Free Kentucky Lease Agreement Template

Last updated July 17, 2026

Download a free Kentucky lease agreement template

A Kentucky residential lease agreement records the deal between a landlord and tenant for a home in Kentucky. It identifies the parties and premises, sets the rent and term, allocates utilities and maintenance responsibilities, and provides a written place for property rules. The free PDF and Word versions on this page are labeled for Kentucky and are intended as a practical starting document—not a substitute for checking which statutes, disclosures, or local rules apply to a particular property.

The principal research authority for this page is Kentucky Revised Statutes chapters 383 and 371. Research scope: Kentucky statewide landlord-tenant and contract-form rules apply separately from KRS 383.505 through 383.715, which may be used only where the property's city, county, or urban-county government officially adopted that URLTA subchapter in its entirety under KRS 383.500. Because residential rules can depend on property type, tenancy length, location, and regulated-housing status, review the completed agreement and any required addenda before signing.

Kentucky lease topics to review

The current research draft for Kentucky identifies the following topics as relevant to residential lease preparation. Use them as a checklist, and verify each rule's scope, current text, and exceptions before adding a term to the lease.

• Kentucky's URLTA subchapter is local-option law, not automatically statewide, and it also contains occupancy exclusions.
• In a Kentucky locality that adopted URLTA, the statute supplies gap-filling terms and prohibits enumerated lease clauses; those rules are conditional on local adoption.
• Kentucky URLTA localities use a detailed separate-account and signed inspection-list deposit process, with special rent and abandonment branches but no numeric ceiling in KRS 383.580.
• Kentucky URLTA localities impose specified maintenance duties and generally require at least two days' notice for valid landlord entry.
• Kentucky's owner and manager identity disclosure is part of the locally adopted URLTA subchapter and must be gated by adoption.
• Kentucky's local-option URLTA has breach, cure, nonpayment, and periodic-tenancy notice rules whose exact statutory wording must be retained.
• Kentucky's statute of frauds requires a signed writing for a lease longer than one year.
• Kentucky requires a property-level official ordinance check because local governments choose whether to adopt the URLTA subchapter, and adoption must be in its entirety without amendment.

The final lease should not waive protections that cannot lawfully be waived. If a selected term conflicts with a controlling statute, official form, court order, housing-program rule, or local ordinance, the controlling rule applies even when the parties signed different language.

What to include in a Kentucky residential lease

• Landlord, tenant, and premises details — use the parties' full legal names, the complete Kentucky property address, and a clear description of included parking, storage, furnishings, or shared spaces.
• Term and rent — state whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic, when it begins, when rent is due, accepted payment methods, and what happens at the end of the stated term.
• Deposits and charges — identify each deposit, prepaid amount, fee, and late-payment term separately so it can be compared with the current Kentucky rule that applies to the property.
• Utilities, maintenance, and access — allocate day-to-day responsibilities without attempting to transfer a nonwaivable landlord or tenant duty.
• Rules and addenda — document pets, smoking, parking, guests, insurance, association rules, and any federal, state, local, or property-specific disclosure that applies.
• Notices and signatures — provide reliable notice addresses and retain a complete signed copy for every party.

State and local checks before signing

Kentucky requires a property-level official ordinance check because local governments choose whether to adopt the URLTA subchapter, and adoption must be in its entirety without amendment. Confirm the property address and the current local text before signing.

Federal requirements can also apply. For example, most pre-1978 housing requires the federal lead-based-paint disclosure process. Manufactured housing, short-term occupancy, owner-occupied rooms, subsidized housing, and rent-regulated property may follow a different legal path from an ordinary residential lease.

Use the official source linked below to confirm the current statewide text. For a disputed tenancy, an eviction or termination, unusual fees, regulated housing, or a property in a city with additional renter protections, obtain advice about the specific facts before relying on a template.

How to use the free Kentucky template

1. Download the Kentucky PDF when you want a printable blank, or the Word file when you want to edit the text electronically.
2. Complete the parties, property, rent, term, deposit, utilities, maintenance, access, and notice fields.
3. Attach the disclosures and property-specific addenda that actually apply.
4. Compare the completed document with the current official source and local requirements.
5. Give every party the same final version to review before anyone signs, then retain the fully executed copy.

The guided builder is available when you prefer questions and a generated preview. Whether you use the free template or the builder, confirm the final agreement against the property and the parties' actual arrangement.