Tenant Services and Housing Counseling, Inc.

258 Clark Street
Lexington, KY  40507
Ph: (859) 258-3960 Fax: (859) 258-3968

Staff:

*To send e-mail to a Counselor, please click on their name

Purpose

Tenant Services & Housing Counseling, Inc. (TC & HC) is a non-profit charitable organization chartered in 1971.  The goals of the agency are to serve as a counseling referral, information, and advocacy center for low moderate income individuals who experience a range of housing problems encompassing the issues of quality, legality, and discrimination.

Tenant Services & Housing Counseling, Inc. has been a HUD-certified comprehensive housing counseling agency since 1989.  The organization has four (4) full time employees that includes two (2) Housing Counselors.

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Ordinance No. 98-84

To view and/or print Ordinance No. 98-84, an Ordinance related to rental agreements within Lexington-Fayette County, KY and enacted pursuant to the Provisions of KRS 383.505 to 383.710, please click here.  

The following publications are available for downloading.  To download a publication, click on the title.  You must have Adobe^® Acrobat^® Reader^TM, which may be downloaded free by clicking on the icon below:

Services Provided

Renter/Tenant assistance with:

• Finding relocation housing and/or emergency or temporary shelter

• Homeless prevention

• Emergency resources for rent, utility payments, security deposits, food, furniture, etc.

• Miscellaneous financial matters/Money Management Counseling

Tenant/Landlord Counseling about:

• Tenant/Landlord rights and obligations

• Care of unit

• Security deposits

• Repairs and deductions

• Housing code violations

• Unlawful outster/entry

*Lawyer on retainer to TS is on call for consultation with housing counselors.

Lawyer Services for:

• Notices to vacate units

• Evictions

• Representation in court

• Landlord/Tenant mediation

*TS housing counselors provide initial intake of all clients.  Legal matters are referred to TS's Lawyer.

Homeowners:

• Mortgage Default/Foreclosure Prevention Counseling

• Pre-Homeownership Counseling

• Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)

• Homebuyer Education Classes and Money Management Workshops

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Landlords' Duties

Under the Landlord Tenant Act, a landlord must:

• When requiring a security deposit, present tenant with a comprehensive listing of existing damages before tenant moves in and when tenant moves out.  This listing is required before making any charge against the security deposit, and the tenant must be given a statement of the estimated cost of repairs.

• Place security deposits in a bank account used only for that purpose, and inform the tenant of the location and number of the account.

• Notify tenant, at the tenant's last known address, of any deposit refund due.

• Disclose, in writing, the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and the owner or the person authorized to act for the owner.

• Comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety.

• Make all repairs; and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.

• Keep all common areas of the premises in a clean and safe condition.

• Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord.

• Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1, to be paid for by the tenant unless lease states otherwise, except where the building that includes the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat or hot water is generated by an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant and supplied by a direct public utility connection.

• Not retaliate by increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession after: (a) the tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety; (b) the tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under the Landlord-Tenant Act; (c) the tenant has organized or become a member of a "tenant union" or similar organization.

• Refund prepaid rent when the rental agreement is terminated under certain conditions.

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Tenants' Rights

Under the Landlord Tenant Act, a tenant has the right to:

• Receive a comprehensive listing from the landlord, signed by both parties, of existing damages at the time of paying a security deposit and taking possession of the premises, and not be charged for repairs without the listing and a statement of the estimated cost of repairs.

• The name of the bank where the security deposit is on deposit and the account number.

• Compliance by the landlord with the requirement of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety.

• Be advised, in writing, of the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and the person authorized to act for the owner.

• Have all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied, in good and safe working order and condition.

• Running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and heat between October 1 and May 1, supplied by the landlord and paid for by tenant, unless lease states otherwise, except under certain conditions.

• Receive the utilities called for in the rental agreement and, if such utilities are not provided, to receive relief under certain conditions.

• Make repairs and deduct the cost from the rent under certain conditions.

• Two days' notice before the landlord enters the premises, except in case of emergency.

• Terminate a rental agreement on thirty (30) days' notice for the landlords' non-compliance, except if: (a) the landlord complies within fourteen (14) days from time of notice; (b) the condition was caused by the tenant.

• Terminate a month-to-month tenancy on thirty (30) days written notice, or a week-to-week tenancy on seven (7) days' written notice.

• Freedom from retaliatory action if the tenant: (a) complains to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety; (b) complains to a landlord about a violation; (c) organizes or becomes a member of a tenants' union or similar organization.

• Refuse to waive any rights or remedies.

• Be notified at the tenant's last known address of any security deposit refund due.

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Tenants' Duties

Under the Landlord Tenant Act, a tenant must:

• Abide by the rental agreement..., so long as it is fair and conscionable and contains no provisions prohibited by the Act or other rule of law.

• Give up possession of the premises at the end of a lease, a periodic tenancy, or a rental agreement, unless the rental agreement is extended.

• Obey the procedures in the Act concerning security deposits.

• Pay rent in the agreed manner and at the agreed time.

• Not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors.

• Give landlord proper written notice of:

  • Termination of the rental agreement

  • The need for repairs

  • The intention to do self-help repairs

  • Tenant's absence for more than seven (7) days

• Comply with the obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of housing codes.

• Keep the premises as clean and as safe as the condition of the premises permits.

• Dispose from the dwelling all ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a clean and safe manner.

• Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits.

• Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances including elevators in the premises.

• Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so.

• Conduct himself/herself and require other persons on the premises with his/her consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb the neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of their premises.

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Suggestions About Security Deposits and Damage Lists

If the landlord requires a security deposit, the tenant is entitled to receive a written list of any damages that exist when the tenant enters into a rental agreement with the landlord, according to the Landlord-Tenant Act.  This is important so that the tenant will not have a wrongful charge placed later against his/her security deposit.  The prospective tenant is entitled to inspect the premises before signing the damage list.  He/She may dissent from any item(s) on the list by noting, in writing, the item(s) with which he/she disagrees before signing the statement.

REMEMBER that the tenant is entitled to a damage list both BEFORE MOVING IN and AFTER MOVING OUT.  If the tenant does not receive a damage list, the landlord cannot keep any of the tenant's security deposit.

Listed below are some of the things that tenants and landlords should check carefully in preparing a damage list:

• Leaky plumbing (toilets, faucets, pipes, etc.)

• Holes or cracks in walls or ceilings

• Missing or broken windows and screens

• Defective appliances

• Defective electrical wiring (switches, outlets, etc.)

• Defective heating, air conditioning, hot water heat

• Damaged bathroom fixtures

• Damaged flooring/floors

• Doors that are damaged or don't fit properly

• Missing or damaged doorknobs, locks, hinges

• Evidence of insects and rodents

• Peeling paint or wallpaper

• Anything on the exterior for which the tenant might be held responsible

• Damaged furniture, if any is furnished

*Remember to be thorough and specific when inspecting.

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The Federal Trade Commission has published a report titled: Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know.  To download this document, you must have Adobe^® Acrobat^® Reader^TM, which may be downloaded free by clicking on the icon below.  For additional Federal Trade Commission publications, please visit their website at www.ftc.gov

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Last modified: 02 Apr 2023