Kentucky landlord and tenant rules

Seayora publishes 8 Kentucky rules, covering notice periods, rent regulation, fair housing, tenant protections, repairs, contractor sales tax. Every one is composed from the statute it cites and links to that statute on the state’s own code site.

Kentucky at a glance

RuleKentucky
How many days does a tenant get to pay late rent in Kentucky?7 days to pay
How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Kentucky?48 hours
How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy in Kentucky?30 days
Is there rent control in Kentucky?Prohibited by state law
Can a landlord refuse a Section 8 voucher in Kentucky?Not protected; local protections barred
Can a landlord retaliate against a tenant for complaining in Kentucky?Presumed within 1 year (URLTA areas)
Can a tenant repair and deduct from rent in Kentucky?Up to $100 or half a month’s rent (URLTA areas)
Do contractors charge sales tax in Kentucky?Consumer of materials

Notice periods in Kentucky

How many days does a tenant get to pay late rent in Kentucky?

In Kentucky, before starting a nonpayment case a landlord must serve a written notice giving the tenant 7 days to pay the rent due. This is KRS §§ 383.500, 383.695, 383.615, 383.660(2).

Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is a LOCAL OPTION: it applies only in a county or city that has adopted it under KRS 383.500. Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington/Fayette County and a number of northern Kentucky cities have; most of the state has not, and where it has not been adopted none of these periods apply — the lease and the common law govern instead. No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Kentucky?

In Kentucky, a landlord must give 48 hours notice before entering an occupied rental, other than in an emergency. This is KRS §§ 383.500, 383.695, 383.615, 383.660(2).

Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is a LOCAL OPTION: it applies only in a county or city that has adopted it under KRS 383.500. Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington/Fayette County and a number of northern Kentucky cities have; most of the state has not, and where it has not been adopted none of these periods apply — the lease and the common law govern instead. No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy in Kentucky?

In Kentucky, a landlord must give 30 days written notice to end a tenancy or decline to renew it. This is KRS §§ 383.500, 383.695, 383.615, 383.660(2).

Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is a LOCAL OPTION: it applies only in a county or city that has adopted it under KRS 383.500. Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington/Fayette County and a number of northern Kentucky cities have; most of the state has not, and where it has not been adopted none of these periods apply — the lease and the common law govern instead. No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Rent regulation in Kentucky

Is there rent control in Kentucky?

No. Kentucky has no statewide rent control, and its cities and counties cannot simply adopt their own: only the General Assembly may enact legislation that would control rents on private property, so cities and counties may not. This is KRS 65.875.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Fair housing in Kentucky

Can a landlord refuse a Section 8 voucher in Kentucky?

Yes. Kentucky has no statewide law requiring landlords to accept housing vouchers, and its cities and counties cannot require it either: a city or county may not adopt or enforce an ordinance that prohibits a landlord from refusing to rent to a person whose lawful source of income to pay rent includes funding from a federal housing assistance program. Federal law leaves the voucher program voluntary for most landlords, but a property financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits may not refuse a tenant because they hold a voucher. This is KRS 65.874.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Tenant protections in Kentucky

Can a landlord retaliate against a tenant for complaining in Kentucky?

No. In Kentucky, in the cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord may not retaliate by raising the rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an eviction after a tenant complains to a code agency or the landlord or joins a tenants’ union, and a complaint within one year creates a presumption of retaliation. The Act applies only where a city, county or urban-county government has adopted it, in its entirety. Separately, the federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to threaten or interfere with anyone for exercising fair housing rights. This is KRS § 383.705; KRS § 383.500.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Repairs in Kentucky

Can a tenant repair and deduct from rent in Kentucky?

Yes, within limits. In Kentucky, in the cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, if a landlord willfully fails to fix a condition affecting health and safety within 14 days after written notice and the repair costs less than $100 or half a month’s rent, whichever is greater, the tenant may have the work done and deduct the cost after giving the landlord an itemized statement of work paid for in full. Each step has to be followed as the statute sets it out, including the written notice and the waiting period, or the deduction can be treated as unpaid rent. This is KRS § 383.635; KRS § 383.500.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Contractor sales tax in Kentucky

Do contractors charge sales tax in Kentucky?

In Kentucky a contractor is treated as the CONSUMER of the materials they build into real property. That means the contractor pays sales tax when they buy the materials, and does not add sales tax to the customer's invoice for that work — the tax is already inside the price. Source: KRS 139.010, 139.200 (contractors are the consumers of materials; the enumerated taxable services list has been expanded repeatedly since 2018).

Kentucky has added services to the taxable list in successive sessions (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023). Confirm the current enumerated list before quoting a repair line as exempt.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Sources

  • KRS 139.010, 139.200 (contractors are the consumers of materials; the enumerated taxable services list has been expanded repeatedly since 2018).
  • KRS 65.874
  • KRS 65.875
  • KRS § 383.635; KRS § 383.500
  • KRS § 383.705; KRS § 383.500
  • KRS §§ 383.500, 383.695, 383.615, 383.660(2)

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

This is a summary of a state’s published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, local jurisdictions add their own, and the treatment of a specific job depends on the contract and the work. Check the citation and speak to a CPA or a state tax adviser before relying on it.

How Seayora uses these rules

Notice periods. Seayora computes the notice this rule requires from the tenancy’s own dates — for a renewal offer, a rent increase or a served notice — and will not serve one that is short unless the owner records a reason. The answer above is the rule the product enforces.

Rent regulation. This page states whether the state lets its cities control rent, and any statewide limit on an increase, so a renewal can be checked before it is offered. In New York City, Seayora’s rent-increase advisor goes further: it computes the highest increase the Rent Guidelines Board order and the Good Cause standard allow for each apartment, with the law cited, and gives no number where the law is not verified.

Fair housing. This page states whether the state protects renters who pay with a housing voucher, so a listing and its screening rules can be checked against it before they are published. Seayora’s rental search assistant never filters homes by how a renter will pay the rent.

Tenant protections. When an owner prepares an eviction in Seayora, it lists any repair request opened on the unit in the last 180 days that is still open, not to stop the case but because the tenant will raise retaliation and the owner should have an answer. Every repair request keeps the date it was filed.

Repairs. Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.

Contractor sales tax. Seayora resolves this rule on every invoice a contractor raises — per line, from the job site’s own address — and prints the rate, the jurisdiction and this citation on the document itself, so the estimate a customer accepts is the invoice they are billed. Where the rule is more nuanced than a single answer, Seayora refuses to guess a total rather than quoting a confident wrong one.

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