[sylvia6530]

My friend got a termination of lease for having unauthorized person at her apartment, The lease states you may have guests for 14 days, They also publish a list of barred persons from property and at no time has this person been on it. When the 30 days were up they put a violation notice on her door stating she had less than 24 hours to remove her belongings or they would start eviction proceedings and put her out. They changed the lock to her front door at that time. Also before the 30 days were up they told another apartment manager they were evicting her which kept her from getting an apartment. Is this legal in the state of Kentucky?

[LisaB4657]

Changing the lock without a court order is an illegal eviction. In Kentucky if a landlord wrongfully excludes the tenant from the premises then the tenant can either recover possession or terminate the tenancy AND recover up to 3 months worth of rent plus reasonable attorney fees from the landlord. Tell your friend to go to the court house tomorrow morning and file a lawsuit for illegal eviction.

You can read the law at http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/krs/383-00/655.PDF

[ScottGem]

An eviction is a court order. Only a court can issue an eviction. The first steps in the eviction process is a notice of termination or notice to vacate.

If the termination is ignored then the landlord has to go to court for an eviction order. This requires a hearing. At the hearing, your friend can point out that she is allowed guests and argue that she did not violate the lease.

But, as Lisa pointed out, a lockout without a court order is illegal. What is the current situation? When did the lockout occur? Your friend can call the police to get back into the apartment.