Tenant screening and landlord-tenant law in kentucky

Kentucky has no statute capping tenant screening or rental application fees, whether statewide or tied to URLTA. This is a thinner protection area than in some states.

Kentucky's Civil Rights Act (KRS Chapter 344) does not list criminal history as a protected basis in housing; the protected classes under KRS 344.360 are race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, and national origin — the same categories as the federal Fair Housing Act. However, Kentucky has its own consumer-reporting limit: under KRS 367.310, "no consumer reporting agency shall maintain any information in its files relating to any charge in a criminal case, in any court of this Commonwealth, unless the charge has resulted in a conviction." In practice, this generally means Kentucky consumer reports should not include non-conviction criminal charges from Kentucky courts. Separately, the federal Fair Housing Act's disparate-impact framework for criminal-history screening still applies, and the underlying statute and case law such as Texas Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project (2015) remain unaffected by changes in HUD guidance.

Source of income (including housing vouchers) is not a protected class under Kentucky's civil rights law. KRS 344.300 authorizes cities and counties to adopt their own anti-discrimination ordinances, but only on the bases it lists — race, color, religion, disability, familial status, national origin, sex, and age — which does not include source of income. This is consistent with secondary reporting that Kentucky is among the states that effectively preempt local source-of-income protections, though city ordinances can vary. We were not able to confirm the current status of any Louisville/Jefferson County or Lexington-Fayette source-of-income protection (a 2007 Sixth Circuit case, Graoch Associates #33 v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Human Relations Comm'n, addressed a Louisville ordinance provision on mandatory Section 8 participation) — treat source-of-income status in any specific Kentucky city as unconfirmed until checked locally.

Kentucky has no statewide addition to FCRA's adverse action requirements. The federal baseline generally applies: if you deny an application, charge more, or require a co-signer based on a consumer report, FCRA §615 generally requires you to notify the applicant, name the reporting agency, and explain their right to dispute the report and get a free copy of it.

Kentucky does not have a single statewide security deposit statute — deposit rules under KRS 383.580 only apply where the local government has adopted URLTA. In those jurisdictions: deposits must generally be held in a separate account at a regulated bank or lending institution, with the tenant informed of the account location and number; landlords and tenants must sign a move-in damage listing and a comparable move-out listing; and if the tenant leaves without owing rent, the landlord must send notice of any refund due, and may keep the deposit if the tenant doesn't respond within 60 days. If a tenant leaves owing the last month's rent without demanding a refund, the landlord may apply the deposit to that debt after 30 days. Outside URLTA jurisdictions, deposit handling is generally governed by the lease and general contract law rather than a specific statute — a materially thinner protection than URLTA areas provide.

Kentucky has no statewide rent control or just-cause eviction requirement. A 2024 law, KRS 383.198, generally bars any city, county, urban-county, consolidated, or unified local government from adopting or enforcing a landlord-tenant ordinance that conflicts with state law. Because this is not stated as an explicit rent-control ban, confirm any local rent-control rule against current municipal code before finalizing a policy. Kentucky's general eviction framework (forcible entry and detainer) is set out at KRS 383.200 et seq.; URLTA jurisdictions layer additional tenant remedies and landlord notice requirements on top of that framework. Because statutes are periodically amended, consult the official source to confirm the current text before taking action.

Louisville/Jefferson County and Lexington-Fayette Urban County are reported to have adopted URLTA, which would mean its security deposit and disclosure rules generally apply there; landlords in these jurisdictions should verify this against current local ordinances. Separately, a narrow 2025 state law, KRS 383.199, restricts leasing certain single-family homes, multifamily units, or accessory dwelling units in traditional single-family zones within a county containing a consolidated local government (i.e., Jefferson County) for new leases starting after June 27, 2025, unless the owner primarily resides on the property — this is a zoning/leasing restriction, not a screening or fee rule. Landlords in other Kentucky jurisdictions should check for any local tenant-screening, fee-cap, or source-of-income ordinances. Kentucky's ~120 counties are organized as fiscal court jurisdictions, so the city/county distinction works differently than in states with unincorporated territory. Because statutes can be amended, landlords should confirm the current text of KRS 383.199 at the official source.

Does Kentucky cap tenant screening or application fees? Kentucky has no statewide cap. Landlords should still confirm applicable requirements in the specific city or county where the property is located.

Can a Kentucky landlord deny an applicant for a past criminal charge that never led to a conviction? Kentucky consumer reporting agencies are generally barred from keeping non-conviction criminal charges from Kentucky courts in their files (KRS 367.310), so such charges generally shouldn't appear on a Kentucky-based background check in the first place.

Is source of income (like a housing voucher) a protected class in Kentucky? No. Kentucky's civil rights law doesn't include source of income among protected housing characteristics, and the statute authorizing local anti-discrimination ordinances doesn't list it either.

Does Kentucky require security deposits to be returned within a set timeline? Only in cities/counties that adopted URLTA. There, landlords generally must send an itemized accounting and any refund within specific windows tied to whether rent is owed; outside URLTA jurisdictions, no comparable statewide deadline exists.

Checkr helps landlords and property managers run FCRA-compliant tenant screening with fast turnaround and built-in adverse action workflows. Get started with Checkr to set up compliant screening for your Kentucky rental.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.