Articles — eviction

A RESPONSE TO THE LEXINGTON FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL’S REPORT ON EVICTIONS  The Lexington Fair Housing Council (hereinafter “the FHC) has recently released a document titled Locked Out: Foreclosure, Eviction and Housing Instability in Lexington, 2005-2016 (hereinafter referred to as “the Report”). The Report was presumably created because the FHC believes that Lexington has a housing instability crisis that has either resulted from, or been perpetuated in large part from, too many evictions and foreclosures. Because of the tone and tenor of the Report, as well as the facts that it addresses issues affecting our association and names certain members of...

We don't get much case law in the landlord-tenant arena. It's usually too expensive for either side to appeal their case up to the Kentucky Court of Appeals or Kentucky Supreme Court. So landlords, tenants, and their attorneys are left trying to guess how their local judges will interpret the statutes that we have. But we got some additional clarification last month in the case of Young v. House, which originated in Pulaski District Court. You can read the full opinion here. The Case: Young v. House The lease in this case had expired, and the tenants were renting the property month-to-month. Rent was...

I just have a brief update today, but potentially an important one. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has issued a new rule that puts a new obligation on landlords, attorneys, and collection agencies seeking to evict or collect debts from tenants. The rule amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which applies to “debt collectors”. You can read the new rule and all the commentary on it here and can find a fact sheet on it here. DEFINITIONS OF “DEBT” AND “DEBT COLLECTOR” Under the FDCPA, “debt” is defined as “any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay...

In my last update I talked about the new procedures in eviction courts throughout the state when the case is based on the tenant’s failure to pay rent. On the first court appearance, if the tenant fails to appear, you will be granted a judgment. If the tenant appears, the judge will advise both parties of the state and local rental assistance options and of the CDC Declaration Form and will reschedule the matter for two weeks. If the tenant signs the CDC Declaration Form, the matter is being rescheduled for January. If the tenant fails to sign the CDC...

Most landlords and property managers who have been to eviction court know that, when the judge enters a judgment of eviction, the tenant has seven days to vacate the rental unit. However, the lesser-known fact is that the tenant has another option within that seven-day window: to file an appeal to the local Circuit Court. Step One: Notice of Appeal In order to file an appeal, a tenant needs only to file a written document with the court notifying the court that he wishes to appeal the eviction and pay an appeal fee. This appeal fee can be waived by...