Articles — non-renewals

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’ve gotten a lot of questions recently about a landlord’s ability to refuse to renew a lease, and it seems like there’s a lot of misinformation out there. Most landlords have heard that they can “non-renew a lease for any reason” or that they “don’t have to give a reason”. Both statements are partly true, but don’t tell the entire story. That’s my goal today. Unless the lease says otherwise, a landlord is free to refuse to renew a lease for any reason that is (1) non-discriminatory and (2) non-retaliatory. In other words, you can refuse to renew a lease...