Understanding Kentucky Evictions When No Lease is in Place

Overview of Kentucky Eviction Law

In Kentucky, there are two types of rental agreements relevant to evictions: rental agreements without a definite term, such as month-to-month rentals, and rental agreements for a definite term, meaning a lease. However, even in the absence of a formal written or verbal agreement, if you let someone remain at the premises he is renting, Kentucky courts are likely to recognize that a rental agreement of some kind exists. If this is the case, you still have the right to evict him if he fails to pay his rent. Thus, even if the exact terms of the lease have not been discussed in words, a plan to define those terms in writing at a later date is a general agreement under Kentucky law. And as long as the accused party has refused to honor the agreement, you have the right to evict him from the premises, just as if you had written him a lease with similar terms .
Even if you do not ever agree to any terms with a tenant, Kentucky law breaks down landlord-tenant relationships into two categories, similar to agreements with definite terms and agreements without definite terms. If a tenant is on your land without a lease, he is either a licensee or a trespasser. In the case of a trespasser, he is living in your house without paying rent or speeding up payments for a loan. A licensee, however, has agreement to be present at the home without formally written or spoken terms. In other words, even without saying "you can stay here and you have to do this" and "you can stay here but you can never do this," a licensee or an informal renter has established an agreement with you. And these tenants are intended to be treated just like rent-paying tenants in any eviction proceedings. For this reason, it is important that you understand the specific rental agreement you have with your tenant so that you can explain it correctly to the judge.

Evictions in Kentucky When No Lease is Signed

Many landlords have tenants who do not qualify for a lease. In many cases, a landlord will have a verbal agreement with a tenant. This is also called a tenancy-at-will or a month-to-month rental agreement. Does a tenant have any rights when there is no lease? Yes. Kentucky law governs who may be evicted and under what circumstances.
Under the lawful right of entry, a landlord has the right to enter a tenant’s dwelling to inspect or repair the premises. However, if a tenant has a 12-month lease, the landlord may only enter after a 48-hour notice is given. If the tenant and landlord do not have a written rental agreement, no notice is required.
If a tenant has a verbal agreement, is the landlord or tenant responsible for proving that the tenant should be evicted? The burden of proof lies with the landlord. In most cases, a rental agreement does not have to be written or signed. It can be inferred from the behavior of the landlord, even if the tenant does not agree. When a tenant fails to secure a lease, or refuses to pay rent, a landlord has several legal grounds to evict. A landlord may file for an unlawful entry and detainer and request possession of the premises. A district court may rule an eviction without a hearing if the landlord presents sufficient evidence.
When a landlord and tenant have an oral lease, the lease remains in effect until the tenant refuses to pay rent, or the contract is terminated. An eviction notice is required by law. In Kentucky, a landlord can evict a tenant without a lease if a tenant:
If you reside anywhere besides Jefferson County, you must schedule the eviction for at least one-week prior to the scheduled date. However, a tenant is only evicted on specific days. Evictions occur on Wednesdays and Fridays in Jefferson County and all months are evenly divided. After an eviction warrant has been issued, a sheriff completes the eviction, for a fee.

What Kentucky Requires for Notice When There is No Lease

Even in situations when there is no written lease, the landlord or owner is still required to provide the tenant with notice that they must vacate the premises. In Kentucky, the law requires that the landlord or owner of a residence provide minimum notice to the tenant so that the tenant has a chance to rectify the situation or vacate the property. KRS 383.205 governs the available notices to quit when no lease is involved. If either party—owner or tenant—fails to adhere to a material provision of a tenancy and some type of damage was caused, the notice requirements for non-leased evictions require that the party at fault be notified in writing. If the tenant fails to pay rent and the landlord is forced to notify them that rent is owed, the standard time period that the landlord must allow the tenant to pay the overdue rent is five days. After five days have passed without payment of rent, the landlord may then file suit for possession of the premises. After notice of one of the following, the landlord may terminate the lease: In instances where the tenant has committed a criminal act, the landlord must provide at least 10 days’ notice. If the tenant received three prior notices for the same violation, only five days’ notice needs to be provided. If the tenant has committed a criminal act that impacts the safety of other tenants, the eviction notice must be sent to the tenant within seven days within the occurrence. If the crime, continuing in nature, is responsible for putting the tenant’s neighbors in danger or continuing a nuisance, the landlord or owner can issue the tenant an eviction notice in as little as 1 day. A nuisance is defined as the use of the premises in such a manner as to endanger a neighbor’s life or health or create a hazard to the neighbor’s property or comfort. In situations when a tenancy is terminated, a notice of termination is similar to a notice to quit. The only difference is that the party who receives the termination notice has 30 days to vacate the premises. Once this 30-day period is over, the landlord can file for forcible detainer action on the first Monday after the 30 days has passed. If the tenant subsequently vacates the premises, they can contact the court and ask to have the forcible entry wiped from their record. The failure to give the appropriate notice should force the landlord to begin the process all over again. The more lenient the judge, the more likely a new case will be needed to begin the eviction process all over again. A repeat of all the many steps needed to evict a tenant with a 7-day notice must be taken even if a landlord tends to leave out certain steps.

Legal Protections for Tenants Who Don’t Have a Lease

Even those who don’t have a lease have rights under Kentucky law, and can be protected from wrongful eviction by their landlord. Under Kentucky landlord-tenant law, tenants are protected from self-help methods of eviction. Self-help eviction methods- like simply changing the locks on a rental unit, are illegal in Kentucky. The tenant must be formally evicted in a court of law before the tenant is required to give possession of the property back to the landlord. For example, if a landlord refuses to make repairs, or otherwise violates his or her duties of habitability, tenants can raise an "offset" as a defense to an action brought against them for rent. An "offset" is an amount that the court may deduct from what the tenant owes in back-rent.
Additionally, Kentucky law protects a tenant from retaliatory evictions. Under Kentucky law, it’s illegal for a landlord to evict or otherwise threaten to evict a tenant for complaining about rental conditions or exercising their rights under Kentucky landlord-tenant laws or other state or federal laws.

How Landlords Evict Tenants Without a Lease

Once a landlord has grounds for eviction without a lease in Kentucky, he or she is required to go through specified steps. The process may seem simple on the surface, but it does involve a great deal of paperwork, court proceedings and strict time limits. Even one small mistake or error can delay an eviction, cost you money or lead to a judgment in the tenant’s favor. The eviction process without a lease involves the following steps:

• Step 1: Landlord files an unlawful entry and detainer action in the district court for the county in which the property resides. This should be done after the landlord provides no less than five days’ notice to the tenant of his or her intent to file for an eviction.
• Step 2: Court summons is served.
• Step 3: Tenant responds to the summons within seven days, with the legal option of appealing the case to circuit court.
• Step 4: On the return date (the day the tenant must respond to the summons), if the tenant comes to court and agrees to move out, the judge will likely issue a court order with a specific date on which the tenant must have vacated the premises. If the tenant fails to come to court, a judgment of possession is issued for the landlord . If the tenant denies the allegations and remains in attendance, the judge should make a decision on the case on that date or soon thereafter.
• Step 5: It’s important to note that in any of these cases leading to a judgment of possession, the landlord is not permitted to enter the premises and remove the tenant him- or herself — the removal has to be performed by a sheriff. If the landlord tries to force his or her way into the property due to denial of entry from the tenant, the judge has the option to issue a fine of up to $500.
• Step 6: After a judgment of possession has been granted, the landlord then has to wait 10 days for the eviction to be worked out. If the tenant does not voluntarily vacate the premises at that point, the landlord can request the court for a warrant of possession, which instructs the sheriff to move the tenant and his or her belongings out of the property.
• Step 7: If the property is damaged in any way due to the eviction, the landlord is responsible for covering all costs of repair. If the damage is due to purposeful actions on the part of the tenant, the tenant most likely will be liable for those costs.

Disputes Over Evictions in Kentucky; Next Steps

In the absence of a lease agreement, a tenant has the right to contest an eviction in Kentucky. However, if the eviction lawsuit meets certain criteria, local attorneys and other qualified witnesses have the ability to file a lawsuit in behalf of the tenant. This may include instances in which the tenant has been defrauded into leaving their premises or is being illegally evicted without cause. There are strict timetables in place for these types of lawsuits, and it is rare that they are ever successful.
It is difficult to prevent an eviction with an answer or counterclaim alleging unpaid rent if the tenant solely begins renting month to month. This is because if a tenant becomes more than five days late on a monthly payment, the landlord has the right to evict them. If the tenant survives this type of lawsuit, the court will usually award the case to the landlord automatically on the next date without any further notice to either party. Evictions based on non-rent related reasons, on the other hand, may allow the tenant to fight the lawsuit in a more advantageous manner.
Depending on the circumstances, the tenant may be able to use equitable estoppel, a legal doctrine that prevents the landlord from claiming possession of the property when he or she has acted as though there is a valid lease in place. This is not often the case, however, as landlords generally prevent tenants from paying rent if they do not have a current lease option.

Resources and Getting Legal Help

Tenant and landlord legal aid groups offer assistance when no lease is in place in Kentucky
Several legal aid organizations and advocacy groups throughout Kentucky aim to defend and protect individuals in homes lacking a formal lease or rental agreement. These entities provide free or reduced-cost services that help resolve housing disputes stemming from Kentucky eviction law without a lease in place. Some may even assist landlords with solutions while performing outreach as to available community resources.
Legal Aid Society, Inc. The Louisville-based Legal Aid Society stands as the largest nonprofit law firm in Kentucky, where it delivers free legal services to low-income people across the state. Legal Aid Society’s Housing and Consumer Law Unit counsels clients on landlord-tenant issues, represents indigent defendants in court and resolves challenges, such as reduced heating or cooling, mold or water leaks, and the presence of pests. It can assist tenants who find themselves evicted without a lease even if they earn slightly more than the federal poverty level.
Legal Aid of the Bluegrass Legal Aid of the Bluegrass is Kentucky’s second-largest law firm. Located in Lexington, it serves the 16 counties of the state’s Bluegrass region. This group provides legal assistance to those at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level by way of housing advocacy, foreclosure prevention and home buyer education. Legal Aid of the Bluegrass has a full-time housing law staff that works directly with clients. Community outreach programs connect legal professionals and volunteers to those who need it the most .
Kentucky Equal Justice Center Based in Lexington, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center couples lawyers and scholars with students and new attorneys who share their interests in social justice and the removal of barriers to opportunity. The Kentucky Equal Justice Center boasts an impact litigation program, which provides help for those facing nonpayment of utilities or eviction without a lease. It also conducts legal aid training for students and aspiring lawyers across the commonwealth.
Kentucky Fair Housing Council Incorporated in 1983, the Kentucky Fair Housing Council is a private, nonprofit organization serving 121 Kentucky counties. It works as a Fair Housing Services Provider and an intermediary. The Kentucky Fair Housing Council aims to eliminate housing discrimination in Kentucky through education and advocacy. It provides numerous services aimed at addressing tenant issues in fair and equitable ways.
The Kentucky Equal Justice Center, the Legal Aid Society and the Legal Aid of the Bluegrass run on a sliding scale when it comes to cost for their services. The Kentucky Equal Justice Center charges an hourly fee to all clients and requires that each client contribute to the overall expenses of their case.
Many legal aid entities do not take cases involving eviction without a lease, however, since this situation does not involve litigation and most judges throw out cases over this very issue. Moreover, most legal aid organizations do not serve to mediate between tenant and landlord when no lease is at issue.
Other free and low-cost legal resources for those facing eviction in Kentucky, and especially eviction without a lease, include:
Per Kentucky eviction law, many tenant and landlord organizations exist for an accessible means of seeking professional assistance when facing eviction or no lease challenges.