How to Non-Renew a Lease

I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently about a landlord’s ability to refuse to renew a lease, and it seems like there’s a lot of misinformation out there. Most landlords have heard that they can “non-renew a lease for any reason” or that they “don’t have to give a reason”. Both statements are partly true, but don’t tell the entire story. When it comes to the law, partly true statements can get you into a lot of trouble. So the goal today is to tell the rest of the story.

Unless the lease says otherwise, a landlord is free to refuse to renew a lease for any reason that is (1) not discriminatory and (2) not retaliatory. In other words, you can refuse to renew a lease as long as you don’t violate any Fair Housing laws (federal, state, or local) and you don’t violate KRS 383.705. As a reminder, KRS 383.705 only applies in those 19 jurisdictions that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act. To find out if your area has adopted the URLTA, see this article.

Discrimination

On the issue of discrimination, a landlord should make sure not to treat any tenant differently than others based on membership in a protected class (if you don’t know the protected classes or are unsure about them, please check out my other articles, videos, or attend an upcoming seminar). Don’t refuse to renew a black tenant’s lease under the similar circumstances when you’ve renewed a white tenant’s lease. Don’t refuse to renew a disabled tenant’s lease when you’ve renewed a non-disabled tenant’s lease under similar circumstances. Et cetera, et cetera.

What’s more, we have to remember that it is a violation of state and federal Fair Housing laws to retaliate against a tenant who has asserted his Fair Housing rights or who has filed a housing discrimination claim. So, a landlord should not refuse to renew a lease because a tenant has taken such action.

For example, I was just discussing a situation involving an Emotional Support Animal with a client, and the client mentioned “It’s okay, their lease is up in a couple of months, so I’ll just non-renew them or raise the rent.” That’s a prime example of discriminatory treatment, as it’s taking adverse action against someone for asserting their Fair Housing rights.

Retaliation

On the issue of retaliation, KRS 383.705 makes it unlawful for landlords to take certain adverse actions against tenants who have invoked or expressed their rights as tenants.