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AN ACT relating to property rights. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 383 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section: 5
(a) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, parent, sibling, child, mother-6
in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, or 7
grandchild; and 8
(b) "Law enforcement officer" means a: 9
1. Person who is employed as a sworn law enforcement officer by a city, 10
county, urban-county government, or charter county government law 11
enforcement agency; 12
2. Sheriff or full-time deputy sheriff; or 13
3. Constable granted police powers. 14
(2) A property owner or his or her authorized agent may request a law enforcement 15
officer to immediately remove a person or persons unlawfully occupying a 16
residential dwelling or other structure on the real property pursuant to this 17
section if: 18
(a) The real property being occupied includes a residential dwelling; 19
(b) An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered and remain or 20
continue to reside on the property owner's property; 21
(c) The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the 22
unauthorized person or persons entered; 23
(d) The property owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave the 24
property; 25
(e) The unauthorized person or persons are not current or holdover tenants 26
pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the property 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 44
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owner; 1
(f) The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of 2
the property owner; and 3
(g) There is no pending litigation related to the real property between the 4
property owner and any known unauthorized person. 5
(3) The request for immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of a residential 6
dwelling or other structure under subsection (2) of this section shall be made by 7
presenting a completed and notarized Petition to Remove Persons Unlawfully 8
Occupying Residential Real Property to the law enforcement officer. The 9
submitted petition shall be in substantially the following form: 10
"PETITION TO REMOVE PERSONS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPYING 11
RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY 12
I, the owner or authorized agent of the owner of the real property located at ...., declare 13
under penalty of perjury that (initial each box): 14
1. .... I am the owner of the real property or the authorized agent of the owner of the 15
real property. 16
2. .... I obtained title to the property on or about..... 17
3. .... The real property includes a residential dwelling. 18
4. .... An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered and are 19
remaining or residing unlawfully on the real property. 20
5. .... The real property was not open to members of the public at the time the 21
unauthorized person or persons entered. 22
6. .... I have directed the unauthorized person or persons to leave the real property, 23
but they have not done so. 24
7. .... The person or persons are not current or holdover tenants pursuant to any 25
valid lease authorized by the property owner, and any lease that may be produced by an 26
occupant is fraudulent. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 44
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8. .... The unauthorized person or persons sought to be removed are not an owner or 1
a co-owner of the property and have not been listed on the title to the property unless 2
the person or persons have engaged in title fraud. 3
9. .... The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family members of the 4
property owner. 5
10. .... There is no litigation related to the real property pending between the property 6
owner and any person sought to be removed. 7
11. .... I understand that a person or persons removed from the property pursuant to 8
this procedure may bring a cause of action against me for any false statements made in 9
this petition, or for wrongfully using this procedure, and that as a result of such action 10
I may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs, and reasonable attorneys' 11
fees. 12
12. .... I am requesting the law enforcement officer to immediately remove the 13
unauthorized person or persons from the residential property. 14
13. .... A copy of my valid government-issued identification is attached, or I am an 15
agent of the property owner, and documents evidencing my authority to act on the 16
property owner's behalf are attached. 17
I HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS PETITION AND EA CH 18
STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE 19
STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS PETITION ARE BEING MADE UNDER 20
PENALTY OF PERJURY, PUNISHABLE UNDER KRS 523.030." 21
.......... (signature of property owner or agent of owner) 22
(4) (a) Upon receipt of a petition in accordance with subsection (3) of this section, 23
the law enforcement officer shall verify that the person submitting the 24
petition is the record owner of the real property or the authorized agent of 25
the owner and appears otherwise entitled to relief under this section. 26
Verification may be accomplished by presenting a government-issued photo 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 44
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identification. 1
(b) If ownership is verified, the law enforcement officer shall, without 2
unnecessary delay, serve a notice to immediately vacate the property on all 3
the unlawful occupants and shall put the owner in possession of the real 4
property. 5
(c) The service required in paragraph (b) of this subsection may be 6
accomplished by hand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by posting 7
the notice on the front door or entrance of the dwelling or other structure. 8
(d) The law enforcement officer shall attempt to verify the identity of all 9
persons occupying the dwelling or other structure and note the identities on 10
the return of service. If appropriate, the law enforcement officer may arrest 11
any person found in the dwelling or other structure for trespass, 12
outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause. 13
(e) A law enforcement officer acting in good faith under this subsection shall 14
be immune from criminal and civil liability. 15
(5) (a) The sheriff or constable may charge a fee of twenty dollars ($20) for service 16
of the notice to immediately vacate the property. 17
(b) After the law enforcement officer serves the notice to immediately vacate the 18
property, the property owner or authorized agent may request that the law 19
enforcement officer remain at the premises to keep the peace while the 20
property owner or agent changes the locks and removes the personal 21
property of the unlawful occupants from the premises to or near the 22
property line. 23
(c) The property owner or his or her authorized agent acting in good faith shall 24
be immune from criminal and civil liability due to the loss of, destruction of, 25
or damage to the personal property of the unlawful occupants unless the 26
removal is found to be wrongful under subsection (6) of this section. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 44
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(6) (a) A person may bring a civil cause of action against a petitioner alleging 1
wrongful removal under this section. A person harmed by a wrongful 2
removal under this section may be restored to possession of the real 3
property and may recover actual costs and damages incurred, statutory 4
damages equal to triple the fair market rent of the dwelling, court costs, and 5
reasonable attorneys' fees. 6
(b) An action for wrongful removal under this section shall be filed in the 7
District Court of the county in which the property is located. 8
(c) The action for wrongful removal shall be commenced within sixty (60) days 9
after the wrongful removal. 10
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 523 IS CREATED TO 11
READ AS FOLLOWS: 12
(1) A person is guilty of making a false statement to detain real property when he or 13
she knowingly and with intent to detain or remain upon real property presents to 14
another person a fraudulent document purporting to be a valid lease agreement, 15
deed, or other instrument conveying real property rights. 16
(2) Making a false statement to detain real property is a Class A misdemeanor. 17