Renter Rights in Kentucky

[Jag]

What renters rights do I have in the state of Kentucky? We're no longer under lease. Can he just throw us out whenever he wants or does he have to give us any kind of time frame? We gave him first and last month rent when we moved in, but have never used that last month, does that mean we have at least a month before he can throw us out?

Google is just confusing me and not helping with answers.

[Sofia Grace]

I work as a case manager in Connecticut, so I know a fair amount of eviction law in Connecticut - usually eviction law is pretty similar from state to state.  But as for Kentucky, I found this.  Hopefully it helps?

http://nkysafetynet.org/Uploads/Defending%20Against%20Eviction.pdf

[Lord Mayerling]

The landlord may ask you to leave. If you don't the landlord may legally evict you, which requires an order from the Court. Even if you are evicted, you will owe rent (usually based on the lease that expired) up to the date the eviction takes place.

In general, most landlords are loathe to do this due to the time, effort, and money it costs to force an eviction. It's usually more expensive than collecting rent, and would probably only happen if several months went by without rent payments, or if the landlord needs the property for some other use immediately, or the landlord thinks you are committing a crime on the property, or causing untoward damages to it.

As a renter, don't let this happen if you can at all avoid it. Landlords talk to each other, and they look up public records of potential renters. Not paying your rent follows you around for a long time, just like bad credit, and it makes it that much harder to find another place to live.

[Jag]

While we want to leave, cause this is an unsafe and unsanitary house (mold), we aren't able to afford to move. I just want to avoid living in our car for as long as possible.

I mostly wanted to know if I have the right to tell the landlord that he has to give me at least my last months worth of time since we did pay for it when we moved in. He's a very pushy, older man who doesn't exactly follow the rules well. He threatened to have us pay to replace the furnace, stating we had damaged it. Luckily, my mother-in-law paid for an inspector to look at it and found he'd installed it wrong before we moved in and that's why it burned out. Even with the inspector, it was only finding out that my mother-in-law works for the best criminal lawyer in the area that got him to replace it. He knew he wasn't going to win that fight.

Since the furnace issue, he's been riding us hard. I don't think he likes that we will actually fight for ourselves.

He used to say we were his best tenants, cause we are quiet, clean, and always pay the rent (even if it's late, we've never gone past the last day of the month). But now he's talking about getting us out and getting less bothersome tenants in (and he wants to raise the rent).

Landlords talk, but so do renters. This house is a deathtrap. I'm not above letting everyone know it. I've even been taking pictures of all the things that he's trying to cover up. Like the plant that has started sprouting through the wall or the outlets that don't have anything behind them and are actually being used to cover holes or the sinking floor spots that he tries to hide with putting sheets of thin wood under the carpet or the mold spots he just painted over and after a few years have finally come through.

I could have done a better job inspecting it when we moved in, but we were desperate for a roof over our heads.

[Lord Mayerling]

In most states, and under most leases, hindering a landlord from renting a property through informing prospective tenants of problems you've experienced is illegal, and can result in you being forced to pay damages to the landlord for making such claims if they are unable to re-let the property. I recommend against taking such actions.

You do seem to have an argument that the property is uninhabitable. Unfortunately, you can only use this argument to break a lease early. If you don't currently have a lease, you effectively have no rights to be there, as a tenant or otherwise. 

Despite your issues, you have chosen to keep living on the premises, and you are legally required to pay rent while doing so, meanwhile the landlord may evict you at any time. Your rights as tenants have ended. Proceed as if you have none. If you've overpaid your rent, you're entitled to its prompt return once you leave.

You've said you can't afford to move. It actually sounds like you can't afford not to move. If you're evicted, you will no longer have any control over the timing of your vacancy. I would recommend telling the landlord that you are looking for another place to live, and will vacate soon. This will probably stall any forthcoming eviction action on the part of the landlord.

Essentially, be adults and be honest with each other about your intent, and firm in your expectations and demands (like the excess rent you've paid and want to use). Usually some sort of deal can be reached that's better for both sides than having to go to court to work it out. Some people (your landlord, for example) may need to be reminded of this before they are willing to reach such an agreement.

[Jag]

We've chosen to keep living here, because there is no where else for us to go. We've been on the HUD waiting list for three years and it doesn't look like that is going to help us in the near future. We pay our rent. We pay his late fees. We do what we can. When stuff breaks, we repair it ourselves, because we know he won't. We don't ask for the repair costs back or to be taken off the rent, because we know he won't (only exception was the furnace issue). Because our only other option is our car.

But whatever. I found the information I need. Thank you everyone.