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Tools · Security Deposit

Kentucky Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a Kentucky landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — no statutory cap here, returned No fixed deadline; 30 or 60 days depending on what the tenant does after the tenant vacates, the timing depends on whether the tenant demands the deposit back and whether rent is owed.

Cited to KRS §383.580Source: Kentucky Legislature, KRS §383.580 (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act).

Kentucky security deposit calculator

Security deposit · Kentucky
Kentucky rule applied to your numbers
Maximum deposit
No cap
Kentucky sets no statutory maximum; your lease sets the amount. Kentucky law places no cap on the amount of a residential security deposit. The figure is set by the lease agreement. This holds in the jurisdictions that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA); elsewhere the lease and common law govern.
Return deadline
No fixed deadline; 30 or 60 days depending on what the tenant does
No fixed deadline; 30 or 60 days depending on what the tenant does after the tenant vacates, the timing depends on whether the tenant demands the deposit back and whether rent is owed. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the Kentucky figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept
Kentucky sets no fixed money penalty like double or triple damages. Instead the sanction is forfeiture: a landlord who fails to keep the deposit in a separate account, or who fails to provide the move-in and move-out damage lists, is not entitled to retain any part of the deposit and must return it in full. A tenant who has to sue can generally recover the wrongfully held amount and court costs.
Interest on the deposit
Kentucky does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit, even though the deposit must sit in a separate account.
Local ordinances
This is the most important thing to check in Kentucky: KRS 383.580 is part of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), and URLTA applies only in the cities and counties that have adopted it. Adopting jurisdictions include Jefferson County (Louisville), Fayette County (Lexington), Oldham County, Pulaski County, and the cities of Barbourville, Bellevue, Bromley, Covington, Dayton, Florence, Georgetown, Ludlow, Melbourne, Newport, Shelbyville, Silver Grove, Southgate, Taylor Mill, and Woodlawn. If your rental is outside an adopting jurisdiction, none of the separate-account, disclosure, or damage-list rules apply by statute; your lease and Kentucky common law control instead. Confirm the city or county where the unit sits before relying on these rules.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the Kentucky security deposit reference, cited to KRS §383.580.

How Kentucky security deposits work

Kentucky's standout security deposit rule is about where your money sits. In cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, your landlord must keep every tenant's deposit in a separate account used only for that purpose, at a bank or lending institution regulated by Kentucky or the United States, and must tell you the location and account number of that account. Before you hand over a deposit, the landlord also has to give you a written list of any existing damage with estimated repair costs, and you can inspect the unit to check it; the same kind of list is required at move-out. A landlord who skips the separate account or the damage lists loses the right to keep any part of your deposit. The big catch is coverage. KRS 383.580 applies only in the Kentucky jurisdictions that have adopted URLTA, such as Louisville and Lexington, so if your rental is somewhere else, your lease and common law control instead. Kentucky also sets no cap on the deposit amount and no single fixed return deadline.

This calculator shows the Kentucky figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the Kentucky security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.