Louisville Tenant Rights: Free Eviction Lawyers, Kentucky URLTA

Short answer: Louisville tenant rights rest on the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which Jefferson County adopted in 1984 and which now runs countywide as Louisville Metro Code Chapter 151. That gives Louisville renters protections many Kentucky towns lack: two days’ notice before entry, a seven-day cure period for unpaid rent, required heat from October 1 to May 1, and a retaliation ban. Metro also funds free eviction lawyers for tenants at or below 125% of the poverty line, but Kentucky has no rent control, and a 2024 state law stripped Louisville’s voucher-discrimination protection.

Kentucky’s version of the Uniform Act applies only where a city or county chooses to adopt it, and KRS 383.500 requires that it be adopted “in their entirety and without amendment.” The same statute bars any other local ordinance on the subjects the Act covers. In practice that means Louisville’s landlord-tenant rules are the state’s model act, word for word. The local action happens around the edges: eviction counsel, fair housing and code enforcement.

Louisville tenant rights at a glance

Topic	Louisville rule	Source
Rent control	No local rent limit. The Uniform Act sets no rent limit, and KRS 383.500 bars other local ordinances on its subjects	KRS 383.500
Just cause	No. Month-to-month tenancies end on 30 days’ written notice before a rent date (KRS 383.695)	KRS 383.695
Deposit cap and return	No cap. Separate bank account plus signed move-in and move-out damage lists, or the landlord can’t keep any of it	KRS 383.580
Entry notice	At least two days, at reasonable times, except emergencies	KRS 383.615
Eviction court	Jefferson District Court, Eviction Court, Louis D. Brandeis Hall of Justice, 600 W. Jefferson St.	Kentucky Court of Justice
Key local program	Right to counsel in Eviction Court for tenants at or below 125% of poverty (Metro Code 151.61)	Louisville Metro Code

Why the Uniform Act matters in Louisville

Louisville Metro Code Chapter 151 opens by naming itself the “Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.” Its history note traces it to Jefferson County Ordinance 22-1984, adopted July 24, 1984, and a 2006 Metro amendment.

Living under the Uniform Act matters because Kentucky’s baseline outside adopting cities is thin. Inside Louisville, the state statutes in KRS 383.505 to 383.705 give tenants enforceable maintenance duties, notice periods and remedies. If you move to a county that never adopted the Act, many of the rules below may not apply. Our Kentucky tenant rights overview covers the statewide picture.

No rent control, and no local workaround

Nothing in the Uniform Act limits how much rent can rise, and KRS 383.500 says no other ordinance may be enacted on the subjects the Act covers. Louisville therefore has no rent cap and no rent-increase notice rule beyond the general termination periods. A landlord who wants more rent on a month-to-month tenancy can end it with 30 days’ written notice before a rent date and offer a new rate, as long as it isn’t retaliation. See Kentucky rent increase laws for more.

Louisville’s right to counsel in Eviction Court

Louisville Metro Council created an eviction right to counsel in Ordinance 52-2021, approved April 28, 2021, and amended it in Ordinance 002-2023, approved February 7, 2023. The current text, in Metro Code 151.60 and 151.61, covers any tenant whose annual gross income is at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, in any proceeding in Jefferson County District Court’s Eviction Court.

Under 151.61, the designated organization, which the code gives the Legal Aid Society as an example, must provide legal services as soon as possible after the case starts and no later than your first scheduled court appearance. It must seek to provide full representation unless a conflict or other circumstances make that infeasible, with brief legal help as the fallback. The ordinance also says no child may be named as a defendant in a covered eviction. The Council stated its intent to fund the program but noted that future Councils aren’t bound to that appropriation.

That timing rule is the practical point: apply to the Legal Aid Society as soon as you’re served, before your first court date. Its Louisville office is listed on the statewide Kentucky Justice Online legal aid directory at 416 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Fair housing in Louisville, and what HB 18 changed

Metro’s Office of Social Services describes Louisville’s Fair Housing Ordinance as prohibiting rental discrimination based on arrest history, conviction history, homeless status and prior military service, on its landlord resources page. Those protections sit on top of the federal and state protected classes.

Louisville also added “lawful source of income” protection, but Kentucky’s General Assembly overrode it. House Bill 18 of 2024 was vetoed by the governor on March 5, 2024, and the veto was overridden the next day, becoming Acts Chapter 3 with an emergency clause. Its first section, per the bill text, bars any city, county or consolidated local government from adopting or enforcing an ordinance that stops a landlord from refusing to rent to someone whose lawful source of income includes funding from a federal housing assistance program. In plain terms, a Louisville landlord may now turn down a Housing Choice Voucher holder without violating local law.

Kentucky’s Uniform Act rules for Louisville renters

Security deposits

KRS 383.580 sets no maximum deposit and no fixed refund deadline, but it is strict about paperwork:

The landlord must keep deposits in a separate account used only for that purpose and tell you where it is and the account number.
Before you pay, you must get a written list of existing damage with estimated repair costs, and you can inspect the unit. If you disagree, list the items you dispute in writing and sign it.
At move-out, the landlord prepares a second damage list that you may inspect and sign or dispute item by item.
A landlord who skipped the separate account and the two lists can’t keep any portion of the deposit.

The statute limits a tenant’s later court claim to items you specifically disputed in writing, so don’t sign a move-out list you disagree with without noting your objections. If you owe nothing, the landlord must send notice of the refund to your last known address and may keep the money if you don’t respond within 60 days. Our Kentucky security deposit law page has a move-out checklist. If a landlord keeps money they aren’t entitled to, our security deposit demand letter tool drafts a written request.

Repairs, heat and retaliation

KRS 383.595 requires the landlord to follow housing codes affecting health and safety, keep the unit fit and habitable, maintain plumbing, heating and other supplied appliances, and supply running water, hot water and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1. If the landlord materially fails, KRS 383.625 lets you give written notice that the lease will end in at least 30 days if the problem isn’t fixed within 14 days.

KRS 383.705 bars a landlord from raising rent, cutting services or threatening eviction because you complained to a code enforcement agency, complained to the landlord about a maintenance violation, or joined a tenant union. A complaint within one year before the landlord’s action creates a presumption of retaliation, unless you complained after already getting notice of a rent increase. Our Kentucky landlord retaliation page explains how to document it.

Notice periods

Unpaid rent: seven days’ written notice to pay or the lease ends (KRS 383.660).
Other lease violations: written notice that the lease ends in at least 14 days, with 15 days to fix it if the breach can be remedied.
Month-to-month: 30 days before the rent date; week-to-week, seven days (KRS 383.695).
Entry: two days’ notice at reasonable times, with emergency entry allowed (KRS 383.615).

Where Louisville evictions are heard

Eviction cases go to Jefferson District Court’s Eviction Court, the forum named in the right-to-counsel ordinance. The Kentucky Court of Justice’s Jefferson County page lists District Court and the Office of Circuit Court Clerk at the Louis D. Brandeis Hall of Justice, 600 W. Jefferson Street, downtown. It gives District Civil/Small Claims clerk hours of 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and points to JeffersonKyCourtClerk.com for current information.

Show up for your first court date even if you hope to settle; it’s also the deadline in the ordinance for getting a right-to-counsel lawyer assigned. Our Kentucky eviction process page walks through the forcible detainer steps, and landlord tenant court near me covers other counties.

Who to call in Louisville

Legal Aid Society, 416 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Suite 300: eviction defense and right-to-counsel intake, as listed by Kentucky Justice Online.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk, Brandeis Hall of Justice: case filings and court dates.
Louisville Metro Office of Social Services: housing programs for people leaving homelessness, with income at or below 30% of area median income, per its landlord resources page.

Rental assistance programs in Louisville have opened and closed with funding, and none could be confirmed as currently taking applications from Metro’s site. Ask the Legal Aid Society about current help when you apply.

Worked example: a cold apartment in the Highlands

Terrell rents a second-floor apartment in an older Highlands fourplex for $1,050 a month, month to month. On November 3 the boiler stops working. Because KRS 383.595 requires reasonable heat from October 1 to May 1, he emails his landlord that day and mails a letter saying that if the heat isn’t restored within 14 days, the lease will end in 30 days.

He also files a complaint with the Metro agency that enforces housing codes. A week later the landlord sends a 30-day notice ending the month-to-month tenancy. Because Terrell complained to both the landlord and a code agency within the past year, KRS 383.705 presumes the notice is retaliatory, which gives him a defense if the landlord files in Eviction Court.

When the landlord files, Terrell checks the income limit. His household of one earns well under 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, so he applies to the Legal Aid Society right away. Under Metro Code 151.61, he should have a lawyer, or at least brief legal help, no later than his first court date at the Brandeis Hall of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Louisville have rent control?

No. The Uniform Act Louisville adopted sets no rent limit, and KRS 383.500 bars other local ordinances on landlord-tenant subjects it covers.

Who qualifies for Louisville’s eviction right to counsel?

Tenants with annual gross income at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines who face a case in Jefferson District Court’s Eviction Court, subject to program funding.

How much notice does a Louisville landlord need before entering?

At least two days, except in an emergency or where giving notice is impracticable, and entry must be at reasonable times.

Can a Louisville landlord refuse a Section 8 voucher?

Yes. Kentucky’s 2024 House Bill 18 bars local governments from enforcing ordinances that require landlords to accept federal housing assistance, which overrides Louisville’s earlier protection.

How long does my Louisville landlord have to return my deposit?

KRS 383.580 doesn’t set a fixed deadline. The landlord must give you a move-out damage list, and if no charges are owed must notify you of the refund; keeping the deposit is barred if the separate account and both damage lists weren’t provided.

How long do I have to pay late rent in Louisville before the lease ends?

Seven days after the landlord’s written notice of nonpayment.

This page is general information, not legal advice. If you’ve received an eviction summons in Louisville, contact the Legal Aid Society the same day so a right-to-counsel lawyer can be assigned before your first court date. Compare nearby rules in Columbus.

Nearby and related city guides: Lexington tenant rights. See every city in our tenant rights by city index.