Kentucky Eviction Laws

Kentucky notice periods for ending a tenancy and starting an eviction, each as LeaseCraft read it in the statute at the official source, with its citation and read date (most recently ).

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Kentucky notice periods

Periods are as the statute states them: some are minimums, some apply unless the lease sets another. "Lease controls" means there is no statutory period; "No pre-suit notice" means none is required before filing.

SituationNotice periodSource
Unpaid rent 7 calendar days KRS 383.660(2); KRS 383.500; KRS 383.560
Read
Lease violation 14 calendar days KRS 383.660(1); KRS 383.500
Read
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure 14 calendar days KRS 383.660(1)
Read
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 30 calendar days KRS 383.695(2); KRS 383.195; KRS 383.500
Read
Tenant staying after the lease ends 10 calendar days KRS 383.695(3), (4); KRS 383.195
Read
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 7 calendar days KRS 383.695(1)
Read

What the Kentucky statute says

Unpaid rent 7 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS ONLY (KRS 383.500): rent unpaid when due and tenant fails to pay within seven days after written notice of nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate if not paid within that period (KRS 383.660(2)).
  • Notice is 'received' when hand-delivered or sent by registered/certified mail to the tenant's designated or last known residence, or when it comes to the tenant's attention (KRS 383.560).

Exceptions

  • Non-URLTA jurisdictions: no statutory pay-or-quit period was found in KRS ch. 383; the lease's forfeiture/notice clause governs, and KRS 383.695 does not apply. Product must branch on the property's local government.
Lease violation 14 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS ONLY: material noncompliance with the rental agreement or with KRS 383.605/383.610: written notice specifying the acts and omissions and stating the agreement terminates on a date not less than fourteen days after RECEIPT (KRS 383.660(1)).
  • Statute then says 'If the breach is not remedied in fifteen (15) days, the rental agreement shall terminate as provided in the notice', but the agreement does not terminate if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice — draft the notice so the cure deadline equals the termination date (>= 14 days after receipt).

Exceptions

  • Non-URLTA jurisdictions: no statutory cure period; lease governs.
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure 14 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS ONLY: substantially the same act or omission recurring within six months after a prior noncompliance notice: landlord may terminate on at least fourteen days' written notice specifying the breach and the termination date (KRS 383.660(1)); the statute contains no express 'without right to cure' words but provides no cure clause for this notice.

Exceptions

  • Non-URLTA jurisdictions: lease governs; KRS 383.195 one-month notice for tenancies at will/sufferance.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 30 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS: written notice at least thirty days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice (KRS 383.695(2)); same for tenant.
  • NON-URLTA JURISDICTIONS: a tenancy at will or by sufferance may be terminated by the landlord giving one month's notice in writing requiring the tenant to remove (KRS 383.195) — 'one (1) month', not 30 days.
Tenant staying after the lease ends 10 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS: a tenancy begun upon the termination of a written lease may be terminated by written notice at least ten days before the termination date specified in the notice; if the tenant fails to pay rent within ten days after it becomes due, landlord may terminate at any time without notice (KRS 383.695(3)).
  • Holdover without consent after expiration/termination: action for possession; willful bad-faith holdover exposes tenant to up to 3 months' rent or threefold actual damages (383.695(4)).

Exceptions

  • Non-URLTA jurisdictions: tenant by sufferance — one month's written notice (KRS 383.195).
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 7 calendar days
  • URLTA JURISDICTIONS: week-to-week terminable by written notice at least seven days before the termination date specified in the notice (KRS 383.695(1)).

Exceptions

  • Non-URLTA jurisdictions: KRS 383.195 (one month for tenancy at will) — no separate weekly rule found.

Just cause, delivery, form and local rules in Kentucky

How the notice may be delivered

URLTA (KRS 383.560): a person gives notice by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform the other in ordinary course, whether or not the other actually comes to know of it; a tenant 'receives' notice when it comes to the tenant's attention or when it is hand-delivered or sent by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated residence or last known place of residence. Non-URLTA jurisdictions: KRS 383.195 requires only notice 'in writing'; no method prescribed.

KRS 383.560; KRS 383.195 · read

Required form or contents

none found — no statutory form; URLTA mandatory contents: nonpayment notice must state the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate if unpaid within the period (KRS 383.660(2)); noncompliance notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and the termination date (383.660(1)); periodic-tenancy notice must specify the termination/periodic rental date (383.695).

KRS 383.660; KRS 383.695 · read

Statewide just-cause rule

No statewide just-cause requirement

  • No statewide good-cause requirement in either regime; periodic tenancies terminable without cause on 30 days (URLTA) or one month (non-URLTA).

KRS 383.695; KRS 383.195 · read

City and county rules

Kentucky's URLTA (KRS 383.505-383.715) applies only in cities, counties and urban-county governments that have enacted it 'in their entirety and without amendment' (KRS 383.500); no other local landlord-tenant ordinances are permitted on those subjects. The product must determine whether the rental unit is in an adopting jurisdiction (e.g., Louisville Metro, Lexington-Fayette per secondary sources — not verified) and otherwise apply KRS 383.195 and the lease.

KRS 383.500 · read

For Kentucky landlords

  • Find the period for your situation in the table above and count it from the day the notice is delivered.
  • Deliver the notice the way Kentucky law allows and keep a record of how and when.
  • A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

For Kentucky tenants

  • Compare the notice you received with the period for its situation in the table above and the date it reached you.
  • A notice is not a court order. If a case is filed, the court papers say how and by when to respond.
  • Local legal aid and tenant organizations can explain your options.

How an eviction generally proceeds

A general outline, not Kentucky law: the steps, their names and their deadlines differ by state and court. The Kentucky rules LeaseCraft has verified are the ones above.

  1. Written notice. The landlord gives the notice the situation calls for and waits out its period.
  2. Court filing. If the tenant has not paid, cured or left, the landlord files an eviction case in court.
  3. Hearing. Both sides can be heard; the tenant may raise defenses such as an improper notice.
  4. Judgment. The court decides who has the right to the property.
  5. Removal. If the court rules for the landlord, removal follows its order. A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

Kentucky eviction questions

  • 7 calendar days, under KRS 383.660(2); KRS 383.500; KRS 383.560. URLTA JURISDICTIONS ONLY (KRS 383.500): rent unpaid when due and tenant fails to pay within seven days after written notice of nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate if not paid within that period (KRS 383.660(2)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 14 calendar days, under KRS 383.660(1); KRS 383.500. URLTA JURISDICTIONS ONLY: material noncompliance with the rental agreement or with KRS 383.605/383.610: written notice specifying the acts and omissions and stating the agreement terminates on a date not less than fourteen days after RECEIPT (KRS 383.660(1)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 30 calendar days, under KRS 383.695(2); KRS 383.195; KRS 383.500. URLTA JURISDICTIONS: written notice at least thirty days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice (KRS 383.695(2)); same for tenant. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • URLTA (KRS 383.560): a person gives notice by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform the other in ordinary course, whether or not the other actually comes to know of it; a tenant 'receives' notice when it comes to the tenant's attention or when it is hand-delivered or sent by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated residence or last known place of residence. Non-URLTA jurisdictions: KRS 383.195 requires only notice 'in writing'; no method prescribed. Source: KRS 383.560; KRS 383.195. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • No statewide just-cause requirement, under KRS 383.695; KRS 383.195. No statewide good-cause requirement in either regime; periodic tenancies terminable without cause on 30 days (URLTA) or one month (non-URLTA). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 7 calendar days, under KRS 383.695(1). URLTA JURISDICTIONS: week-to-week terminable by written notice at least seven days before the termination date specified in the notice (KRS 383.695(1)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

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Cities and counties can add rules. LeaseCraft is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.