Does Kentucky Landlord-Tenant Law Reach Your City?
Program and regulatory figures verified September 15, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
This is the page that explains why two Kentucky landlords, doing the same thing wrong, face completely different consequences. It comes down to whether their city said yes in 1984 or later, and most did not.
The statute, in full
KRS §383.500 is short enough to read in its entirety, and worth reading because every other Kentucky landlord-law question flows from it:
"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. No other ordinance shall be enacted by a city, county or urban-county government which relates to the subjects embraced in KRS 383.505 to 383.705."
KRS §383.500, effective July 13, 1984, created by 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 176, sec. 1.
Three separate rules live in those three sentences, and each one matters to an investor.
Rule one: it is an authorization, not a code
Most states enact a landlord-tenant code that applies statewide. Kentucky enacted a menu and let local governments order from it. A city, county or urban-county government has to affirmatively adopt, and the great majority never did. Roughly 19 Kentucky jurisdictions have adopted, and about 4 of the state's 120 counties.
So the correct answer to "what is Kentucky's eviction notice period" is another question: where is the property?
Rule two: adoption is all-or-nothing
"If adopted, these provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment." A Kentucky city cannot adopt the habitability provisions and skip the deposit rules, or adopt the act with a local tweak to the notice periods. It takes the whole thing as written or none of it. For an investor that is clarifying: in an adopting jurisdiction you know exactly what applies, because it is the state text.
Rule three: adoption is a ceiling on local regulation
This is the sentence most commentary skips, and it is the one that favors landlords. "No other ordinance shall be enacted by a city, county or urban-county government which relates to the subjects embraced in KRS 383.505 to 383.705."
An adopting Kentucky city gets the act and is then barred from layering additional ordinances on the subjects the act covers. Compare that to states where a city adopts a state code and then stacks its own registration scheme, its own screening restrictions and its own notice requirements on top. Kentucky closed that door in the same sentence that opened the first one.
What actually changes when the act applies
| Issue | Adopting jurisdiction | Everywhere else in Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | Seven-day written notice before termination (KRS §383.660(2)) | Whatever the written lease provides, subject to forcible-detainer practice |
| Material breach | Notice terminating not less than fourteen days after receipt, curable in fifteen days (KRS §383.660(1)) | Governed by the lease |
| Repeat breach | A substantially similar breach within six months: fourteen days' notice, no cure right | Governed by the lease |
| Security deposit account | Separate account required, tenant told the institution and account number (KRS §383.580(1)) | No statutory requirement |
| Damage listings | Signed move-in and move-out listings required (KRS §383.580(2)-(3)) | No statutory requirement |
| Penalty for getting it wrong | Forfeiture of the right to retain any of the deposit where the account and the listings were both missed (KRS §383.580(4)) | No statutory forfeiture |
| Extra local ordinances | Barred on these subjects by KRS §383.500 | Local government retains general authority |
Which jurisdictions adopted, and why we will not present this as authoritative
The jurisdictions generally identified as having adopted include Jefferson County (Louisville), Fayette County (Lexington), Oldham County and Pulaski County, plus a cluster of Northern Kentucky cities: Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Ludlow, Southgate, Taylor Mill, Bromley, Silver Grove and Melbourne. Florence, Georgetown, Shelbyville, Barbourville and Woodlawn are also commonly listed.
Here is the honest caveat, and we would rather publish it than pretend otherwise: Kentucky maintains no official consolidated list of adopting jurisdictions. The compilation above comes from practitioner sources, not from the Commonwealth. It is the best available, and it is not something to close a purchase on.
What to do instead, and it takes one phone call: ask the city clerk, or the county attorney's office, whether that jurisdiction has adopted KRS 383.505 to 383.705. Ask for the ordinance number. Do it during your inspection period. We ask every Kentucky borrower this question at the first conversation, because it changes the operating advice we give alongside the loan.
Which regime is better for a landlord?
Neither, uniformly, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
The adopting jurisdictions give you a short, predictable seven-day nonpayment clock and a court system used to applying it. They also give you the KRS §383.580 deposit requirements with a harsh forfeiture penalty, and those are easy to get wrong if you self-manage from out of state.
The non-adopting jurisdictions give you contractual freedom, which is genuinely valuable if your lease is well drafted, and genuine exposure if it is not. There is no statutory backstop filling the gaps in a thin lease.
The practical answer is that your lease should be drafted for the regime you are actually in, by a Kentucky attorney who knows the difference. That is a few hundred dollars that protects a six-figure asset. This page is not legal advice.
No pressure and no obligation: a 20-minute call with our team, the real full payment run against a realistic Kentucky rent, and a straight answer on whether the deal clears before you write an offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kentucky landlord-tenant act statewide?
No. KRS §383.500, effective July 13, 1984, authorizes cities, counties and urban-county governments to enact the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act rather than imposing it statewide. Roughly 19 Kentucky jurisdictions adopted, including about 4 of the state's 120 counties. In the rest of Kentucky the written lease and forcible-detainer practice govern instead.
Can a Kentucky city adopt only part of the landlord-tenant act?
No. KRS §383.500 provides that if adopted, the provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment. A city cannot take the habitability sections and skip the deposit rules, or adjust the notice periods locally. In an adopting jurisdiction the state text is what applies, word for word.
Can a Kentucky city add its own landlord ordinances?
Not on the subjects the act covers, once it has adopted. KRS §383.500 states that no other ordinance shall be enacted by a city, county or urban-county government relating to the subjects embraced in KRS 383.505 to 383.705. Adoption functions as a ceiling on local landlord regulation as well as a floor, which is a meaningful protection compared with states that allow local stacking.
How do I find out if my Kentucky city adopted the landlord-tenant act?
Call the city clerk or the county attorney's office and ask whether that jurisdiction has adopted KRS 383.505 to 383.705, and ask for the ordinance number. Kentucky publishes no official consolidated list, so practitioner compilations are the best available secondary source and are not something to close a purchase on. Do this during your inspection period.
Is it better to own a rental in an adopting or non-adopting Kentucky jurisdiction?
Neither is uniformly better. Adopting jurisdictions give a short, predictable seven-day nonpayment clock and courts used to applying it, alongside the KRS §383.580 deposit requirements with a harsh forfeiture penalty. Non-adopting jurisdictions give contractual freedom, which rewards a well-drafted lease and punishes a thin one. Have the lease drafted for the regime you are actually in.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. Whether your city or county has adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, local short-term-rental rules, and county assessment practice all change; confirm with the city clerk, the county Property Valuation Administrator, your CPA, or a Kentucky real estate attorney before you buy. Loans are subject to buyer and property qualification.