Facing Eviction in Kentucky: What Can I Do?
This page explains how an eviction case works in Kentucky. It covers the notice your landlord must give, what happens if the case goes to court, and how to respond.
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Before your landlord can take you to court to evict you, they must give you written notice. This notice must tell you to move out by a certain date. It should be dated, say why you are being evicted, and be signed by your landlord.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Your landlord can give you the notice to move out by handing it to you or to another adult living in your home. Your landlord can also post it at your home or mail it to you by certified or registered mail.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your written lease does not say how much time you have to move, you have 30 days to move out. This is counted from the date of the notice. Check your lease first for any part about eviction, a notice to move out, or ending the lease.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in places that adopted it. These places include Barbourville, Bellevue, Bromley, Covington, Dayton, Elsmere, Florence, Lexington-Fayette County, Georgetown, and Louisville-Jefferson County. They also include Ludlow, Melbourne, Newport, Oldham County, Pulaski County, Shelbyville, Silver Grove, Southgate, Taylor Mill, and Woodlawn. In those places, your landlord must give you written notice if you pay your rent late. You get 7 days to pay the rent in full, counted from the day you get the notice.
Kentucky Justice Online URLTA Jurisdictions Kentucky General Assembly KRS 383.500 Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 383.660(2)✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act covers only places that adopted it. These include Louisville-Jefferson County, Lexington-Fayette County, Covington, and 17 other listed cities and counties. In those places, breaking a lease rule works differently than elsewhere in Kentucky. If you do something your lease does not allow, or skip something it requires, your landlord must give you written notice saying what is wrong. Your lease ends after 14 days unless you fix the problem.
Kentucky Justice Online URLTA Jurisdictions Kentucky General Assembly KRS 383.500 Kentucky Revised Statutes KRS 383.660(1)✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you do not leave after your notice period ends, your landlord cannot cut off your utilities (water, electric, gas). Your landlord also cannot change your locks or move your things out on their own. Your landlord must first file a court case called a Forcible Detainer.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If your landlord already filed an eviction case in court, the Sheriff serves you 2 papers. One is a Notice of Eviction Hearing Trial, telling you when and where to go to court. The other is a Forcible Detainer Complaint, explaining why your landlord wants you out. The Sheriff can hand these to you or another adult in your home, post them at your home, or mail them to you.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you pay your landlord after you get an eviction notice and your landlord accepts the payment, they should not continue with the eviction case. When you pay, get a receipt or bring someone with you as a witness.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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At your eviction hearing, tell the judge your side of the case and the reasons you should not be evicted. Tell the judge too if your landlord did not give you the full notice time required by law.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act covers only places that adopted it. These include Louisville-Jefferson County, Lexington-Fayette County, Covington, and 17 other listed cities and counties. In those places, your landlord cannot evict you for up to 1 year after you make a complaint. To use this defense, you must show your landlord knew about the complaint. You must also show you are not behind on rent and that your landlord has no other valid reason to evict you.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If the judge decides your landlord proved the reasons for eviction, the judge signs an eviction order. This order is called a Forcible Detainer Judgment (the court's official order that you must move). The court gives you a copy. Keep this paper.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If the judge decides your landlord did not prove the case, the judge dismisses it and does not sign an eviction order. Ask the court for a copy of the paper that shows the case was dismissed, and keep it.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you do not appeal, you and your things must be out of the home within 7 days after the hearing. If you are not out by then, your landlord can ask the court for a removal order. This order tells the Sheriff to remove you and your things from the home.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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If you think the judge decided your case wrong, you can appeal to a higher court, where a different judge reviews it. You must file your appeal within 7 days of the hearing. You also have to pay a filing fee. You must pay the rent you owe, plus any rent that comes due while your appeal is going on.
✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026
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