Kentucky Repair Request Letter to Landlord
A free Kentucky repair request letter to landlord that follows Kentucky law. Fill in the boxes, check the rules below, then print or copy it. Keep a copy and proof of how you sent it.
What Kentucky law says
| Repair and deduct | URLTA areas: if the landlord willfully fails to fix a health/safety violation costing less than the greater of $100 or one-half month's rent within 14 days after written notice (sooner in emergencies), the tenant may have the work done and deduct the paid, itemized cost from rent. For willful failure to supply heat, water, hot water, electric, gas or other essential services, the tenant may buy them and deduct the cost. Non-URLTA areas: no statute. Source: KRS 383.635; KRS 383.640 |
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| Withholding rent | No general withholding right. URLTA areas: in a nonpayment possession action the tenant may counterclaim and the court may order rent paid into court; a tenant who obtains substitute housing during an essential-services failure is excused from rent for that period. Non-URLTA areas: no statute. Source: KRS 383.645; KRS 383.640(1)(c) |
| Landlord retaliation | URLTA areas: landlord may not raise rent, decrease services, or bring or threaten eviction after a tenant complains to a code agency, complains to the landlord about KRS 383.595 maintenance duties, or joins/organizes a tenants' union. A complaint within one year before the act creates a presumption of retaliation. Remedies: those in KRS 383.655 (up to 3 months' rent plus attorney fees) and a defense to eviction. Non-URLTA areas: no statute. Source: KRS 383.705 |
| Heat | In URLTA areas, yes: the landlord must supply running water, reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1 — unless the building is not required by law to be so equipped or heat/hot water is produced by equipment under the tenant's exclusive control with a direct utility connection. Heating facilities the landlord supplies must be kept in good and safe working order. No numeric minimum temperature is set. Outside URLTA areas, there is no statewide heat statute. Source: KRS 383.595(1)(d), (e) |
| Mold | No statute — Kentucky has no mold-specific landlord-tenant law. Where the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) has been locally adopted, mold falls under the landlord's duties to comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety and to do whatever is necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable. Outside URLTA areas, no statewide habitability statute applies; the lease and local codes govern. |
Fill in your letter
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To: [landlord or manager name], [landlord address]
From: [your name], tenant at [rental address]
I am asking you to repair the following problems at my rental: [describe each problem, where it is, and when it started].
I first reported this on [date first reported] by [phone, text, email, portal or letter].
Please make these repairs by [date]. You may enter to make repairs after giving the notice required by law; times that work for me: [access times].
Kentucky law protects tenants from retaliation for asking for repairs (KRS 383.705).
Date: [today's date]
Tenant: [your name]
Signature: ____________________
How to send it: use a method you can prove — certified mail with return receipt, or email/text if your lease allows notices that way. Write down the date.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.