A Kentucky Rental Application allows landlords to properly vet any applicant before offering a lease agreement. The document streamlines the screening process by collecting vital information from prospective renters.
Laws
- Application Fee – Non-refundable
- Application Fee Limits – No limits (no statute)
- Security Deposit – No limits (no statute)
Application Fees
In Kentucky, landlords have the flexibility to charge tenants or prospective tenants rental application fees since there’s no state law restricting this practice. While there’s no set maximum amount for these fees, it’s advised to keep them reasonable, covering only the costs involved in processing the application, such as background checks.
Generally, each adult applicant may be required to pay an application fee. It’s important to note that these fees are non-refundable, regardless of the amount charged.
Fair Housing Protections
It is illegal for anyone in the real estate industry (such as real estate operators, brokers, salesmen, or employees) to [1] :
- Deny Services Based on Discrimination: Refuse to sell, rent, lease, or deny housing based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, family status, disability, or national origin.
- Impose Different Conditions or Services: Discriminate in the terms or conditions of housing services based on the listed discriminations.
- Ignore Offers: Refuse genuine offers to purchase or lease housing based on discriminatory reasons.
- Refuse Negotiations: Not negotiate for housing with people for discriminatory reasons.
- Mislead Availability: Lie about the availability of property or refuse property inspections based on discrimination.
- Advertise Discriminatory Preferences: Use advertisements or applications that indicate a preference or discrimination against certain groups of people.
- Retain Discriminatory Property Listings: Agree to sell or rent property with the understanding that it can discriminate.
- Deny Property Unfairly: Unjustly withhold property from individuals based on the listed factors.
- Discriminate Against Disabilities: Deny housing or discriminate in housing transactions against individuals with disabilities or those associated with them.
Security Deposits
- No Limit on Amount: Landlords can decide the amount of the security deposit. There’s no state-imposed cap.
- Separate Account: The deposit must be kept in a separate bank account solely for security deposits. The financial institution’s name, location, and account number must be shared.
- Pre-move-in Inspection: Before paying, you receive a list of any existing damages in the unit. Both you and the landlord sign this list, agreeing on the unit’s condition [2] .
Pet Deposits
In Kentucky, landlords are also allowed to charge a separate pet security deposit in a fair amount. No deposit may be collected for service animals, granting every individual with a disability the right of having their service pet in the rental property.
Sample
Below is an example of a standard Kentucky rental application form. You may download this for free in Word & PDF or use our document builder to create a customized rental application.
