What a Landlord Cannot Do in Kentucky
The main limits Kentucky law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Kentucky landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | URLTA areas: if the landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant or willfully interrupts heat, water, hot water, electric, gas or other essential service, the tenant may recover possession or terminate and recover up to 3 months' rent plus reasonable attorney fees. Statewide: a landlord's entry on the possession of a tenant at will or by sufferance is a forcible entry, remediable through a forcible entry and detainer action in District Court. No explicit statewide utility-shutoff statute found outside URLTA. |
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| Landlord entry notice | URLTA areas: at least 2 days' notice and entry only at reasonable times, except in emergencies or where impracticable; no abuse of access. Non-URLTA areas: no statute. Statewide, a landlord's entry on the possession of a tenant at will or by sufferance is a 'forcible entry' (KRS 383.200(2)(b)). Source: KRS 383.615 |
| 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 |
| Security deposit limit | No statutory cap (statewide or under URLTA). The URLTA deposit section sets procedures but no maximum; no statewide deposit statute was found outside URLTA. Source: KRS 383.580 |
| Penalty for withholding | URLTA areas: a landlord who did not keep the deposit in a separate account and provide both move-in and move-out damage lists may not retain any portion of the deposit. No multiple-damages penalty. Non-URLTA areas: no statute. Source: KRS 383.580(4) |
| Late fees | No statutory cap or grace period. KRS 383.010 provides that unpaid rent bears 6% annual interest from the due date (https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35671). |
| Rent control / increase limits | Preempted: only the General Assembly may enact rent control on private property; local governments may not. No statewide cap. Since March 6, 2024, local governments also may not adopt landlord-tenant ordinances that conflict with state law (KRS 383.198) or ban refusing tenants who pay with federal housing assistance (KRS 65.874). Source: KRS 65.875 |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No. There is no statewide protection, and since 2024 local governments may not adopt or enforce ordinances that bar landlords from refusing to rent to someone whose rent is paid in part with a federal housing assistance program (e.g., Section 8 vouchers). This overrides the Louisville and Lexington source-of-income ordinances to the extent they cover federal housing assistance. KRS 65.874 took effect March 6, 2024. It reaches only rules about federal housing assistance; whether local protections for other income sources survive under KRS 383.198 (no local landlord-tenant ordinance in conflict with state law) is unsettled. |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute. Using a camera or other recording device (or entering or remaining unlawfully on another's premises) to view or record another person's sexual conduct, genitals, undergarments not publicly visible, or female nipple without consent, where the person reasonably expects not to be observed, is voyeurism (Class A misdemeanor). Using a device to overhear or record others' oral or wire communications without the consent of at least one party is eavesdropping (Class D felony). In URLTA areas, landlords must give at least two days' notice before entry (except emergencies or impracticability), enter at reasonable times, and not use access to harass. Audio-recording devices inside a tenant's unit capture conversations to which the landlord is not a party and are likely unlawful eavesdropping. Eavesdropping statute: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19949 |
| Other rental fees | No statute — no general limit or disclosure rule for other rental fees was found in KRS Chapter 383. A lease may not authorize penalties or termination because a tenant called police or sought emergency help (punitive damages up to 2 months' rent). |
Can I sue my landlord in Kentucky? · All Kentucky tenant rights
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.