Articles — state legislation

RENTAL ASSISTANCE UPDATE Lexington's rental assistance program has become much more landlord-friendly. The Housing Stabilization Program has removed the 45-day waiting period and the 30-day notice requirement from its settlement agreements. This means that if your tenant receives assistance but fails to resume paying rent once the money runs out, you may proceed to give your usual notice to pay or vacate immediately rather than waiting for 45 days then giving a 30-day notice. This is good news that should encourage more landlords to participate in the program and get their rent paid. The settlement agreement still requires that you...

MORE PROPOSED LANDLORD LEGISLATION There’s been a flurry of activity at our state legislature recently, with several new bills being filed that would impact the rental industry. Several of them repetitive, mirroring bills already filed in the other legislative chamber. And most of them are bad. Let’s take a look. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE  Senate Bill 289 – This bill is sponsored by Senator Reggie Thomas from Lexington. It would allow tenants to expunge any eviction judgment based on nonpayment of rent during the Covid-19 pandemic, beginning March 6, 2020. You can read the bill at this link. Senate Bill 357 –...

As I mentioned in my last update, millions of dollars in rental assistance are still available. In Lexington, the Housing Stabilization Program has now opened the application process for tenants to receive a second round of funding. That means tenants who received HSP funding already are again eligible to receive additional assistance. The caveat is that the tenant may only receive a total of 15 months of funding.  So, if your tenant received 10 months of funding already, that tenant is now eligible to receive up to five months of additional funding. The same eligibility requirements are in place, and...

  There’s been a lot that has happened since my last update, so let’s get right to it. BURYING THE CARES ACT First, I wanted to give a quick reminder that starting on April 1 the Kentucky Supreme Court is allowing evictions to proceed without regard to the CARES Act. That means two things: You no longer need to file a Verification of Compliance form with your eviction; and You may resume giving your usual notice to pay or vacate. For those of you in URLTA areas, you’d give a seven-day notice to pay or vacate unless your lease requires...

NOTE: HUD has issued new guidance since this article was written. Click here to see the new information.  It’s been a while since I’ve had good news on the housing front, but I’m here to bring some positivity today.  BURYING THE CARES ACT  Congress passed the CARES Act last spring in as its first wave of relief in addressing COVID-19. It covered any property that participated in a federal government program or that had a loan insured by the federal government. For those properties, it created an eviction moratorium, a ban on late fees, and a requirement that landlords give...