Kentucky: Late Rent Fee Limits

Requirements one by one

No late-fee cap — and the Act only applies where a locality adopted it

Kentucky has no statute that caps a residential late fee or fixes a grace
period. The state's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) is
local-option: it takes effect only where a local government has adopted it.

The General Assembly hereby authorizes cities, counties and urban-county
governments to enact the provisions of the Uniform Residential Landlord and
Tenant Act as set forth in KRS 383.505 to 383.705. If adopted, these
provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment.

So the first question is whether the property sits in a jurisdiction that
adopted the URLTA. If it did, KRS 383.505 to 383.715 governs the tenancy; if it
did not, the general landlord-tenant statutes and common law apply. Either way,
no Kentucky statute states a maximum late fee.

Where the URLTA applies, the rental-agreement section leaves rent terms to the
parties and sets no late-fee ceiling:

A landlord and a tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and conditions
not prohibited by KRS 383.505 to 383.715 or other rule of law, including rent,
term of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and
obligations of the parties.

The section names no percentage, no dollar cap, no grace period, and no rule on
whether a fee is charged once or daily. Those come from the lease.

The limit on an excessive fee: unconscionability

The URLTA's check on an out-of-line lease term is its unconscionability
provision, which a court applies as a matter of law:

A rental agreement or any provision thereof was unconscionable when made, the
court may refuse to enforce the agreement, enforce the remainder of the
agreement without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any
unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result.

This is a case-by-case judicial standard, not a fixed cap.

What trips people up

Whether the Act even applies depends on your city or county. Kentucky's
URLTA is not a statewide code that reaches every tenancy. It governs only where
a city, county, or urban-county government adopted it under KRS 383.500. Outside
those places, the older general landlord-tenant statutes and common law control
— and still set no late-fee cap.

The seven-day nonpayment notice is an eviction step, not a late-fee grace
period. Under KRS 383.660(2), a landlord who gives written notice may
terminate if rent stays unpaid for seven days. That clock governs eviction for
nonpayment; it does not bar a late fee during those seven days. The lease alone
sets when a late fee attaches.

"No cap" is not "anything goes." A late fee still has to be a term of the
agreement, and an unconscionable term can be refused or trimmed by a court under
KRS 383.555.

Common questions

Is there a maximum late fee in Kentucky? No statute sets one, whether or not
your area adopted the URLTA. The lease sets the amount, and a court may step in
only if the term is unconscionable.

How do I know if the landlord-tenant act applies to me? It applies only if
the city, county, or urban-county government where you rent has adopted it. If it
has not, your tenancy runs on Kentucky's general landlord-tenant statutes and
common law instead — neither of which caps a late fee.

Can a court reduce a late fee I think is too high? Yes, potentially. Under
the URLTA's unconscionability provision a court may refuse to enforce or limit a
rental-agreement provision it finds unconscionable when made.

Statutes and sources

• KRS 383.500 — the URLTA is local-option; it governs only in a city,
  county, or urban-county government that adopted it in full.

  The General Assembly hereby authorizes cities, counties and urban-county
  governments to enact the provisions of the Uniform Residential Landlord and
  Tenant Act as set forth in KRS 383.505 to 383.705. If adopted, these
  provisions shall be adopted in their entirety and without amendment. No other
  ordinance shall be enacted by a city, county or urban-county government which
  relates to the subjects embraced in KRS 383.505 to 383.705.

Official source: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35717 (accessed 2026-07-20)

• KRS 383.565(1), (2) — the parties set rent terms by agreement; the section
  states no late-fee cap or grace period.

  (1) A landlord and a tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and
  conditions not prohibited by KRS 383.505 to 383.715 or other rule of law,
  including rent, term of the agreement, and other provisions governing the
  rights and obligations of the parties. (2) Rent is payable without demand or
  notice at the time and place agreed upon by the parties.

Official source: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35730 (accessed 2026-07-20)

• KRS 383.555(1) — a court may refuse to enforce or limit an unconscionable
  rental-agreement provision.

  If the court, as a matter of law, finds: (a) A rental agreement or any
  provision thereof was unconscionable when made, the court may refuse to
  enforce the agreement, enforce the remainder of the agreement without the
  unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any unconscionable
  provision to avoid an unconscionable result ...

Official source: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35728 (accessed 2026-07-20)

• KRS 383.660(2) — seven-day nonpayment cure period before a landlord may
  terminate (an eviction clock, not a late-fee grace period).

  If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within seven (7)
  days after written notice by the landlord of nonpayment and his intention to
  terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period, the
  landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

Official source: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35749 (accessed 2026-07-20)