Lease Renewal Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Kentucky law says, what's specific to Louisville - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Month to month: either side may end the tenancy with 30 days' written notice.
- The 30 days are counted to the periodic rental date named in the notice, not to an arbitrary day.
- Week to week: 7 days. A tenancy begun when a written lease ends: 10 days.
- Fixed-term lease: no Kentucky section we read sets a notice period for declining to renew.
- Louisville's code, § 151.49, repeats the state's 30, 7 and 10 days.
Understanding the Lease Renewal Clause
This page is for Louisville renters whose lease is ending and who want to know how much warning they get, or owe, about renewal. Start with your tenancy type.
Kentucky's notice rule covers month-to-month and week-to-week renters, and tenancies that begin when a written lease ends. On a fixed term, such as a one-year lease, no Kentucky section we read sets a renewal notice period, so start with the renewal paragraph you signed. Read it early in the term, not in the final weeks.
What renters assume
On a one-year Louisville lease, my landlord owes me 30 days' notice before deciding not to renew.
What is actually true
The 30 days in § 383.695(2) covers a month-to-month tenancy. No Kentucky section we read sets a notice period for not renewing a fixed term; read your lease's renewal paragraph for the timing.
Louisville makes 25 rows in the comparison on this page. Twelve of the 25 rows sit at the thirty-day mark: Austin, Chicago, Phoenix, Nashville, Boston, Las Vegas, Columbus, Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Louisville.
Five read 60 days, in Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Atlanta and Baltimore, and three sit at 90, in New York City, Denver and Portland.
Milwaukee reads 28 days, Philadelphia 15 days and Charlotte 7 days. Washington and Newark draw no bar because their rows require cause.
Louisville's label is written in days because § 383.695(2) is: it says thirty (30) days, counted to a periodic rental date. Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Indianapolis share the thirty-day group under month labels.
The Louisville bar measures a month-to-month tenancy, so a renter here on a fixed term is not on the clock it draws.
Lease Renewal Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Louisville, KY
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
This lease will automatical[l]y renew on every an[n]iversary for the term of one year unless a written [agreement] is signed by us, or you vacate the apartment when the lease ends.
Quoted from the published opinion in Brook Run Development Corp. v. Noon, 230 Conn. App. 424 (2025). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“renew on every an[n]iversary for the”
A fixed term that renews itself is the situation an older Kentucky statute speaks to in its own words. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.160, which sits in Chapter 383 outside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, says that where a tenancy is to expire on a certain day “the tenant shall abandon the premises on that day, unless by express contract he secures the right to remain longer”. A written promise to renew on each anniversary is the kind of paragraph a Louisville renter would point to under that phrase.
See the example
“term of one year unless a”
The renewal is for a definite year, and that word matters to Kentucky's default rule. Under § 383.565(3), “Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term,” a tenancy is month-to-month, and § 383.695(2) lets either side end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice. This clause fixes a term instead. Which clock reaches a renewed year is a question our Kentucky record leaves open.
“signed by us, or you vacate”
Two exits, and the court gave one to each side: the landlord's is a signed writing, the tenant's is moving out. The Kentucky sections we read set no notice period for declining to renew a fixed-term lease, which leaves this paragraph as the place the landlord's exit is defined. If a tenant does not leave, § 383.160 says possession may be recovered “without demand or notice” if proceedings start within 90 days for a term of a year or more, or 30 days for a shorter one.
See the example
“when the lease ends”
Kentucky gives the period after a written lease ends a clock of its own. Under § 383.695(3), either side may end “a tenancy begun upon the termination of a written lease” by written notice at least 10 days before the termination date in the notice. If rent is not paid within 10 days after it is due, the landlord may end that tenancy at any time without notice. And where the landlord consents to the tenant staying on, § 383.695(4) sends the reader back to § 383.565(3) and its month-to-month default.
See the example
The tenant lost, and the reasoning is worth reading before assuming an automatic-renewal clause traps the landlord. She argued this handwritten paragraph was ambiguous and had locked the landlord into renewing forever. The Connecticut Appellate Court held it clear and unambiguous as a matter of law, creating no perpetually renewing lease. Because the lease defined “we” and “us” to mean the landlord, the clause gave each side its own exit - the landlord by signing a writing declining to renew, the tenant by vacating when the term ended. Reading “agreement” to require the tenant's signature as well would have handed her and her heirs “complete control over the plaintiff's property,” a result the court called untenable and absurd, and the absence of any rent escalation clause pointed the same way. The residential lease was therefore terminated and judgment for the landlord in the summary process action was affirmed. One reading note: the bracketed letters and the bracketed word in the quotation are the court's own corrections to a handwritten lease provision, not the lease's spelling, and they are reproduced here as the opinion prints them.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Kentucky Law on Lease Renewal Clause
- The figure is in KRS 383.695(2): "The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice." Louisville Metro Code § 151.49(B) uses the same words with "30 days".
Read the law's words
The notice must be written, it runs both ways, and the deadline is measured to a periodic rental date rather than to an arbitrary day. - The clock follows the rent period.
Read the law's words
KRS 383.695(1) lets either side end a week-to-week tenancy "by a written notice given to the other at least seven (7) days before the termination date specified in the notice." Under KRS 383.565(3) and Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(C), "Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week in case of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases month-to-month." - A shorter period applies after a written lease runs out.
Read the law's words
KRS 383.695(3) says either side "may terminate a tenancy begun upon the termination of a written lease by written notice given to the other at least ten (10) days before the termination date specified in the notice, except that if the tenant fails to pay rent within ten (10) days after the day it becomes due, the landlord may terminate the tenancy at any time without notice." Under KRS 383.695(4), if the landlord consents to continued occupancy after the term, KRS 383.565(3) applies. - The end of a fixed term is treated differently.
Read the law's words
KRS 383.160, which sits in Chapter 383 outside the Uniform Act, says that where a tenancy is to expire on a certain day "the tenant shall abandon the premises on that day, unless by express contract he secures the right to remain longer", and lets possession be recovered "without demand or notice" if proceedings start within 90 days (terms of a year or more) or 30 days (shorter terms). KRS 383.695(4) separately gives the landlord an action for possession if the tenant stays on without consent after the term expires. Check the current text of both sections before relying on either reading for a fixed-term lease. - The Act has scope limits.
Read the law's words
KRS 383.535 lists arrangements it does not govern, including transient occupancy in a hotel or motel, occupancy by an employee whose right to occupy depends on employment in and about the premises, occupancy under a contract of sale by the purchaser, and occupancy by a condominium unit owner or a cooperative proprietary lessee; Louisville Metro Code § 151.08 carries the same list.
Sources include Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(1); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(4); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.160; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.49; Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(C) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Count it for your dates
30 days before: the last day to act
What it means: Written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy must be given at least 30 days before that rent date. Applies to the landlord or the tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy (not a fixed-term lease; week to week is 7 days under § 383.695(1), and a tenancy begun when a written lease ends is 10 days under § 383.695(3)) (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(2); Louisville Metro Code § 151.49). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: At least 30 days before the rent date you name
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Kentucky's renewal timing is in Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695. Every notice must be in writing, and "the landlord or the tenant" may give it.
- (2) Month to month. Notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date specified in the notice.
- (1) Week to week. Notice at least 7 days before the termination date specified in the notice.
- (3) After a written lease ends. Notice at least 10 days before the termination date. If rent is not paid within 10 days after it is due, the landlord may end this tenancy at any time without notice.
Under § 383.565(3), a tenancy with no definite term is month-to-month, except for a roomer who pays weekly rent. If the landlord consents to a stay after the term, § 383.695(4) applies that default.
Two sections speak to the end of a fixed term. § 383.160 says the tenant shall abandon the premises that day unless an express contract gives the right to remain longer, and lets possession be recovered without notice if proceedings start within 90 days (terms of a year or more) or 30 days (shorter terms). § 383.695(4) gives the landlord an action for possession if the tenant stays on without consent. Check the current text of both before relying on either.
What's Specific to Louisville
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Louisville Metro Code Chapter 151 is the city's enactment of Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. § 383.500 requires a local government that adopts the Act to do so "in their entirety and without amendment", and § 151.49 matches § 383.695 apart from wording details. Separately, § 383.199, effective June 27, 2025, restricts some new leases in traditional single-family zones in a county containing a consolidated local government, unless the owner primarily resides on the lot.
Nothing we read in it says whether a renewal counts as a new lease.
If the landlord consents to a stay, § 383.695(4) applies the month-to-month default. Look for whether staying starts a new term or a monthly tenancy.
No Kentucky section we read sets one for a fixed term, so your lease supplies it. A clear opt-out date helps you plan.
§ 383.695(2) counts the 30 days to the periodic rental date specified in the notice, not to any day.
§ 383.695(2) gives "the landlord or the tenant" one period on a month-to-month tenancy. A lopsided clause is worth raising before you sign.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(1); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695(4); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565(3); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.160; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.49; Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(C), read on apps.legislature.ky.gov. The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission's KRS Chapter 383 page states that it includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session and that the KRS database was last updated on 10/03/2026, and the PDF of § 383.695 it serves shows the section effective July 13, 1984 with its 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 176 history line.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
-
A 10-day notice on a monthly tenancy
10 days is for a tenancy begun when a written lease ends (§ 383.695(3)). Month to month is 30 days. Ask in writing what it relies on.
-
A notice tied to no rent date
§ 383.695(2) counts to the periodic rental date specified in the notice. A notice naming a mid-period day is worth checking against your rent due date.
-
A demand to leave on the last day of the term
§ 383.160 and § 383.695(4) treat the end of a fixed term in different ways. Ask which section the demand relies on, and read both.
-
A claim that the Act does not cover you
§ 383.535 and Louisville § 151.08 list the exclusions, such as transient hotel or motel stays and employee housing tied to the job. Check whether yours is one.
-
A refusal that cites the 2025 leasing limit
§ 383.199 limits some leases initiated after June 27, 2025. Nothing we read there says whether a renewal counts as a new lease. Get the reason in writing.
Your Rights as a Louisville Tenant
-
30 days, both directions
§ 383.695(2): written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date, from the landlord or from you.
-
7 days on week to week
§ 383.695(1): written notice at least 7 days before the termination date specified in the notice.
-
10 days after a written lease
§ 383.695(3): written notice at least 10 days before the termination date. The landlord needs none if rent is unpaid 10 days after it is due.
-
Month to month by default
§ 383.565(3) makes a tenancy with no definite term month-to-month, except for a roomer who pays weekly rent.
What To Do - Step by Step
Name your tenancy type
Fixed term, month to month, week to week, or a tenancy begun when a written lease ended? § 383.695 covers the last three.
Count back from your rent date
Write down when rent is due. On a month-to-month tenancy, written notice must be given at least 30 days before that date.
Check that the Act covers you
§ 383.535 and § 151.08 list the arrangements the Act does not govern. If yours is not listed, the periods in § 151.49 are the ones to read.
Read both fixed-term sections
§ 383.160 and § 383.695(4) read differently on the end of a term. Check the current text of both.
Read your renewal paragraph early
On a fixed term, find any opt-out window and the renewal terms well before the last months of the term.
Check the statute, then get advice
Read the current text of § 383.695 and § 151.49, then take a disputed non-renewal to a Louisville tenant attorney or legal aid office.
Why renters trust LeaseDecoded
Frequently Asked Questions
Lease Renewal rules near Kentucky
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
Was this guide helpful?Your answer is anonymous and helps us fix what is unclear.