{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-383.290","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 383.290","heading":"Removal of person unlawfully occupying real property by law enforcement","body":"officer at request of property owner -- Requirements -- Petition -- Service --\nImmunity -- Civil cause of action.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Immediate family membe r\" means a spouse, parent, sibling, child, mother -\nin-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild;\nand\n(b) \"Law enforcement officer\" means a:\n1. Person who is employed as a sworn law enforcement officer by a city,\ncounty, urb an-county government, or charter county government law\nenforcement agency;\n2. Sheriff or full-time deputy sheriff; or\n3. Constable granted police powers.\n(2) A property owner or his or her authorized agent may request a law enforcement\nofficer to immediat ely remove a person or persons unlawfully occupying real\nproperty pursuant to this section if:\n(a) The unauthorized person is not and never has been a tenant of the premises,\nand never had a written or oral agreement authorized by the property owner to\noccupy the premises;\n(b) The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the\nunauthorized person or persons entered;\n(c) The property owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave the\nproperty;\n(d) The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of the\nproperty owner; and\n(e) There is no pending litigation related to the real property between the property\nowner and any known unauthorized person.\n(3) The request for immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of real property under\nsubsection (2) of this section shall be made by presenting a completed Petition to\nRemove Persons Unlawfully Occupying Real  Property to the law enforcement\nofficer. The submitted petition shall be in substantially the following form:\n\"PETITION TO REMOVE PERSONS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPYING REAL\nPROPERTY\nI, the owner or authorized agent of the owner of the real property located at ... .,\ndeclare that (initial each box):\n1. .... I am the owner of the real property or the authorized agent of the owner of\nthe real property.\n2. .... I obtained title to the property on or about.....\n3. .... An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfull y entered and are\nremaining or residing unlawfully on the real property.\n4. .... The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the\nunauthorized person or persons entered.\n5. .... I have directed the unauthorized person or persons to  leave the real\nproperty, but they have not done so.\n6. .... The unauthorized person or persons sought to be removed are not an owner\nor a co -owner of the property and have not been listed on the title to the property\nunless the person or persons have engaged in title fraud.\n7. .... The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of\nthe property owner.\n8. .... There is no litigation related to the real property pending between the\nproperty owner and any person sought to be removed.\n9. .... I understand that a person or persons removed from the property pursuant\nto this procedure may bring a cause of action against me for any false statements\nmade in this petition, or for wrongfully using this procedure, and that as a result of\nsuch action I may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs, and reasonable\nattorney's fees.\n10. .... I am requesting the law enforcement officer to immediately remove the\nunauthorized person or persons from the property.\n11. .... A copy of my valid g overnment-issued identification is attached, or I am\nan agent of the property owner, and documents evidencing my authority to act on\nthe property owner's behalf are attached.\nI HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS PETITION AND EACH\nSTATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT.\"\n.................... (signature of property owner or agent of owner)\n(4) (a) Upon receipt of a petition in accordance with subsection (3) of this section,\nthe law enforcement officer shall verify the identity of the petitioner. The\npetitioner's identity may be verified by presentation of a government -issued\nphoto identification.\n(b) If the identity of the petitioner is verified, the law enforcement officer shall,\nwithout unnecessary delay, serve a notice to immediately vacate the property\non all the unlawful occupants and shall put the owner in possession of the real\nproperty.\n(c) The service required in paragraph (b) of this subsection may be accomplished\nby hand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by posting the notice on the\nreal property.\n(d) The law enforcement officer serving the notice shall attempt to verify the\nidentity of all persons occupying the real property and note the identities on\nthe return of service. If appropriate, the law enforcement officer may arrest\nany person found o n the real property for trespass, outstanding warrants, or\nany other legal cause.\n(e) A law enforcement officer acting in good faith under this subsection shall be\nimmune from criminal and civil liability.\n(5) (a) The sheriff or constable may charge a fee of twenty dollars ($20) for service\nof the notice to immediately vacate the property.\n(b) After the law enforcement officer serves the notice to immediately vacate the\nproperty, the property owner or authorized age nt may request that the law\nenforcement officer remain at the premises to keep the peace while the\nproperty owner or agent changes the locks and removes the personal property\nof the unlawful occupants from the premises to or near the property line.\n(c) The property owner or his or her authorized agent acting in good faith shall be\nimmune from criminal and civil liability due to the loss of, destruction of, or\ndamage to the personal property of the unlawful occupants unless the removal\nis found to be wrongful under subsection (6) of this section.\n(6) (a) A person may bring a civil cause of action against a petitioner alleging\nwrongful removal under this section. A person harmed by a wrongful removal\nunder this section may be restored to possession of the real  property. A\nprevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to an award of court costs and reasonable\nattorney's fees in addition to other appropriate relief.\n(b) An action for wrongful removal under this section shall be filed in the District\nCourt of the county in which the property is located.\n(c) The action for wrongful removal shall be commenced within sixty (60) days\nafter the wrongful removal.\n(7) This section shall not bar a property owner from bringing a civil cause of action\nagainst any unauthorized perso n for property damage, deprivation of use of\nproperty, and any other relief to which the property owner may be entitled.\n(8) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall create a form containing the text of\nthe petition as described in subsection (3) of t his section and publicly post the form\nit on its website; provided, however, that an owner's petition is not required to\nappear on the Department of Kentucky State Police form to be valid.\n(9) The procedures established in this section are not applicable t o, and shall not be\nenforced against, a person who is a current or former tenant of the premises or who\nonce had an agreement with the property owner that permitted the person to occupy\nthe premises.","path":["KRS Chapter 383"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56192","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:14Z","sha256":"a773b81273adf450e36e63d7b312f427a53209f6d2441b4e9b367a4bd1add63f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-383.285","next":"us-ky/krs-383.300"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}