Kentucky Planned Community Act
The Planned Community Act is Kentucky's first general statute for homeowners associations — enacted in 2023 and effective June 29, 2023. It sets the floor for how a planned community is formed and run: the board, the declarant control period, meetings and notice, budgets and assessments, records, the association's lien, and a political-sign protection that voids any contrary provision of an existing governing document. The full statutory text, hosted for reference, with a plain-language guide for homeowners.
The Planned Community Act (KRS 381.785 to 381.801) is the closest thing Kentucky has to a general homeowners-association statute. It was created by 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 and took effect June 29, 2023; the political-sign section was then amended in 2025. Before it, a Kentucky homeowner outside a condominium had almost nothing but their own recorded declaration and general corporate law to work with.
Read the scope first — it points three ways at once
KRS 381.786 has three subsections and they only make sense together. Subsection (1) opens “Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, all planned communities in this Commonwealth are subject to” the Act — but in the same breath, “[u]nless specifically stated, nothing in KRS 381.785 to 381.801 shall invalidate any provision of a document that governs a planned community if that provision was in the document at the time the document was recorded and the document was adopted or recorded prior to June 29, 2023.” So the Act reaches old communities, but it does not by itself rewrite their old documents. Watch for the sections that do specifically state, because those are the ones that override what your declaration says — and there are two of them, on assessments (§ 381.797(8)) and on political signs (§ 381.800(2)).
Subsection (2) is prospective only: after June 29, 2023, no one may establish a planned community without filing and recording a declaration with the county clerk. Subsection (3) confirms that requirement “shall only apply to homeowners' associations or planned communities formed after June 29, 2023” — and states that the Act does not apply to “current developments or neighborhoods that do not have a homeowners' association” meeting the Act's definition — though subsection (1) is expressly written to operate notwithstanding subsection (3).
Whether you are in one at all
A planned community is a group of residential dwellings — expressly excluding condominiums — made up of individual lots where a deed, common plan or declaration requires one of three things: that all owners become members of an association; that owners or the association hold or lease property or facilities for the benefit of all owners; or that owners support property or facilities for all owners to use, by membership fees (§ 381.785(13)(a)). Two things are not planned communities: an arrangement whose sole common facility for sharing maintenance expenses is common roadways providing access to multiple lots, and a current development that does not already have a homeowners' association established by declaration, plat or deed (§ 381.785(13)(b)).
The association, the board, and the declarant
- When it must exist. The declarant must establish the association no later than the date the first lot is conveyed to a purchaser for fair market value, organised either as a nonprofit corporation under KRS Chapter 273 or as an unincorporated nonprofit association under KRS Chapter 273A (§ 381.787(1)).
- The board. At least three directors, elected from among the owners, taking office no later than the end of any declarant control period (§ 381.787(2)). Under § 381.787(3), if an owner is not a natural person, one of its principals, partners, directors, officers, trustees or employees may serve.
- Seven things your documents must cover (§ 381.787(5)): the number of directors; the election method and terms; the board's powers and duties; how a director is removed; how the declaration and bylaws are amended; the frequency, time and place of board meetings and how they are called and noticed; and anything else the declarant or association thinks necessary.
- Removing a director. Owners may remove any board member with or without cause by a majority of those present in person or by proxy at a meeting with a quorum — unless the documents require a higher percentage, and except a director appointed by the declarant (§ 381.787(6)).
- Declarant control. The declaration shall provide a declarant control period and specify the time and manner in which it ends; the declarant may surrender control early (§ 381.788).
Meetings, notice and voting
Section 381.792 lists what the declaration or bylaws must contain. An annual meeting at least once a year, with a quorum of ten percent of lot owners. Special meetings callable by the president, a majority of the board, or the written request of twenty percent of owners (or any lower percentage the documents set) — and on such a request the secretary shall convene the meeting within thirty days. Notice of any meeting no less than ten and no more than thirty days ahead, by mail to the address of record, hand delivery or electronic delivery, stating the time, place and the items on the agenda. One vote per lot, no cumulative voting, and a proxy expires one year after it is signed unless it says sooner. A majority of the votes cast carries, unless the documents require more.
Board meetings are open — § 381.793(2) provides that board meetings shall be open to the owners except during executive sessions, though it opens with “[u]nless otherwise specified in the bylaws”, so this one is a default your documents can change. A board quorum is fifty-one percent of the directors present at the beginning of the meeting, unless the bylaws require more (§ 381.793(1)). A board director of an unincorporated association — acting as a director, as an officer, or on a committee — is held to the standards in §§ 273.215 and 273.229 — good faith, on an informed basis, and in a manner the person honestly believes to be in the best interests of the corporation (§ 381.793(3)).
Assessments — and the one place the Act overrides your declaration
Common expenses cover administration, governance and maintenance, including insurance, repairs and reserves for replacement of the common areas, and the common expense liability is allocated equally among all the lots (§ 381.796(2)). Read that one with § 381.786(1) before relying on it: § 381.796 is not one of the two provisions that “specifically state” an override, so an unequal allocation written into a declaration recorded before June 29, 2023 survives. The board may charge interest or a late fee at a rate it sets, capped by whatever the law otherwise allows (§ 381.796(4)).
An assessment is more than the common-expense share. Under § 381.797(1) it also carries fines for violations levied by the board, individual utility assessments, the cost of repairs caused by the willful or negligent act of an owner, occupant, family member, tenant, guest or invitee, and enforcement costs including reasonable attorney fees. Before imposing a charge for fines, damages or an individual assessment, the board shall give the owner written notice and the opportunity to be heard (§ 381.797(2)).
Special assessments need the board to find the purpose is in the association's best interests and that the proceeds go primarily to the maintenance and upkeep of the common areas and any other areas of association responsibility the declaration expressly assigns, including capital expenditures. After declarant control ends they take a majority of the full board; a meeting must then be held within thirty days so owners can rescind or reduce the assessment, which takes a majority of the total number of lots (§ 381.797(3), (4)). If owners do rescind or reduce it, no director or officer is liable for a resulting failure to perform a fiduciary duty, and the association must indemnify them (§ 381.797(5)).
The budget can be ratified by silence. The board adopts an annual budget and must provide it to all owners within thirty days. If it raises the previous year's budget by more than fifteen percent, the board must notice a special meeting for ratification, hold it within forty-five days after the summary goes to the members — and the budget is “deemed ratified, whether or not a quorum is present,” unless a majority of all owners — or any larger vote the declaration specifies — rejects it. Rejection simply continues the existing budget (§ 381.797(7)).
And here is the override. Section 381.797(8): “The provisions of this section shall override any limitation on the amount of assessments or the amount of annual increases that may be contained in existing declarations, bylaws, rules, or regulations of a planned community.” If your declaration caps dues or caps annual increases, that cap does not survive this subsection.
One more consequence of not paying: the association may deny access to the common areas — but not to a road within the community that is a common area and provides direct access to your lot (§ 381.797(6)).
Amending or ending the community
Section 381.791 sets three thresholds, and each opens “[u]nless otherwise specified in the declaration”. Owners may amend the declaration by consent of eighty percent of the owners of all lots, in writing or at a special meeting called for the purpose; may terminate the declaration and the association by the written consent of not less than eighty percent; and may amend the bylaws by consent of a majority of the owners of all lots. No amendment or termination is effective until filed with the county clerk.
One carve-out catches older communities. For the declaration and for termination alike, the eighty-percent rule does not apply to a declaration that is silent about how an amendment or a termination is to occur — unless the declaration was created after June 29, 2023. So in an older community whose declaration says nothing on the subject, § 381.791 does not supply the procedure, and you are back to the document and to a lawyer.
Records, reports and what you can actually see
The association must keep a complete set of financial records, records of what owners paid and what was paid to contractors and suppliers, meeting minutes for both the association and the board, and the owners' names and mailing addresses (§ 381.790(3)).
The financial report scales with the association's size (§ 381.794). It must be prepared no later than 180 days after the fiscal year ends — or annually on whatever date the declaration or bylaws set — and made available within thirty days of the board receiving it — electronically at no charge, or on paper for a reasonable fee. Under $125,000 in annual revenue, a statement of cash receipts and disbursements. $125,000 to under $300,000, a compilation by an accounting professional. $300,000 to under $1,000,000, a review by a CPA. $1,000,000 or more, an audit by a CPA. An association may always elect a higher standard than its bracket requires.
Inspection has real limits. An owner may examine and copy the books, records and minutes — but subject to reasonable standards set out in the declaration, the bylaws, or rules the board promulgates, covering what may be examined, when, where and at what copying fee (§ 381.795(1)). And unless the board approves, five categories are off limits: personnel matters; communications with legal counsel or attorney work product about potential, threatened or pending litigation or other property matters; contracts or transactions under negotiation, or anything under a confidentiality requirement; information relating to the collection of assessments or a list of past-due owners, lot or plat numbers or addresses; and anything whose disclosure is prohibited by law (§ 381.795(2)).
The lien — and where it sits in the queue
The association has a continuing lien on the lot for unpaid assessments, special assessments and charges levied under § 381.797, together with interest, fines, administrative late fees, enforcement assessments, collection costs and reasonable attorney fees — once any portion has been unpaid thirty days after becoming due (§ 381.799(1)).
Read the priority rule carefully, because it is not a super-lien. A properly recorded lien is prior to any other lien except two things: liens for real estate taxes and other governmental charges, penalties or assessments, including a lien filed by a local government under KRS 65.8835; and any mortgage, lien or encumbrance recorded before the association's lien was recorded (§ 381.799(2)(b)). In practice an ordinary first mortgage recorded at purchase will sit ahead of an assessment lien recorded years later.
Political yard signs: the covenant Kentucky voids outright
Section 381.800 is the bluntest owner protection in the Act — one of only two provisions that reach back into documents recorded long before it, and the only one that declares a contrary provision void. “The governing documents of an association shall not prohibit the outdoor display of political yard signs by an owner or resident on the owner's or resident's property.” The window runs from thirty days before any special, primary or regular election to seven days after it, unless a local ordinance allows longer. The association may still set reasonable rules on placement, size and manner of display.
And then subsection (2): “All planned communities in this Commonwealth shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, and any provision of any existing governing document of a planned community in contravention of subsection (1) of this section is void.” That is the “specifically stated” overrides § 381.786(1) refers to — the other being § 381.797(8) on assessments: a no-signs covenant recorded in 1985 is void, not merely unenforceable going forward.
Two duties that cut both ways
On reasonable notice, an owner must let the association's agents or employees onto the lot so the association can carry out its duties — and the association or its agent is responsible for any damage caused, with the association liable for its prompt repair (§ 381.789). And every owner, resident, tenant and other person lawfully in possession must comply with the recorded covenants and with the bylaws, rules and regulations as lawfully amended (§ 381.798).
What the Act does not do
Reading all seventeen sections together, the Act creates no state regulator, no complaint process and no agency with jurisdiction over a planned community. There is no section empowering the Attorney General, no registry, and no administrative remedy. Enforcement is a matter for the association, the owners, and the courts — which is why the notice-and-hearing requirement in § 381.797(2) and the records right in § 381.795 matter as much as they do. They are among the few procedural protections an owner can point to without filing suit.
Condominiums are not planned communities. The definition in § 381.785(13)(a) excludes them by name, so a Kentucky condominium is governed instead by the Kentucky Condominium Act (KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207) if it was created after January 1, 2011, or by the Horizontal Property Law (KRS 381.805 to 381.910) if it was created before — with an enumerated list of Condominium Act sections reaching back to older regimes under KRS 381.9103.
The corporate layer sits underneath. Section 381.787(1) requires the association to be organised either as a nonprofit corporation under KRS Chapter 273 or as an unincorporated nonprofit association under KRS Chapter 273A, so meetings, directors, records and dissolution are governed by that chapter as well as by this Act. Neither Act states a priority rule over the other, which is why the two have to be read together.
One neighbouring section worth knowing. KRS 381.803, added in 2024, lets a city petition a court to appoint a receiver when a homeowners' association fails to maintain infrastructure or common areas, and lets the city recover from the receiver what it spent putting things right. It sits just outside this Act's section range and is not part of it.
Discrimination, debt collection and the rest come from elsewhere: the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and the federal Fair Housing Act for housing discrimination, and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when a third-party collector pursues unpaid assessments. Return to the Kentucky HOA laws hub for the full set.
Contents · 17 sections ▾
- 381.785Definitions for KRS 381.785 to 381.801.
- 381.786Planned communities subject to KRS 381.785 to 381.801 -- Filing of declaration.
- 381.787Establishment and organization of planned community -- Board of directors -- Declaration or bylaws -- Removal of board member.
- 381.788Declarant control period -- Surrender of declarant's control.
- 381.789Access to owners' lots by agents of association -- Responsibility for damage.
- 381.790Budget -- Assessments -- Insurance -- Financial records.
- 381.791Amendment of declaration -- Termination of declaration and association -- Amendment of bylaws.
- 381.792Required provisions in declaration or bylaws -- Meetings -- Notice -- Quorum.
- 381.793Quorum -- Open board meetings -- Standards for board directors.
- 381.794Financial records -- Financial report -- Standards for report.
- 381.795Examination of records by owner.
- 381.796Assessment for common expenses -- Increase -- Interest and late fees.
- 381.797Elements of assessments for each lot -- Notice of charges -- Special assessments -- Claimed breach of fiduciary duty -- Annual budget.
- 381.798Compliance by persons with ownership interest.
- 381.799Association's continuing lien -- Validity and priority of liens.
- 381.800Display of political yard signs -- Conditions -- Existing contrary provisions are void.
- 381.801Short title for KRS 381.785 to 381.801.
No sections match that filter.
KRS 381.785 Definitions for KRS 381.785 to 381.801.
As used in KRS 381.785 to 381.801:
(1) "Assessment" means the liability for an expense that is allocated to a lot in a planned community in accordance with governing documents;
(2) "Association" means a nonprofit corporation or unincorporated organization that is composed of lot owners in a planned community that is responsible for the administrative governance, maintenance, and upkeep of the planned community;
(3) "Board" means the executive body of an association, regardless of name, designated in the declaration or bylaws to act on behalf of an association;
(4) "Bylaws" means a document adopted by the association for the regulation or management of the affairs of the association;
(5) "Common area" means property, including any facilities and amenities, within a planned community that is designated as a public space and is owned, leased, or required by the declaration to be maintained or operated by an association;
(6) "Declarant" means any person or entity, and their successors and assigns, that:
(a) Executes and files a declaration encumbering real property; or
(b) Authorizes real property to be governed by a declaration, as part of the establishment or maintenance of a planned community;
(7) "Declarant control period" means the period of time in which the declarant controls the association by appointing or removing the members of the association's board of directors and manages the association;
(8) "Declaration" means any instrument, however denominated, including but not limited to covenants, conditions, or restrictions, and any amendment or supplement thereto, recorded among the land records of the county or counties in which a planned community or any part thereof is located, that either:
(a) Imposes restrictions, covenants, conditions, or maintenance or operational responsibilities for any common area on an association; or
(b) Conveys the authority of an association to impose on lots, or on the lot owners or occupants, or on any other entity, an assessment in connection with the provision of maintenance or services for the benefit of some or all of the lots or the common area;
(9) "Governing documents" means the articles of incorporation, bylaws, plat, declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions, rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines of an association, or other written instrument granting the association the authority to manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under its jurisdiction;
(10) "Lot" means any plot or parcel of real property designated for separate ownership or occupancy and is either shown on a recorded subdivision plat for a planned community or the boundaries are described in the declaration;
(11) "Owner" means a declarant or other person who owns a lot in a planned community but does not include any person that has an interest in a lot solely as security for an obligation;
(12) "Person" means a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, limited liability company, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or other legal or commercial entity;
(13)
(a) "Planned community" means a group of residential dwellings, excluding condominiums, composed of individual lots for which a deed, common plan, or declaration requires that:
1. All owners become members of an association;
2. Owners or the association hold or lease property or facilities for the benefit of all owners; or
3. Owners support by membership fees or property or facilities for all owners to use.
(b) "Planned communities" shall not include:
1. Any deed, subdivision plat or plan, or declaration which is recorded whereby the sole common facility for sharing maintenance expenses is for shared or common roadways providing access to multiple lots; or
2. A current development or neighborhood that does not currently have a homeowners' association established by declaration, subdivision plat, or deed;
(14) "Purchaser" means a person who acquires a legal or equitable interest in a lot by voluntary or involuntary transfer. A purchaser shall not be a declarant or a person in the business of selling real estate for profit;
(15) "Real estate" includes lands together with improvements thereon and appurtenances thereto; and
(16) "Residential dwelling" means a building or portion of a building that is designed and intended for use and occupancy by a single household and not for business purposes, and which may share common walls, roofing, or other common structural elements.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.786 Planned communities subject to KRS 381.785 to 381.801 -- Filing of declaration.
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, all planned communities in this Commonwealth are subject to the provisions of KRS 381.785 to 381.801. Unless specifically stated, nothing in KRS 381.785 to 381.801 shall invalidate any provision of a document that governs a planned community if that provision was in the document at the time the document was recorded and the document was adopted or recorded prior to June 29, 2023.
(2) After June 29, 2023, no person shall establish a planned community unless the person files and records a declaration for that planned community in the office of the county clerk of the county or counties in which the planned community is located.
(3) The provisions of KRS 381.785 to 381.801 shall not apply to current developments or neighborhoods that do not have a homeowners' association that meet the definition of a planned community in KRS 381.785. Subsection (2) of this section shall only apply to homeowners' associations or planned communities formed after June 29, 2023.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 2, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.787 Establishment and organization of planned community -- Board of directors -- Declaration or bylaws -- Removal of board member.
(1) A declarant shall establish an association no later than the date upon which the first lot in the planned community is conveyed to a purchaser for fair market value. The association shall be organized as a nonprofit corporation pursuant to KRS Chapter 273 or as an unincorporated nonprofit association pursuant to KRS Chapter 273A.
(2) The association shall consist of members who own a lot or lots in the planned community. The association shall be administered by a board of directors elected from among the owners. The owners shall elect a board with at least three (3) directors who shall take office upon election no later than the termination of any declarant control period.
(3) Unless otherwise provided in the governing documents, the board of directors shall be authorized to carry out the provisions of KRS 381.785 to 381.801. If an owner is not a natural person, a principal member of a limited liability company, partner, director, officer, trustee, or employee of the owner may be elected to the board of directors.
(4) The initial board of directors shall promulgate the initial bylaws of the association.
(5) Subject to other provisions of KRS 381.785 to 381.801, the declaration or bylaws for an incorporated or unincorporated association shall provide for the following:
(a) The number of persons constituting the board;
(b) The election method and terms of the board;
(c) The powers and duties of the board;
(d) The method of removal of directors from the board;
(e) The method of amending the declaration and bylaws;
(f) The frequency, time, and place for holding board meetings and the manner of and authority for calling, giving notice of, and conducting board meetings; and
(g) Any other matters the declarant or the association deems necessary and appropriate.
(6) Unless a higher percentage of votes is required under the declaration or bylaws, the owners may remove any member of the board with or without cause, except a director appointed by the declarant, by a majority vote of all persons present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at any meeting of the association at which a quorum is present.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 3, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.788 Declarant control period -- Surrender of declarant's control.
(1) A declaration shall provide a declarant control period and specify the time and manner in which the declarant control period ends.
(2) A declarant may surrender the right to appoint and remove officers and directors of the board and relinquish management and control of the association before termination of a declarant control period.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 4, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.789 Access to owners' lots by agents of association -- Responsibility for damage.
Upon reasonable notice, an owner shall permit agents or employees of the association access to the owner's lot for the purpose of fulfilling the association's duties and obligations. Any damage to the common areas, lots, or residential dwellings due to the granted access is the responsibility of the association or its agent. The association is liable for the prompt repair of that damage.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 5, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.790 Budget -- Assessments -- Insurance -- Financial records.
(1) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration or bylaws, an association, through its board, shall:
(a) Annually adopt and amend a budget for revenues and expenditures. The budget may include reserves to fund the future repair and replacement of capital goods in the normal course of operations; and
(b) Collect assessments for common expenses from the owners in accordance with KRS 381.797.
(2) Unless provided otherwise in the declaration, an association formed after June 29, 2023, shall obtain and maintain insurance coverage no later than the first conveyance of a lot as follows:
(a) Property insurance on the common areas insured for replacement cost;
(b) Liability insurance for the common areas; and
(c) Other insurance as required by the declaration or bylaws.
(3) An association shall keep:
(a) A complete set of financial records in accordance with KRS 381.794;
(b) Records showing the payment for common expenses and other charges received from the owners;
(c) Records detailing and supporting the payment for common expenses and other charges paid to contractors, suppliers, and service providers;
(d) Meeting minutes for the association and the board; and
(e) Records of the names and mailing addresses of the owners. The owners shall maintain their current mailing address and contact information with the secretary of the association.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 6, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.791 Amendment of declaration -- Termination of declaration and association -- Amendment of bylaws.
(1) Unless otherwise specified in the declaration, the owners may amend the declaration by consent of eighty percent (80%) of the owners of all lots in the planned community either in writing or in a special meeting called for that purpose. Except for any declaration that was created after June 29, 2023, this subsection shall not apply to amending the declaration when it is silent as to how an amendment is to occur. No amendment to the declaration shall be effective until filed with the county clerk.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in the declaration, the owners may terminate the declaration and the association by the written consent of not less than eighty percent (80%) of the owners of all lots in the planned community. Except for any declaration that was created after June 29, 2023, this subsection shall not apply to terminating the declaration when it is silent as to how a termination is to occur. No termination shall be effective until filed with the county clerk.
(3) Unless otherwise specified in the declaration, the owners may amend the bylaws by consent of a majority of the owners of all lots in the planned community either in writing or in a special meeting called for that purpose.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 7, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.792 Required provisions in declaration or bylaws -- Meetings -- Notice -- Quorum.
In an association's declaration or bylaws, an association shall include the following:
(1) An annual meeting of the association shall be held at least once per year. A quorum for an association meeting is ten percent (10%) of the lot owners;
(2) Special meetings of the association may be called by the president, a majority of the board, or by written request of twenty percent (20%) of the owners or any lower percentage specified in the declaration or bylaws. Upon receipt of a written request of the owners for a special meeting, the secretary shall convene the special meeting within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written request;
(3) Notice of meetings of the association shall be given to owners no less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days in advance of any meeting. The secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall send notice by United States mail to the mailing address of record for each owner, or hand-delivered, or electronically delivered to each owner. The notice of any meeting shall state the time and place of the meeting and the items on the agenda; and
(4) A quorum is deemed present throughout any meeting of the association if persons entitled to cast ten percent (10%) of the total lots which may be cast are in person or by proxy at the beginning of the meeting, subject to the following provisions:
(a) Votes allocated to a lot may be cast in person or pursuant to proxy duly executed by a lot owner. A proxy terminates one (1) year after its signed date, unless it specifies a shorter term;
(b) Each lot shall have one (1) vote, and cumulative voting shall not be allowed. The declaration or bylaws may provide for the option of electronic voting or voting by mail; and
(c) The actions approved by a majority of the votes cast at an association meeting shall constitute the actions of the owners, except when approval by a greater number of owners is required by the declaration or bylaws.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 8, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.793 Quorum -- Open board meetings -- Standards for board directors.
(1) Unless the bylaws specify a larger percentage, a quorum of a board is established if fifty-one percent (51%) of the directors are present at the beginning of the meeting.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in the bylaws, board meetings shall be open to the owners except during executive sessions.
(3) A board director of an unincorporated association shall discharge his or her duties as an officer or member of the board or as a member of a committee in accordance with the standards set forth in KRS 273.215 and 273.229.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 9, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.794 Financial records -- Financial report -- Standards for report.
(1) An association shall keep financial records sufficiently detailed to enable the association to prepare financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
(2) No later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the end of the fiscal year, or annually on a date provided in the declaration or bylaws, the association shall have a financial report prepared for the preceding fiscal year. No later than thirty (30) days after the financial report is prepared and received by the board, the association shall make the financial report available electronically at no charge or provide a paper copy with payment of a reasonable fee to a lot owner.
(3) The financial report shall be prepared in accordance with the following standards:
(a) An association with total annual revenues of less than one hundred twenty- five thousand dollars ($125,000) shall prepare a statement of cash receipts and disbursements that discloses all sources of income and expenses by account and classification;
(b) An association with total annual revenues of at least one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000) but less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) shall prepare a financial report under the standards of a compilation by an accounting professional;
(c) An association with total annual revenues of at least three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) but less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall prepare a financial report under the standards of review, to be prepared by a certified public accountant; and
(d) An association with total annual revenues of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or greater shall have prepared a financial report under the standards of an audit prepared by a certified public accountant. An association may elect to have the financial report required under this subsection prepared in accordance with a higher standard than required for the association's annual revenue level.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 10, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.795 Examination of records by owner.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an owner may examine and copy the books, records, and minutes of the association pursuant to reasonable standards set forth in the declaration, bylaws, or other rules and regulations promulgated by the board, including standards governing the type of documents to be examined and copies and the time and location at which the documents may be examined, including a reasonable fee for copying documents.
(2) Unless approved by the board, an owner may not examine or copy from books, records, or minutes of the association:
(a) Information that pertains to personnel matters of the association;
(b) Communications with legal counsel or attorney work product pertaining to potential, threatened, or pending litigation or other property-related matters;
(c) Information that pertains to contracts or transactions under negotiation, or information that is contained in a contract or other agreement containing confidentiality requirements;
(d) Information that relates to the collection of assessments or listing of past-due owner names, lot numbers, plat numbers, lot addresses, or street addresses; or
(e) Information the disclosure of which is prohibited by state or federal law.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 11, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.796 Assessment for common expenses -- Increase -- Interest and late fees.
In addition to the provisions of the declaration, bylaws, rules, or regulations of the association:
(1) Common expenses shall include all costs incurred in the administration, governance, and maintenance of an association, including but not limited to insurance premiums and expenses, maintenance and repair expenses, and any reserves for replacement of the common areas.
(2) The common expense liability of each lot shall be allocated equally among all the lots in the form of an assessment. The board shall assess the common expense liability for each lot at least annually based on a budget the board adopts in accordance with KRS 381.790 and 381.797.
(3) After termination of the declarant control period, the board shall abide by KRS 381.797 for any increase of any assessment.
(4) The board may charge interest or a late fee on any past due assessment or installment at the rate established by the board, not to exceed any maximum rate allowed by law.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 12, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.797 Elements of assessments for each lot -- Notice of charges -- Special assessments -- Claimed breach of fiduciary duty -- Annual budget.
(1) In addition to the provisions of the declaration, bylaws, rules, or regulations of the association the assessment for each lot shall consist of:
(a) The allocated common expense liability;
(b) Fines for violations levied by the board;
(c) Individual assessments for utility services that are imposed or levied in accordance with the declaration;
(d) Costs of maintenance, repair, or replacement incurred due to the willful or negligent act of an owner or occupant of a lot or the family, tenants, guests, or invitees of an owner or occupant of a lot; and
(e) Costs or charges associated with the enforcement of the declarations, bylaws, rules and regulations of the association, and any provision of this section, including but not limited to reasonable attorney fees, costs, and other expense.
(2) Prior to imposing a charge for fines, damages, or an individual assessment pursuant to this section, the board shall give the owner a written notice and the opportunity to be heard.
(3) In addition to all other assessments which are authorized in the declaration, the board of an association shall have the power to levy a special assessment against lot owners:
(a) If the board finds that the purpose of the assessment is in the best interests of the association; and
(b) The proceeds of the assessment are used primarily for the maintenance and upkeep of the common areas and other such areas of association responsibility expressly provided for in the declaration, including capital expenditures.
(4) After termination of the declarant control period, an affirmative vote of a majority of the full board shall be required to approve a special assessment subject to the following provisions:
(a) Within thirty (30) days after board passage of a special assessment, a meeting of the association shall be held to allow owners an opportunity to rescind or reduce the special assessment; and
(b) A majority of the total number of lots of the planned community cast in person or by proxy shall be required to rescind or reduce the special assessment.
(5) No director or officer of the association shall be liable for failure to perform his or her fiduciary duty if a special assessment for the funds necessary for the director or officer to perform his or her fiduciary duty is rescinded or reduced by the owners pursuant to this section. The association shall indemnify such director or officer against any damage resulting from a claimed breach of fiduciary duty arising therefrom.
(6) The failure of an owner to pay an assessment or special assessment allowed under this section shall provide the association with the right to deny the owner access to any or all of the common areas, except that access to any road within the planned community that is a common area and provides direct access to the owner's lot shall not be denied.
(7) The board shall adopt an annual budget. The board shall:
(a) Provide a budget to all owners within thirty (30) days after the adoption;
(b) If the adopted budget contains an increase of greater than fifteen percent (15%) from the previous year's budget, provide notice to the members of a special meeting to consider member ratification of the budget;
(c) Hold a meeting within forty-five (45) days after the summary has been provided to members;
(d) Deem the budget ratified, whether or not a quorum is present, unless at that meeting a majority of all owners, or any larger vote specified in the declaration, reject the budget; and
(e) If the budget is rejected, continue the existing budget until such time as a subsequent budget is adopted by the board in conformity with this subsection.
(8) The provisions of this section shall override any limitation on the amount of assessments or the amount of annual increases that may be contained in existing declarations, bylaws, rules, or regulations of a planned community.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 13, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.798 Compliance by persons with ownership interest.
All owners, residents, tenants, and other persons lawfully in possession and control of any part of an ownership interest shall comply with any covenant, condition, and restriction set forth in any recorded document to which they are subject and with the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association, as lawfully amended.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 14, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.799 Association's continuing lien -- Validity and priority of liens.
(1) The association shall have a continuing lien upon the real estate or interest in any lot for the nonpayment of any assessment, special assessment, or charge levied in accordance with KRS 381.797, as well as any related interest, fines, administrative late fees, enforcement assessments, collection costs, or reasonable attorney fees that are chargeable against the lot and that remain unpaid thirty (30) days after any portion has become due and payable.
(2) A lien charged and properly recorded against a property pursuant to this section is:
(a) Valid unless it is sooner released or satisfied in the same manner provided by law for the release and satisfaction of mortgages on real property; and
(b) Prior to any other lien, except:
1. Liens for real estate taxes and liens for other governmental charges, penalties, or assessments, including but not limited to liens filed by a local government pursuant to KRS 65.8835; and
2. Any mortgage, liens, or encumbrances recorded prior to the lien recordation against the property.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 15, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.800 Display of political yard signs -- Conditions -- Existing contrary provisions are void.
(1) The governing documents of an association shall not prohibit the outdoor display of political yard signs by an owner or resident on the owner's or resident's property. Signs shall be displayed no earlier than thirty (30) days before any special, primary, or regular election and no later than seven (7) days after that election unless a longer time period is provided by local ordinance. The governing documents may include reasonable rules and regulations regarding the placement, size, and manner of display of political yard signs.
(2) All planned communities in this Commonwealth shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, and any provision of any existing governing document of a planned community in contravention of subsection (1) of this section is void.
Effective: June 27, 2025
History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32, sec. 1, effective June 27, 2025. -- Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 16, effective June 29, 2023.
KRS 381.801 Short title for KRS 381.785 to 381.801.
KRS 381.785 to 381.801 may be cited as the Planned Community Act.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Created 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 17, effective June 29, 2023.
Source. Reproduced from the official text of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, the Planned Community Act (KRS 381.785 to 381.801), as published by the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission and including enactments through the 2026 Regular Session. General information, not legal advice; the statutes are amended every session, so confirm the current text against the official source.