Kentucky HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Kentucky's current common-interest framework splits by property form. Planned communities run under KRS 381.785 to 381.801, which the statute cites as the Planned Community Act.1 The Act defines a planned community as residential dwellings — excluding condominiums — with separately owned lots and owner obligations tied to membership, common facilities, or fees.2 A planned-community association forms when the first lot conveys, and it organizes under KRS Chapter 273 or KRS Chapter 273A.3
Condominiums sit in the same Chapter 381 structure but under separate condominium statutes: the older Horizontal Property Law at KRS 381.805 to 381.910 and the Kentucky Condominium Act at KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207.4 The Kentucky Condominium Act applies to condominiums created after Jan. 1, 2011, and the older Horizontal Property Law does not reach those later-created condominiums.5
HOA disputes usually start in circuit court, move to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and end with final review at the Kentucky Supreme Court.6 KREC's public materials describe a real estate broker and sales-associate licensing role, not HOA governance supervision.7
Kentucky stands as a targeted-statute state, not a high-volume HOA code state.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Kentucky Planned Community Act, KRS 381.785 to 381.801. Chapter 381 lists the planned-community provisions and the short-title section.8
- Condominium statutes, KRS 381.805 to 381.910 and KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207. Chapter 381 covers both condominium regimes.9
- Kentucky Court of Justice. Circuit courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court form the ordinary civil appeal path.10
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission. KREC regulates real estate brokers and sales associates under KRS Chapter 324.11
- Kentucky Attorney General Consumer Protection Division. The Attorney General runs a consumer complaint and mediation intake channel.12
4. Kentucky's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Kentucky's 2025-2026 session enacted one HOA-relevant bill on political yard signs. Three others — small-association records, swimming pools, and housing districts — did not become law.
HB 27 · Acts Ch. 32 · 2025 Regular Session
The Governor signed HB 27 on March 18, 2025, as Acts Chapter 32.[13] The enacted bill amended KRS 381.800 so political yard-sign protections apply to all planned communities subject to the Planned Community Act, and so conflicting deed restrictions, covenants, and similar planned-community documents are void.[14]
| Property managers | Check political-sign enforcement against the current KRS 381.800 text before issuing notices or fines. |
| HOA board members | Do not rely on existing rules that conflict with KRS 381.800 for campaign-sign disputes. |
| Community association attorneys | Governing-document review should include KRS 381.800 because the statute voids conflicting planned-community provisions. |
| Homeowners | Planned-community owners hold a statutory protection for political yard signs during the election period described in KRS 381.800. |
SB 233 · 2026 Regular Session
SB 233 passed the Senate 34-0, but the House Committee on Committees still held the bill when the 2026 General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 15, 2026.[15] The bill proposed to exempt planned communities and condominium associations with 14 or fewer units from financial-reporting and document-retention requirements under KRS 381.794 and KRS 381.9197.[16]
| Property managers | Small Kentucky communities should keep current financial-record procedures because the exemption did not become law. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not treat the proposed 14-unit threshold as current law. |
| Community association attorneys | Anchor advice on records obligations in existing KRS 381.794 and KRS 381.9197. |
| Homeowners | Owners in small communities do not gain a new statutory records exemption from SB 233. |
SB 61 · 2025 Regular Session
SB 61 remained in Orders of the Day when the 2025 General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 28, 2025.[17] A House floor amendment would have addressed short-term rentals and stated that the proposal would not prohibit restrictions in a homeowners association or similar property-association agreement.[18]
| Property managers | Short-term-rental enforcement remains a governing-document and local-law matter because SB 61 did not enact a statewide rule. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not cite SB 61 as statutory authority for rental restrictions. |
| Community association attorneys | Rental-policy advice should separate introduced or amended bill language from enacted statutes. |
| Homeowners | SB 61 did not change private HOA rental covenants. |
SB 9 · 2026 Regular Session
SB 9 reached a conference committee, but the conference report stated that the committee could not agree.[19] House substitute language would have touched KRS 381.785, KRS 381.794, and KRS 381.9197 and included short-term-rental language stating that it would not affect HOA or similar property-owner-association regulations.[20]
| Property managers | No new SB 9 housing-district rule changes current HOA operating duties. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not update policies based on SB 9 unless lawmakers enact similar language later. |
| Community association attorneys | SB 9 matters as a policy signal, not binding authority. |
| Homeowners | SB 9 did not create a new statewide right that overrides HOA rental rules. |
Recent Court Rulings
The Kentucky Court of Appeals issued two HOA opinions in 2026: one on amended architectural restrictions, and one on assessment liens and attorney-fee reasonableness.
Roberts v. Ballard Woods Homeowners Association, Inc.
The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the association in a restrictive-covenant dispute involving an owner-built outbuilding.[21] The opinion held that the recorded amendments were enforceable and that existing nonconforming outbuildings did not defeat enforcement of the architectural restriction.[22]
| Property managers | Architectural files should preserve approval records, amendment history, and violation evidence. |
| HOA board members | Boards may enforce amended restrictions when adoption and application have proper support. |
| Community association attorneys | The case helps with waiver and changed-condition arguments in Kentucky covenant enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Prior violations in a subdivision may not automatically bar enforcement of architectural restrictions. |
Blair v. Sanctuary Bluff Homeowners Association, Inc.
The Court of Appeals affirmed several rulings in a long-running HOA assessment, lien, and foreclosure dispute, and vacated and remanded the attorney-fee award for a reasonableness review.[23] The opinion recognized the association's recorded continuing lien and right to collect unpaid fees while requiring judicial review of fee reasonableness.[24]
| Property managers | Maintain collection ledgers, lien notices, and board authorizations as litigation records. |
| HOA board members | Boards should expect attorney-fee awards to require evidentiary support. |
| Community association attorneys | Fee petitions should include proof supporting reasonableness, not only the existence of fee-shifting language. |
| Homeowners | Assessment cases can include lien and foreclosure remedies, but attorney fees remain subject to review. |
Regulatory Developments
Kentucky's Real Estate Commission has stated clearly that it does not supervise HOA management. Its jurisdiction stops at brokers and sales associates.
Kentucky Real Estate Commission
KREC's public materials identify its licensing jurisdiction as real estate sales associates and brokers under KRS Chapter 324.[25] Commission minutes also recorded dismissal of a complaint involving a community-association manager because KREC had no jurisdiction.[26] A separate special-meeting record stated that KREC plays no role in association management and that it licenses or regulates brokers and sales associates.[27]
| Property managers | Kentucky association-management compliance does not run through a dedicated KREC manager license. |
| HOA board members | Oversee managers through contract terms, corporate authority, and governing documents. |
| Community association attorneys | Agency-jurisdiction analysis should not assume that KREC supervises HOA management conduct. |
| Homeowners | Complaints about HOA management may not fit within KREC's real estate-license complaint process. |
Active Policy Debates
Recent Kentucky HOA policy activity has centered on political-sign protection, small-association financial-record obligations, and whether statewide housing or rental legislation should preserve private association restrictions.28 No current bill reviewed for this page created a dedicated HOA regulator or a broad common-interest-community agency process.29
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly will expand its Kentucky coverage as new bills, appellate rulings, and agency materials emerge. Federal frameworks — the Fair Housing Act, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and FCC OTARD rule — also apply to Kentucky associations, and coverage will live at /federal/ once that section opens.30
Footnotes
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS 381.801, short title for KRS 381.785 to 381.801 ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS 381.785, definitions for planned communities ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS 381.787, association formation and organization ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS Chapter 381, planned communities, Horizontal Property Law, and Kentucky Condominium Act listings ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS 381.9103, Kentucky Condominium Act applicability ↩
- Kentucky Constitution Section 112, circuit courts; Kentucky Constitution Section 111, Court of Appeals; Kentucky Court of Justice, Supreme Court as court of last resort ↩
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission, licensing information for sales associates and brokers ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS Chapter 381 planned-community provisions ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS Chapter 381 condominium provisions ↩
- Kentucky Constitution Section 112; Kentucky Constitution Section 111; Kentucky Court of Justice, Supreme Court article ↩
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission home page; Kentucky Real Estate Commission, new-license information ↩
- Kentucky Attorney General, consumer complaints; Kentucky Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2025 Regular Session HB 27, bill history ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, KRS 381.800, political yard signs in planned communities ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2026 Regular Session SB 233, bill history; Kentucky Legislature, 2026 Regular Session adjournment record ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2026 Regular Session SB 233, bill summary ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2025 Regular Session SB 61, bill history; Kentucky Legislature, 2025 Regular Session adjournment record ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2025 Regular Session SB 61, House Floor Amendment 1 summary ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2026 Regular Session SB 9, conference committee report history ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2026 Regular Session SB 9, House Committee Substitute summary ↩
- Kentucky Court of Appeals, April 10, 2026 minutes, Roberts v. Ballard Woods Homeowners Association, Inc. ↩
- Roberts v. Ballard Woods Homeowners Association, Inc., Kentucky Court of Appeals opinion text reproduced by Justia ↩
- Kentucky Court of Appeals, March 20, 2026 minutes, Blair v. Sanctuary Bluff Homeowners Association, Inc. ↩
- Blair v. Sanctuary Bluff Homeowners Association, Inc., Kentucky Court of Appeals opinion text reproduced by Justia ↩
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission, licensing information for sales associates and brokers ↩
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission, Complaint Review Committee minutes, Jan. 20, 2021 ↩
- Kentucky Real Estate Commission special meeting minutes, Mar. 3, 2021 ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2025 HB 27; Kentucky Legislature, 2026 SB 233; Kentucky Legislature, 2026 SB 9 ↩
- Kentucky Legislature, 2026 SB 233; Kentucky Legislature, 2026 SB 9 ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Fair Housing Act; ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F; U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; Federal Communications Commission, OTARD rule ↩