Security Deposit Alternative in Kentucky
Kentucky's deposit law is unusual in two ways. It applies only in cities and counties that have adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, so the first question is whether it covers your property at all. Where it does, the deposit has to sit in its own account that the resident is told about, and you have to give the resident a signed listing of existing damage before they move in and another at move-out. Skip the account or either listing and you are not entitled to keep any of the deposit, whatever the unit looks like.
What Kentucky law says about security deposits
Read from the Kentucky statute on 2026-09-10. Deposit rules change, and this is general information rather than legal advice. Confirm the current text with your own counsel before you change a lease.
Can you require it of every Kentucky resident?
Kentucky has no statute written for a monthly fee charged instead of a deposit. Its deposit law has a quirk of its own: KRS 383.580 sits inside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which under KRS 383.500 applies only in cities and counties that have adopted it in full. Outside those places the deposit is governed by the lease and general law. Where the act applies, the deposit has to sit in an account used only for deposits, at a regulated bank, and the resident is told the bank and the account number. Before any deposit changes hands you give the resident a comprehensive listing of existing damage with the estimated repair cost, which both of you sign, with the resident recording any dissent in writing. At move-out you compile a second listing the same way. Subsection (4) is the sentence that matters: a landlord who did not keep the separate account or did not provide both listings is not entitled to retain any portion of the deposit.
Rules differ by state and by city, and subsidized housing is its own question. This is general information for property managers, not legal advice. Get a written opinion before you make the fee a condition of tenancy anywhere.
How the program works in Kentucky
The mechanics are the same in every state Beagle operates in. The program is designed to comply with applicable state and local regulations, and the rate is set by the deposit amount rather than by geography, so a Kentucky property and one two states over are quoted the same way.
The resident chooses at signing
Instead of producing the full deposit, the resident pays a smaller non-refundable monthly fee that is billed with rent. Nothing is held, so nothing has to be returned.
The property keeps its protection
Damage beyond normal wear is reimbursed up to the deposit amount the unit would otherwise have required, so what you can recover does not shrink.
Move-out stops being a negotiation
A claim is filed against the program rather than deducted from money you are holding, which takes the itemised-deduction letter and the dispute that follows it off your team's desk.
You earn on every resident who takes it
You set an administrative fee on top of the premium, up to $5 per unit per month, and keep it.
Kentucky security deposit alternative FAQs
Only if the city or county where the property sits has adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which KRS 383.500 lets local governments do in full and without amendment. Where it has, KRS 383.580 governs the account, the two signed damage listings and the refund process. Where it has not, the lease and general Kentucky law govern. Either way, a required monthly fee instead of a deposit is a question for your own attorney.
Security deposit rules in other states
See it on your Kentucky units
Run the program against your own unit count, or walk through it with our team. No upfront fees, no onboarding charges, no long-term contracts.