Kentucky Eviction Notice
Kentucky eviction notice: URLTA jurisdictions use a 7-day pay-or-quit, 14-day cure-or-quit notice under KRS 383.660. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Kentucky is not a single-rule state for eviction notices: the 7-day and 14-day notice periods below apply only in cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) by local ordinance, including Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington). This page is the actual notice document a landlord fills out and serves, not a general guide to how Kentucky eviction law works: an eviction notice is the written notice a landlord serves on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible detainer lawsuit in court. In URLTA jurisdictions, nonpayment of rent gets a 7-day pay-or-quit notice, and a fixable lease violation gets a 14-day cure-or-quit notice, both under Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660. Where URLTA has not been locally adopted, this scope limit matters most: Section 383.660 does not apply at all, so nonpayment or lease-violation evictions during a lease term are instead governed by the lease's own terms, and ending a tenancy at will or by sufferance requires 1 month's written notice under Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.195. There is no state-mandated form for the pre-filing notice itself, but URLTA notices must state specific content: the amount owed and the intent to terminate for a pay-or-quit notice, or the specific acts and omissions constituting the breach for a cure-or-quit notice. Confirm whether the property is in a URLTA-adopting jurisdiction before relying on the 7-day or 14-day counts, since serving the wrong notice type can get the eviction case dismissed.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible detainer lawsuit in court.
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Kentucky's 7-day and 14-day notice rules apply only in cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) by local ordinance, such as Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington). Outside those jurisdictions, these day counts do not apply. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.500)
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In a URLTA jurisdiction, nonpayment of rent gets a 7-day pay-or-quit notice: written notice of the nonpayment and the landlord's intent to terminate if the rent is not paid within 7 days. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660(2))
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In a URLTA jurisdiction, a curable lease violation gets a 14-day cure-or-quit notice: the tenant has until the date stated in the notice, at least 14 days after receipt, to remedy the breach. If not remedied within 15 days, the agreement terminates. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660(1))
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If substantially the same violation recurs within 6 months of a prior 14-day notice, Kentucky law does not require a further cure opportunity; the landlord may terminate on 14 days' written notice with no chance to fix it a second time. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660(1))
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Outside URLTA jurisdictions, ending a tenancy at will or by sufferance requires 1 month's written notice, and nonpayment or lease-violation evictions during a lease term follow the lease's own terms rather than a statewide statutory day count. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.195)
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There's no state-mandated form for the pre-filing notice itself, but URLTA notices must state specific content (the amount due and intent to terminate, or the specific breach and termination date). In URLTA jurisdictions, notice may be delivered in hand or by registered or certified mail; either method is acceptable. (Kentucky Revised Statutes Sections 383.660, 383.560)
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Kentucky, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Kentucky Requirements for Eviction Notice
In cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), if rent is unpaid when due, the landlord must give written notice of the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within 7 days. Outside URLTA jurisdictions, this statutory day count does not apply; nonpayment eviction during a lease term follows the lease's own terms.
In jurisdictions where URLTA has not been locally adopted, a tenancy at will or by sufferance may be terminated by the landlord giving 1 month's written notice to the tenant requiring removal. This is a separate statutory track from the URLTA 7-day and 14-day notices above and applies statewide, regardless of local URLTA adoption.
In URLTA jurisdictions, a notice is received by the tenant when it is delivered in hand, or mailed by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated address for receiving communications, or, if none is designated, to the tenant's last known place of residence. The statute states no order of preference between the two methods.
The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.505 to 383.715), including the 7-day and 14-day notice rules on this page, applies only in cities, counties, and urban-county governments that have formally adopted it by ordinance under KRS 383.500, in its entirety and without amendment. Confirmed adopting jurisdictions include Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington); confirm local adoption status before relying on these day counts for any other location.
No Kentucky statute or court form prescribes the pre-filing notice to quit itself. However, specific content is legally required: a nonpayment notice must state the nonpayment and the landlord's intent to terminate if rent is not paid within 7 days, and a noncompliance notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and the termination date, not less than 14 days after receipt.
In URLTA jurisdictions, for a material noncompliance with the rental agreement or the tenant's statutory maintenance obligations, the landlord must deliver written notice specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach, stating a termination date not less than 14 days after receipt. If the breach is not remedied within 15 days, the rental agreement terminates as stated in the notice, unless the tenant remedies it first.
In URLTA jurisdictions, if substantially the same act or omission that was the subject of a prior noncompliance notice recurs within 6 months, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement on at least 14 days' written notice specifying the breach and the termination date, with no further opportunity for the tenant to cure that recurrence.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the city or county. In jurisdictions that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), such as Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington), nonpayment of rent gets a 7-day pay-or-quit notice and a curable lease violation gets a 14-day cure-or-quit notice, both under Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660. Outside URLTA jurisdictions, there's no fixed statewide day count for nonpayment or lease-violation evictions; a tenancy at will or by sufferance requires 1 month's written notice instead.
Generally no. In URLTA jurisdictions, Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660 requires written notice before terminating for nonpayment or a lease violation. One narrow exception: under Section 383.695(3), a holdover tenancy after a written lease ends can be terminated without any notice if the tenant is more than 10 days late paying rent. Outside URLTA jurisdictions, a tenancy at will or by sufferance still requires 1 month's written notice under Section 383.195.
In URLTA jurisdictions, Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660 requires specific content depending on the reason. A pay-or-quit notice must state the amount of rent unpaid and the landlord's intent to terminate the tenancy if it is not paid within 7 days. A cure-or-quit notice must specify the exact acts and omissions constituting the breach and the termination date, which must be at least 14 days after the tenant receives the notice. The notice should also identify the landlord, the tenant, and the rental address so there's no dispute about who was notified and of what. Outside URLTA jurisdictions, no statute prescribes notice content; the lease's own termination terms control.
There is no statewide statutory or Administrative Office of the Courts form for the pre-filing eviction notice itself. A landlord in a URLTA jurisdiction can write the notice, as long as it states the content Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660 requires: either the unpaid rent amount and 7-day deadline, or the specific breach and a termination date at least 14 days out. The Administrative Office of the Courts' forcible detainer complaint form comes into play only after the notice period runs and the case goes to court; it is not a substitute for the notice.
A curable lease violation, other than nonpayment, gets the 14-day cure-or-quit notice: the tenant has until the date stated in the notice, at least 14 days after receipt, to fix the problem, with a 15-day outer window. The violation becomes grounds for the recurring-violation notice instead of the standard cure notice only when substantially the same violation recurred within 6 months of a prior 14-day notice; Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660(1) then allows termination on 14 days' notice with no further chance to fix it. Nonpayment of rent always uses the separate 7-day pay-or-quit notice rather than either cure category.
Count from the date the tenant receives the notice, not the date the landlord signs or mails it. For a 7-day pay-or-quit notice, the deadline is 7 days after the tenant receives it. For a 14-day cure-or-quit notice, the termination date stated in the notice must be at least 14 days after receipt, and Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660(1) then gives the tenant 15 days total to actually remedy the breach before the agreement terminates. Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.560 treats a notice as received when it is hand delivered, or when registered or certified mail reaches the tenant's designated address or last known residence, so track whichever delivery method was actually used to fix the correct start date.
If the deadline in the notice passes without payment, cure, or the tenant vacating, the notice itself doesn't remove anyone from the property. The next step is for the landlord to file a forcible detainer complaint in the District Court for the county where the rental property is located. Keep the served notice and proof of how and when it was delivered on file, since the case in court depends on the correct notice period and content having been used.
Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.660 does not itself require a landlord's signature on the notice, but dating the notice and keeping proof of service matter because the 7-day and 14-day countdowns run from the date the tenant receives the notice, not the date it's written. Record the date of the notice, who served it, and the method used, hand delivery or registered or certified mail, since Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 383.560 treats hand delivery and mail as equally valid options. Keeping that proof of service on file lets the landlord show the court exactly when the clock started.