Kentucky landlord guide — courthouse info, local rules & HB128 eviction procedures for Inez, Warfield, Tomahawk, Lovely & Martin County
📍 County Seat: Inez (pop. ~537) 👥 County Pop. 10,939 (2020) ⚖️ Court: Martin County Justice Center — 100 Main St., Inez 🌊 Tug Fork • Big Sandy Watershed • WV Border ⛏️ Big Sandy Coalfield • Post-Coal Transition 🏛️ Named for John P. Martin • One of KY’s Most Remote Counties
Martin County was established on May 10, 1870 from parts of Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, and Pike counties and named for John P. Martin, a Kentucky congressman and Civil War officer. The county seat, Inez, is one of Kentucky’s smallest county seats, with a 2020 population of just 537 residents. Martin County covers approximately 232 square miles of rugged Big Sandy watershed terrain along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, which forms the Kentucky-West Virginia border in this area, and recorded a 2020 census population of 10,939 residents.
Martin County is one of Kentucky’s most geographically isolated and economically challenged counties. Its economy has been anchored by coal since the late 19th century, and the dramatic decline of coal employment since the early 2010s has produced significant population loss and economic distress. The county became nationally prominent in 2000 when a coal slurry impoundment failure at a Massey Energy facility released approximately 300 million gallons of coal slurry into Coldwater Fork and the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River — one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of the southeastern United States, devastating aquatic life across hundreds of miles of the Big Sandy watershed. The school system, county government, and a small retail base represent today’s primary formal employment. All residential evictions are Forcible Detainer actions filed in District Court at the Martin County Justice Center, 100 Main Street, Inez, KY 41224. Kentucky’s HB128 (2023) governs all residential leases made on or after its effective date.
💧 2000 Coal Slurry Spill — One of the Worst U.S. Environmental Disasters — In October 2000, a Massey Energy coal slurry impoundment at Inez failed, releasing approximately 300 million gallons of toxic coal waste into Coldwater Fork and the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River; the spill killed aquatic life across hundreds of miles of river, contaminated water supplies, and remains one of the largest environmental disasters in the southeastern United States |
🌊 Tug Fork — Kentucky-West Virginia Border River — The Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River forms Martin County’s eastern border with West Virginia’s Mingo County; the Hatfield-McCoy feud of the 19th century played out along both sides of this river, making the Tug Fork one of the most historically storied streams in Appalachia |
🎭 Hatfield-McCoy Feud Territory — The Tug Fork valley where Martin County sits was the heart of the Hatfield-McCoy feud that ran from the 1860s through the 1890s, pitting the Hatfields of West Virginia against the McCoys of Kentucky in a conflict that has become the defining American symbol of family feuding and Appalachian lawlessness |
⛏️ Deep Big Sandy Coalfield — Severe Post-Coal Distress — Martin County has been among the hardest-hit Kentucky counties by the collapse of coal employment; its economic indicators — unemployment, poverty rate, population decline — consistently rank among the most challenging in the state
📊 Quick Stats
County Seat
Inez (~537) • One of KY’s smallest county seats
Other Communities
Warfield, Tomahawk, Lovely, Beauty, Pilgrim, Kermit (WV, across Tug Fork)
County Population
10,939 (2020) • Significant decline from coal-era peak
Region
Big Sandy Region • Tug Fork • KY/WV Border • Big Sandy ADD
Major Employers
Martin County Schools, county/state government, small retail/service sector, remaining coal operations, transfer payments (disability, Social Security); limited commuter options
Eviction Court
District Court — Martin County Justice Center
Court Address
100 Main St., Inez, KY 41224
Court Phone
(606) 298-3417 (verify with clerk)
Rent Control
None — Kentucky preempts local rent control
Governing Law
KRS Chapter 383 / HB128 (2023) for leases on or after effective date
⚡ Eviction At-a-Glance
Nonpayment Notice
14-Day Notice to Pay or Vacate
Lease Violation
14-Day Notice to Cure; termination no sooner than 30 days
Month-to-Month Term.
1 Month’s Written Notice
Week-to-Week Term.
5-Day Written Notice
Eviction Filing Location
Martin County Justice Center — 100 Main St., Inez
Eviction Timeline
3–6 weeks typical after notice period
Security Deposit Cap
2× monthly rent (plus 1st month’s rent & fees)
Deposit Return
30 days with itemized deductions
Deposit Penalty
$250 or 2× amount withheld, whichever greater
Habitability Duty
Nonwaivable (KRS 383.595 / HB128)
Statute
KRS Chapter 383 — HB128 (2023 Session)
Martin County Local Rules & Landlord Procedures
Topic
Rule / Notes
Filing Evictions — Where & Who
All evictions (Forcible Detainer actions) in Martin County are filed in District Court at the Martin County Justice Center, 100 Main Street, Inez, KY 41224. Phone: (606) 298-3417. Inez has a population under 600; call ahead to verify office hours, clerk contact, and civil hearing dates. Access to Inez via KY-40 requires navigating narrow two-lane mountain roads — plan travel time accordingly.
Nonpayment of Rent — Notice
Under HB128 (KRS 383.660), serve the tenant a 14-day written notice to pay or vacate stating the specific termination date. Retain dated, verifiable proof of service. If the tenant pays in full within 14 days, the lease continues.
Lease Violation — Notice & Cure
For non-rent violations, serve a 14-day written notice to cure or quit specifying the exact breach. If remedied within 14 days, the lease continues. If not, termination no sooner than 30 days from original notice. Consult a Kentucky attorney for repeat violations or criminal acts.
Month-to-Month Termination
One full month’s written notice required (KRS 383.695). Week-to-week: 5 days’ written notice.
Security Deposit
Capped at 2× monthly rent. Held in a dedicated, separately titled bank account. Return within 30 days with itemized deductions. Penalty: $250 or 2× the withheld amount, whichever is greater. In one of Kentucky’s lowest-rent markets, the $250 floor penalty can approach or exceed the full deposit collected; document condition at every tenancy.
Habitability — Nonwaivable Duty
HB128 imposes a nonwaivable habitability duty across 13 categories: structural integrity, weatherproofing, plumbing, water, heating/ventilation, electrical, pest/hazardous substances (lead, mold, asbestos), common areas, trash, floors/walls/windows, appliances, locks, and safety equipment. Respond to written maintenance notices within 14 days (5 days for essential services). Cannot be waived by lease language.
Landlord Entry — Notice
Standard entry: 24 hours’ advance notice. Routine maintenance: 72 hours’ notice. Emergency: reasonable notice. Leave written notice if tenant is absent.
Income Profile & Transfer Payments
Martin County’s labor market is severely contracted. Beyond school employees and county government workers, transfer payments — Social Security disability, veterans’ benefits, SSI — support a large share of the household economy. Apply income documentation consistently regardless of income source: award letters and bank statements confirming regular deposits for transfer payment recipients; pay stubs for wage earners. A tenant whose disability income arrives reliably every month is economically more stable than a wage earner with variable hours, so do not categorically discount transfer payment recipients.
Tug Fork Flood Risk
The Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River drains Martin County’s eastern edge, and the county’s many hollows and creek branches carry flood risk in their lower reaches. Properties near the Tug Fork or any significant tributary should be verified for FEMA flood zone status before renting. Disclose known flood risk in writing. The 2000 coal slurry spill demonstrated how catastrophically the watershed can be impacted; properties near any impoundment or mine drainage area should be evaluated carefully for environmental conditions that may affect habitability obligations.
Written Lease Essential
Martin County’s very small rental market is highly relationship-based. A written lease specifying rent, due date, term, and HB128 notice provisions is essential for any formal eviction proceeding and strongly recommended for every tenancy.
Lead Paint Disclosure
For any dwelling built before 1978 — essentially all of Martin County’s housing stock — federal law requires written disclosure of known lead paint hazards and delivery of the EPA pamphlet before lease signing.
Rent Control
None. Kentucky does not permit local rent control.
Self-Help Eviction
Expressly prohibited (KRS 383.690). Penalty: 3× periodic rent or 3× actual damages, whichever is greater. File a Forcible Detainer at the Martin County Justice Center.
Kentucky URLTA applies ONLY in specific adopting counties (including Jefferson/Louisville, Fayette/Lexington, and ~20 others). Non-URLTA counties use common law forcible detainer (KRS §383.200-383.285), which may have different procedures. The 7-day nonpayment notice under §383.660(2) requires payment of the FULL amount owed - accepting partial payment may restart the notice period. Tenant can cure by paying within the 7-day period. If the same nonpayment recurs within 6 months, landlord can issue 14-day unconditional quit. Late fees: no statutory cap, but Hemlane and others report 10% industry standard. Security deposit max: 1 month per KRS §383.580(1).
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the District Court. Pay the filing fee (~$75).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Kentucky eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Kentucky attorney or local legal aid organization.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: These calculations are estimates based on state statutes and typical court timelines. Actual results vary by county, court backlog, and case specifics. Always verify current requirements with your local courthouse. This is not legal advice.
Martin County market: One of KY’s most economically distressed counties. School employees and county workers anchor the small stable base. Transfer payments (disability, SS) support a large portion of the rental pool; apply income documentation consistently and do not categorically discount reliable transfer income. Tug Fork flood risk. Lead paint disclosure required for all housing. Written leases essential. No rent control.
Background checks, eviction history, credit reports — get the full picture before handing over the keys.
The Tug Fork, the Slurry Spill, and HB128: Martin County Kentucky Landlord Law
On October 11, 2000, an underground coal slurry impoundment at a Massey Energy facility near Inez, Kentucky failed. The break released approximately 300 million gallons of coal slurry — a thick black liquid mixture of fine coal particles, water, and chemical byproducts of coal washing — into Coldwater Fork creek, which flows into the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. By the time the material had traveled downstream, it had contaminated the water supplies of several communities, blanketed the streambed with black sludge to a depth of several feet in places, and killed aquatic life for hundreds of miles along the Big Sandy watershed. It was, at the time, one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of the southeastern United States — dwarfing the Exxon Valdez spill in volume, though occurring in a much less visible geography. It happened in a county of roughly 13,000 people in one of the most economically isolated corners of Kentucky, and the national media coverage was modest compared to what the disaster’s scale warranted.
Martin County was established in 1870 from parts of Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, and Pike counties and named for John P. Martin, a Kentucky congressman and Civil War officer. The county seat of Inez — population 537 in 2020 — is among the smallest county seats in Kentucky, accessible primarily via KY-40 through the narrow hollows of the Big Sandy watershed. The Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River forms the county’s eastern border with West Virginia’s Mingo County, making this the heart of the Hatfield-McCoy feud territory that defined the Appalachian border country in the late 19th century. The 2020 census counted 10,939 residents, a number reflecting decades of population loss as coal employment collapsed.
The Current Economic Reality
Martin County is one of the most economically distressed counties in Kentucky by any measure: unemployment, poverty rate, median household income, labor force participation. The county’s coal economy peaked in the mid-20th century and has contracted dramatically since; the jobs that replaced it have been fewer and lower-compensated. What remains is a small base of public employment — Martin County Schools, county government, a handful of state agencies — supplemented by a small retail and service sector and, for a substantial portion of the population, transfer payments: Social Security disability, veterans’ benefits, Supplemental Security Income, and related federal programs that collectively represent a major income stream in the county.
For landlords, this income landscape requires nuance that a blanket “W-2 only” screening policy would miss. A tenant whose Social Security disability payment arrives on the third of every month, every month, for the foreseeable future, is in a meaningful sense more predictably reliable than a tenant with variable-hours retail employment that may fluctuate month to month. The consistent documentation approach — award letters showing the monthly amount, bank statements confirming the deposits, a history of on-time payment — gives you a real picture of reliability. Apply your income ratio to annualized documented income regardless of its source, and evaluate the consistency of the income stream as part of your assessment.
Tug Fork Flooding and Environmental Conditions
The Tug Fork and its tributaries drain Martin County’s terrain, and flooding in the hollows and creek bottoms is a recurring reality. Verify FEMA flood zone status for any property in low-lying areas before renting and disclose known flood risk in writing. The 2000 slurry spill also demonstrated that properties near coal impoundments or mine drainage features may face environmental conditions that go beyond ordinary flood risk. HB128’s habitability categories include hazardous substances — landlords with properties near historical or active mining areas should be attentive to any drainage, seepage, or water quality issues that could implicate the habitability duty.
Filing in Inez and HB128 Compliance
All residential evictions in Martin County are Forcible Detainer actions filed at the Martin County Justice Center, 100 Main Street, Inez, KY 41224, phone (606) 298-3417. Inez is small and the roads are narrow — call ahead to verify hours and allow extra travel time if coming from outside the county. HB128 compliance: written 14-day notice to pay or vacate; 14-day cure with 30-day minimum termination; one month’s written M-to-M notice; deposits at two times monthly rent in a separate account returned within 30 days with itemized deductions; $250 or 2x penalty; nonwaivable habitability; 24-hour entry notice; self-help eviction prohibited at three times periodic rent. Lead paint disclosure required for essentially every rental unit in the county. Written leases strongly recommended. The Tug Fork keeps flowing regardless of the economic circumstances of the communities along its banks. The law keeps applying regardless of the size of the rental market it governs.
This guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. HB128 applies to leases made on or after its effective date; prior Kentucky law governs older leases. Consult a licensed Kentucky attorney for guidance specific to your situation. Last updated: March 2026.
⚠️ Legal Disclaimer: This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Kentucky’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (HB128) applies to leases made on or after its effective date; prior law governs older leases. Federal lead paint disclosure requirements apply to pre-1978 housing. Tug Fork flood zone status and any mine drainage or impoundment conditions should be verified before renting. Consult a licensed Kentucky attorney for guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
