Housing Laws

This law applies to leases that were created or renewed after June 29, 2017. It offers you various protections, explained below, if you are a protected tenant.

First, you have the right to terminate your lease by providing certain written documentation to your landlord.¹

Second, your landlord cannot do any of the following because of your status as a protected tenant:

• end your lease;
• fail to renew your lease;
• refuse to enter into a lease with you; or
• retaliate against you in renting or leasing a residence.²

Note: Your landlord might still be allowed to do some of these things if s/he has a different legal reason to do them. For example, although a protected tenant cannot be evicted for calling 911, s/he could be evicted for nonpayment of rent.

Third, you have the right to install a new lock on your unit at your own expense. Before you make the change, you have to let your landlord know. Then, you have two options:  

• re-keying the lock if the lock is in good working condition; or
• replacing the entire locking mechanism with a locking mechanism of equal or better quality than the lock being replaced.³

If your landlord asks for a copy of the new key, you are required to give him/her one. However, the landlord doesn’t have to give the abuser a new key, even if s/he is named in the lease.⁴

Note: The abuser is still responsible for rent if s/he is a tenant, even if s/he is not allowed on the property.⁵

¹ Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.300(5)(a)
² Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.300(3)(a)
³ Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.300(4)(a)(1)
⁴ Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.300(4)(a)(2), (4)(b)
⁵ Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.300(4)(c)