Breaking a Lease Early in Kentucky: What Are My Options?

When you can leave early

1. 1

   Where the rental act applies, you can give written notice if your landlord seriously breaks the lease. You can also if they break the repair law and it seriously affects health and safety. Name the problem. The law gives your landlord 14 days to fix it. If they do not, your lease ends on your notice date, at least 30 days after they get it. It does not work for a problem you caused.

   Sources:

   1. KRS 383.500, Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   2. KRS 383.625(1), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

2. 2

   Where the rental act applies, say your landlord repeats substantially the same failure within 6 months after you gave notice of it. You can then end your lease. Send written notice at least 14 days before the end date, naming the problem and that date.

   Sources:

   1. KRS 383.500, Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   2. KRS 383.625(1), Kentucky Legislature. Law.

After you move out

3. 3

   Where the rental act applies, your landlord must inspect your home when you move out. They must list any damage charged to your deposit, with the repair cost. You may inspect the home to check the list. Say you leave without paying last month's rent and do not ask for your deposit back. Your landlord may use it for that rent after 30 days.

   Sources:

   1. KRS 383.580(3), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   2. KRS 383.500, Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

4. 4

   Where the rental act applies, say you leave owing no rent with a refund due. Your landlord must send notice of the refund amount to your last known address, or another address where you can reasonably be found. If your landlord gets no response within 60 days of sending it, your landlord may keep the deposit.

   Sources:

   1. KRS 383.580(7), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   2. KRS 383.500, Kentucky Legislature. Law.
5. 5

   Where the rental act applies, if your lease ends because your landlord broke it or the repair law, your landlord must return all prepaid rent.

   Sources:

   1. KRS 383.500, Kentucky Legislature. Law.
   2. KRS 383.625(4), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
6. 6

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
7. 7

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

8. 8

   After you sign your lease, you may get a domestic violence order or interpersonal protective order (a court order that bars contact). If it bars the other person from any unauthorized contact with you, you can end your lease early. Send a written notice ending it at least 30 days after your landlord gets it. Attach the order. This covers leases made or renewed on or after June 29, 2017.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. KRS 383.300(1)(a), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
9. 9

   Say you had a domestic violence order or interpersonal protective order (a court order that bars contact) before you signed. You can still end your lease. Send a written notice ending it at least 30 days after your landlord gets it. Attach the order. Show a safety concern that came up after you signed. This covers leases made or renewed on or after June 29, 2017.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. KRS 383.300(1)(a), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
10. 10

    If you end your lease under the protective order law, you owe rent only up to the day the lease ends. You cannot be charged other rent or fees only because you left early, or get a negative credit entry or character reference. For example, say rent is $900 a month and the lease ends on the 10th day of a 30-day month. Your landlord can claim about $300 in rent.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. KRS 383.300(5)(c), Kentucky Legislature. Law.
    Tip.

    This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.