Through our nearly 40 combined years of providing legal service, we have represented both landlords and tenants. Our attorneys are very well-versed in this area of the law. Through the years, our attorneys have noticed the biggest misunderstanding about landlord tenant law is the ““Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act” (known as the URLTA), found in KRS 383.500 – 383.715. The URLTA causes confusion because it does not apply to all Kentucky counties. In fact, it only applies to about 10% of Kentucky counties (including Fayette and Jefferson). Unless a county or jurisdiction has affirmatively adopted the URLTA, then it does not control lease agreements in that jurisdiction.
While the law can be wordy and at points very difficult to understand, you are entitled to the protections it provides and should know that you have attorneys who are willing to fight for those rights.
Did you know?
That in order for landlords to legally be able to keep any portion of a security deposit, the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act dictates that they must do the following three things?
- Provide the tenant an exhaustive list of all pre-existing damage, and allow the tenant an initial walk-through of the premises to inspect and sign off on the list;
- Deposit the security deposit into a separate account used only for that purpose, and provide the location of the separate account and the account number; and
- Provide the tenant an exhaustive list of all damage at the end of the tenancy, and allow the tenant a final walk-through of the premises to inspect and sign off on the list.
Did you know?
That if you live in a city governed by the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, the Landlord is legally prohibited from including in the lease a provision that the Tenant can be responsible for the Landlord’s attorney fees? That’s right, and yes, we have had to educate Landlords and their attorneys on this one more than once.
These are just a few examples of often-ignored parts of the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act that govern residential leases where that law is in effect. If the URLTA has not been adopted, standard contract law and other provisions of KRS Chapter 383 control. Contact Cooley Iuliano Robey today at 859-258-2697 if you have an issue with either your landlord or your tenant. We would be glad to assist you in resolving the matter efficiently and effectively.
