS § 383.300.
Up to 3 months' rent (some areas). This rule applies only where your city or county adopted Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.500). There, a landlord who locks you out or willfully cuts off heat, water, electric or gas owes up to three months' rent plus attorney's fees, and you may recover possession or end the lease (KRS 383.655). Everywhere in Kentucky a landlord seeking possession can file a forcible detainer case in the county's District Court (KRS 383.200–383.285). If you are locked out, contact legal aid right away. Source: KRS 383.655.
Kentucky tenants have rights including security deposit protections, notice requirements for landlord entry, habitability standards, and protections against retaliation. Use Honestkey to analyze your specific lease against Kentucky law.
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