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Ending a month-to-month tenancy in Kentucky: 30 days or one month, depending on where you are

DoorKeeping team

3 min read

Kentucky's answer depends on the locality. Where a city, county or urban-county government adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, KRS 383.695 requires written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice. Where it did not, KRS 383.195 lets a landlord end a tenancy at will or by sufferance with one month's written notice requiring the tenant to remove.

Which Kentucky rule applies?

KRS 383.500 lets cities, counties and urban-county governments adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, KRS 383.505 to 383.705, only in its entirety and without amendment. Whether your property is covered is a local question, so look it up before you pick a date. Where the act is not in effect, KRS 383.195 is the statewide rule for a tenancy at will or by sufferance: the landlord gives one month's notice, in writing, requiring the tenant to remove.

What does the act add?

Under KRS 383.695, a landlord or tenant may end a week-to-week tenancy by written notice at least seven days before the termination date, and a month-to-month tenancy by written notice at least thirty days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice. A tenancy that began when a written lease ended can be ended on at least ten days' written notice, though if the tenant fails to pay rent within ten days after it is due, the landlord may terminate that tenancy at any time without notice.

The notice has to be written and has to name the periodic rental date, the date the tenancy ends. Choose a date at least thirty days after you deliver it, and in the same month cycle as the rent.

Example a made-up landlord in a city that adopted the act wants a tenancy to end on its rental date, Friday, January 1, 2027. Thirty days before is Wednesday, December 2, 2026, so the written notice has to be delivered by then. Delivered on Thursday, December 3, it is a day short, and the next rental date, Monday, February 1, 2027, becomes the realistic target.

What if the tenant stays?

KRS 383.695(4) says a tenant who remains in possession without the landlord's consent after expiration or termination can be sued for possession, and if the holdover is willful and not in good faith the landlord may also recover up to three months' periodic rent or threefold actual damages, whichever is greater, with reasonable attorney's fees. Consent to continued occupancy changes the picture, so do not accept rent for a new period after the date you gave. The forcible detainer case, in District Court, is covered in our Kentucky eviction guide.

KRS 383.690 forbids the landlord from recovering possession by action or otherwise, including interrupting heat, electric, running water, hot water, gas or another essential service, except for abandonment, surrender or as the act allows. Use the court.

What goes in the notice, and what to avoid?

  • The address, the tenant names, the date of the notice and the termination date.
  • A sentence saying the tenancy ends on that date and the tenant must give up possession.
  • Your signature, and a record of how and when it was delivered.
  • Assuming the act applies. If it does not, 383.195 and its one month govern.
  • Naming a date that does not fall on the rental date when the act applies.
  • Taking rent for a new period after the termination date.

Where does DoorKeeping fit?

DoorKeeping stores the lease, the rent ledger and a copy of every notice you send, so the date you served and the date it ends are on file if a court asks. You still write, serve and track the notice yourself. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute, and ask a local attorney if the tenant disputes the notice.

Sources

  1. KRS 383.695, Periodic tenancy; holdover remedies (Kentucky Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  2. KRS 383.195, Termination of tenancy at will or by sufferance (Kentucky Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  3. KRS 383.500, Local governments authorized to adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Kentucky Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

How many days of notice for month-to-month in Kentucky?
At least 30 days before the periodic rental date where the act applies (KRS 383.695(2)), or one month's written notice elsewhere (KRS 383.195).
Does the Kentucky act apply everywhere?
No. Only where a city, county or urban-county government adopted it (KRS 383.500).
Can a Kentucky landlord shut off utilities after notice?
No. KRS 383.690 bars it under the act.

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