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Free Kentucky Security Deposit Itemization (Auto-Calc PDF)

Kentucky Security Deposit Itemization overview
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Separate account, written itemized list, no wear and tear — the written itemized list of damages a Kentucky landlord must furnish under Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 before applying any part of the deposit. It adds up your deductions, subtracts them from the deposit, and writes the refund or balance straight into the PDF.

Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 KY URLTA Auto-Calc Refund Free PDF
Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Reviewed for Kentucky ~13 min read

A Kentucky security deposit itemization is the written itemized list of damages that Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 requires a landlord to furnish before applying any part of a tenant’s deposit. Kentucky’s rule is built on a process rather than a single flat deadline: the landlord holds the deposit in a separate account whose location was disclosed, provides a written itemized list of the damages, and gives the tenant a chance to inspect and respond before the money is applied. A landlord who skips those steps forfeits the right to withhold and must return the deposit. The generator below does the arithmetic: enter the deposit and each deduction, and it totals them, subtracts, and prints a ready-to-sign statement. One caution unique to Kentucky — §383.580 lives in the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which applies only where a city or county has adopted it, so confirm coverage first, verify the current text at the Kentucky Legislature, and pair this with the Kentucky return letter that transmits it.

Kentucky Deposit Itemization at a Glance

Governing law

Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 (KY URLTA)

Deposit account

Separate account, location disclosed §383.580(1)

Itemize

Written list of damages before deducting

Noncompliance

Forfeit right to withhold; tenant recovers deposit

Kentucky note: §383.580 is part of Kentucky’s URLTA and governs the deposit only in cities and counties that have adopted the act — Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington-Fayette, Covington, Newport, Florence, Bowling Green, and Georgetown among them. Elsewhere the lease and common-law contract principles control. The statute does not require the landlord to pay the tenant interest. Read the current law at the Kentucky Legislature and see the Kentucky landlord-tenant laws overview.

Ordinary wear and tear is never a deduction in Kentucky

Kentucky, like every URLTA state, lets a landlord charge only for damage the tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear. Faded paint, small nail holes, and carpet worn thin along a walkway are the cost of doing business, not damage. A landlord who itemizes ordinary wear risks the whole itemization: because §383.580 conditions the right to deduct on complying with the statute, an inflated list that pads in wear-and-tear charges is exactly the kind of overreach a court can treat as a wrongful withholding, forfeiting the right to keep the deposit at all.

How the Kentucky Deposit Itemization Works

The itemization is one equation wrapped in a statutory process. You begin with the original security deposit the tenant paid — which in Kentucky must have been held in a separate account whose location was disclosed to the tenant under Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580(1). From that figure you subtract every lawful deduction, each listed on its own line with a description and a dollar amount. What remains is the refund you enclose. If the deductions add up to more than the deposit, the equation goes negative and the statement instead shows the balance the tenant owes you. This document is the heart of Kentucky deposit compliance: the statute does not merely say “explain yourself,” it requires a written itemized list of the damages for which the deposit is withheld, furnished before the money is applied.

What makes Kentucky distinctive is that it substitutes a notice-and-response process for the single flat return deadline many states use. Rather than “return within thirty days or pay a penalty,” §383.580 tells the landlord to give the tenant the written itemized list, let the tenant inspect and respond, and only then apply the deposit and mail any balance to the tenant’s last known address. The statute also builds in a separate-account and disclosure prerequisite that most states lack, and it makes the right to deduct contingent on following the whole procedure. The generator on this page handles the money side flawlessly: it sums the deduction lines as you type, subtracts, and prints matching numbers into the PDF, so the arithmetic on the page and on the statement never disagree.

The Kentucky Five-Step Itemization Playbook

Confirm the property is in a URLTA jurisdiction

Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 governs the deposit only where the city or county adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Confirm coverage before relying on the statutory protections.

Account for the separate deposit

Under subsection 1 the deposit was held in a separate account whose location you disclosed. Carry that original deposit figure onto the statement.

Itemize only lawful deductions

List each deduction on its own line, limited to unpaid rent and repairing damage the tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear, each anchored to a receipt.

Let the form calculate the balance

The generator totals the deductions, subtracts them from the deposit, and shows the refund due or the balance owed.

Furnish the list, honor the response window, deliver

Give the tenant the written itemized list before applying the deposit, let the tenant respond, and mail any balance to the last known address with proof of delivery.

Generate Your Kentucky Itemization Statement

Fill in the parties, the deposit, and one line for each deduction. As you type, the calculator at the bottom updates in real time; when you click generate, the same totals are written into a formatted Kentucky itemized statement you can print, sign, and mail. Every field below reaches the document, and the refund or balance is computed for you under Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580. If you also want a cover letter to transmit it, use the companion Kentucky deposit return letter form.

What this statement does

It produces a signed, itemized Kentucky statement that accounts for the deposit dollar for dollar and cites §383.580. It handles the arithmetic and the format; you supply the dates and the deductions, and you confirm the current statute and your local URLTA coverage at the Kentucky Legislature before delivering it. This is the statutory itemized list itself, not the cover letter — keep the two forms distinct so each does its job.

1. Parties & Property

From (Landlord / Property Manager)

To (Tenant)

2. Deposit & Account

Under §383.580(1) the deposit is held in a separate account whose location was disclosed to the tenant. Kentucky’s statute does not require the landlord to pay interest, so leave the interest field at zero unless a written lease term or local ordinance requires you to credit it.

3. Itemized Deductions

List each deduction on its own line. Deduct only for unpaid rent and repairing damage the tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear, consistent with the lease and §383.580.

DescriptionAmount ($)
Original deposit—
Plus interest credited—
Deposit plus interest—
Less total deductions—
Refund due to tenant—

A positive figure is the refund you owe the tenant. If deductions exceed the deposit and any credited interest, the figure turns red and becomes the balance the tenant owes you.

4. Statement Details

5. Signature

What Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580 Requires

Kentucky’s residential security deposit rules live in a single statute, Ky. Rev. Stat. §383.580, which is part of the state’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The section opens in subsection 1 with a requirement most states omit: the landlord must hold all security deposits in an account used only for that purpose, at a bank or lending institution regulated by Kentucky or the United States, and must disclose the location of that separate account to the tenant. That separate-account-and-disclosure rule is a precondition to keeping any of the money, not a formality — a landlord who commingles the deposit or never tells the tenant where it is held can lose the right to withhold at all.

The middle of the statute builds the itemization-and-response process. The landlord must give the tenant a written itemized list of the damages that the landlord intends to charge against the deposit, and the tenant has the right to inspect that list and the premises and to respond. Only after furnishing the itemized list and honoring that response opportunity may the landlord apply the deposit toward the listed amounts. This sequencing is the reason a lump-sum “we kept your deposit” letter fails in Kentucky: the statute demands the itemized list first, with a genuine chance for the tenant to contest it, before a single dollar is applied.

The statute then supplies timing mechanics for the common problem cases. Where a tenant has vacated owing rent and has not made a demand for return of the deposit, the landlord may apply the deposit to the amounts owed after thirty days. Where the landlord has notified the tenant of the deductions and the tenant has not responded within sixty days, the landlord may remove the remaining deposit and retain it. In both paths, any balance left after lawful deductions is sent to the tenant’s last known address. Finally, the statute supplies the enforcement teeth: a landlord who does not comply with the section — no separate account, no disclosure, no written itemized list — is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit, and the tenant may recover it. Confirm the exact current text and your local coverage at the Kentucky Legislature.

The URLTA Coverage Question — Does the Statute Even Apply?

Before any of §383.580’s protections matter, a Kentucky landlord or tenant has to answer a threshold question that does not arise in most states: has the local government adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act? Kentucky did not enact the URLTA statewide. Instead, the act took effect only in cities, counties, and urban-county governments that opted in by local ordinance. In a jurisdiction that adopted the act, §383.580 controls the deposit — the separate account, the disclosure, the itemized list, the response window, and the forfeiture penalty all apply. In a jurisdiction that did not, the deposit is governed by the lease and ordinary common-law contract principles, and the statutory protections simply are not available.

The adopting jurisdictions include much of Kentucky’s population but far from all of its geography. Louisville/Jefferson County, Lexington-Fayette, Covington, Newport, Florence, Bowling Green, and Georgetown are commonly cited among the adopters, along with several other cities and counties. Because the list is a matter of local ordinance and can change, the only safe practice is to confirm coverage for the specific property before relying on the statute — a deduction that would be lawful in Louisville may be governed purely by the lease a few counties away. When you complete this itemization, treat the URLTA question as step zero: if the property is covered, follow §383.580 to the letter; if it is not, the lease terms and general contract law define what you may withhold and when you must ret