Emergency Rent Assistance in Kentucky: Local Programs and LIHEAP

Emergency rent assistance in Kentucky is harder to find in 2025 than it was during the pandemic years. The two statewide programs that paid most tenants’ back rent — the Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund and the Team KY Eviction Diversion Program — have both closed to new applicants after exhausting their federal funding.1Team Kentucky. Team KY Eviction Diversion Program What remains is a patchwork: city-run programs in Louisville and Lexington, local Community Action Agencies in every other county, LIHEAP for utility bills, and free legal aid if an eviction case has already been filed. None of these is a guaranteed check, but together they are where Kentucky renters behind on rent should be looking right now.

The Statewide Programs Are Closed

The Team KY Eviction Diversion Program (KY-EDP) stopped accepting applications on April 1, 2025. It had covered 118 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, with Jefferson and Fayette counties running their own separate programs.1Team Kentucky. Team KY Eviction Diversion Program The Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund, which launched in September 2020 and paid landlords and utility companies directly, is also closed to new applicants.2Kentucky Justice Online. Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Funds Available If you applied to either program before it closed and are still waiting on a decision, contact Kentucky Housing Corporation. If you have not applied, those doors are shut and you need to look locally.

Where to Apply Now

Louisville (Jefferson County)

Louisville runs its own Housing Stabilization Program through the Metro Office of Social Services. It offers short-term and long-term rental assistance along with case management. Schedule an appointment online at housingstability.itfrontdesk.com or by calling 502-308-3344 (option 1).3Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services. Louisville Metro Office of Social Services Housing Stabilization Appointment Scheduler You can also walk into any Neighborhood Place location in the county.4LouisvilleKY.gov. Neighborhood Place Bring a photo ID for every adult in the household, your current lease, and proof of all household income. Louisville’s intake tends to be strict about income figures matching across documents, so check the numbers before you go.

Lexington (Fayette County)

Lexington-Fayette County offers emergency financial assistance to prevent eviction or utility disconnection at your current residence. Eligible help covers rent, mortgage, and utility payments, subject to available funding. Call (859) 300-5300 to schedule an appointment.5City of Lexington. Emergency Financial Assistance The Lexington-Fayette County Community Action Agency also administers housing stabilization services locally.

Everywhere Else in Kentucky

For the other 118 counties, Community Action Agencies are the primary local resource. Every Kentucky county is served by one. Their rental assistance funding is much smaller than it was during the ERA years, but many still administer limited emergency funds, provide case management, and refer tenants to other local programs. Find your local office through Community Action Kentucky at capky.org/network.6Community Action Kentucky. Community Action Kentucky

The quickest way to get a current referral anywhere in the state is to dial 211 or visit uwky.org/211. Operators match you to whatever is actually funded and open in your county that week.7Kentucky Housing Corporation. Resources for Kentuckians in Need Charitable groups like the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul also pay emergency rent in some areas, but availability shifts constantly.

Help With Utility Bills: LIHEAP

Kentucky’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) still runs on its regular annual cycle and helps with heating costs — electric, natural gas, propane, wood, coal, fuel oil, and kerosene. If your energy is included in your rent, LIHEAP may still apply. The program has two components with separate windows:

  • Subsidy: November 3 through December 12 for the 2025–2026 cycle.
  • Crisis: January 5 through March 27, 2026. Crisis applicants must show a disconnect or past-due notice, or be within four days of running out of fuel.

Income limits for the 2025–2026 cycle are based on gross monthly household income: $1,957 for one person, $4,019 for a family of four, with $688 added for each additional person.8Community Action Kentucky. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Fact Sheet 2025-2026 Payments go directly to the utility vendor. Apply through your local Community Action Agency.

What to Bring and the Landlord Problem

Most Kentucky rental assistance follows the general framework the federal programs set up. Household income usually has to be below 80% of the Area Median Income for the county, with priority for those below 50% AMI.9U.S. Department of the Treasury. Emergency Rental Assistance Program You also need to show a housing-related hardship and a risk of losing your home, typically through a past-due letter, a pending eviction, or an eviction notice.1Team Kentucky. Team KY Eviction Diversion Program

Documents to gather before your appointment:

  • Color copy of your state ID
  • Proof of your current address
  • Proof of income: most recent IRS 1040, pay stubs from the last 30 days, an unemployment statement, or a letter confirming enrollment in an income-based program like SNAP or LIHEAP1Team Kentucky. Team KY Eviction Diversion Program
  • A working email address for your landlord

That last item matters more than it sounds. Rental assistance programs pay landlords directly, so if your landlord won’t cooperate or won’t respond, the payment generally cannot be redirected to you. This was the single biggest bottleneck in the pandemic-era programs, and it has not changed. If your landlord is unresponsive, raise it with the caseworker early rather than waiting for the application to stall.

If You’re Already Facing Eviction

Knowing the Kentucky eviction timeline buys you time to line up help. In cities and counties that follow the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Florence, and about 15 others — a landlord evicting for unpaid rent must first give you a written seven-day notice. If you pay the full amount owed during those seven days, the landlord cannot proceed.10Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 383.660 – Tenants Noncompliance With Rental Agreement After the notice runs, the landlord still has to file a Forcible Detainer case and get a judge’s order. You have the right to appear and present your side. If the court rules against you, you have seven days to move and seven days to file an appeal.11Kentucky Justice Online. Evictions

Do not skip the hearing. Tenants who don’t show up almost always get a default judgment entered against them. Showing up, even without a lawyer, is a chance to explain the situation and sometimes negotiate directly with the landlord in the courthouse hallway.

Free Legal Help

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass helps tenants facing eviction with advice, landlord negotiation, and court representation, at no cost. Apply by calling 859-431-8200 (Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or through their online application.12Legal Aid of the Bluegrass. Housing Kentucky Courts also publishes free self-help materials and fillable forms at kycourts.gov for tenants representing themselves.

Where to Start Today

One option that will not be available in the short term: Kentucky Housing Corporation’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waitlist is currently closed.13Kentucky Housing Corporation. Housing Choice Voucher Program – About The remaining programs run out of money quickly, so apply as early in the month as you can, bring every document on the first visit, and don’t wait until the court filing lands.