Mobile home utilities and submetering in Kentucky
Where Kentucky's URLTA is adopted, the landlord must keep utilities working and supply running water, and a tenant can act on a willful failure of essential services.
Published June 3, 2026
How utilities are handled in a Kentucky mobile home park turns on the written lease and on whether the local government has adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (KRS 383.505 to 383.715). Where the act applies, it puts maintenance and essential-service duties on the landlord. Kentucky has no dedicated mobile home submetering statute. For a specific bill, consider consulting a licensed attorney in Kentucky.
What the statute says
Where the URLTA applies, KRS 383.595(1) requires the landlord to:
Maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances ... supplied or required to be supplied by him; and ... [s]upply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1.
On loss of service, KRS 383.640(1) provides that if the landlord "willfully fails to supply heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas, or other essential service," the tenant, after written notice, may procure the service and deduct the cost, recover damages, or procure substitute housing and be excused from rent.
How it works in general
Where the URLTA has been adopted, the landlord must keep supplied utility facilities in working order and supply running water and seasonal heat, and a tenant has self-help and damages remedies after written notice of a willful failure of essential services. Where the URLTA has not been adopted, utility duties come from the lease and common law. How a regulated utility bills is overseen by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, and the lease sets any pass-through terms.
Common scenarios
General examples Kentucky park residents commonly encounter:
- A utility facility breaks down. In a URLTA jurisdiction, KRS 383.595 places the repair duty on the landlord.
- Water or another essential service is cut off. KRS 383.640 allows the tenant, after written notice, to procure it and deduct the cost.
- A pass-through charge is questioned. The lease and Public Service Commission rules for regulated utilities are the reference points.
Other authorities that may apply
Whether the URLTA applies depends on local adoption (KRS 383.500). The Kentucky Public Service Commission regulates utilities and their rates. Mobile home and recreational vehicle parks are subject to state health and sanitation licensing under KRS Chapter 219, and the written lease sets utility-billing terms.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a Kentucky landlord responsible for keeping utilities working?
- Where the URLTA applies, yes. KRS 383.595(1) requires the landlord to 'maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances ... supplied or required to be supplied,' and to 'supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times.' This is general information, not advice about a specific bill — consider consulting a licensed attorney in Kentucky.
- What can a Kentucky tenant do if essential services are cut off?
- Where the URLTA applies, KRS 383.640(1) lets a tenant who gives written notice 'procure reasonable amounts of heat, hot water, running water, electric, gas, and the essential service ... and deduct their actual and reasonable cost from the rent,' recover damages, or procure substitute housing and be excused from rent during the failure.
- Does Kentucky have a mobile home submetering law?
- There is no dedicated mobile home submetering statute. Utility billing is governed by the written lease and, for regulated utilities, by Kentucky Public Service Commission rules; where the URLTA applies, the landlord's maintenance and essential-service duties also apply.