BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Brandon King has lived at the community known as "Turfland," located at 500 Bryan Station, for eight years. He owns his trailer but rents the lot beneath it. Now, he is facing his third eviction from landlord Maple Grove MHC LLC without explanation.
"My biggest fear is being homeless on the street and sleeping in my van," King said.
King is on disability, making affordable housing options limited. He has had to live out of his car before.
"You can never get ahead, every time you get ahead you fall," King said.
In Kentucky, landlords can legally terminate month-to-month tenancies without citing nonpayment, behavior problems, or breaches of contract.
Cara Stewart, an attorney representing King and dozens of other tenants, said landlords are giving 30-day notices to terminate month-to-month oral leases.
"So they are giving these 30 day notices to terminate the month to month oral leases and then saying they want access to the property, so the folks who are renting these lots are having evictions filed against them even though they're paying the rent and following the rules and there are no complaints," Stewart said.
Last year, tenants sued Maple Grove MHC LLC, saying they did not have basic needs like running water. While that lawsuit played out, dozens of residents were told to pack up and move within a week.
Most of the water issues are now fixed, but the evictions have not stopped. Stewart said it is a cycle designed to turn over lots, raise the rent, and bring in new tenants.
"This is my third time with the landlord trying to kick me out of my home just to take it," King said.
In September, both the tenants and landlord Abraham Anderson with Maple Grove testified in court. A judge lifted a temporary order that had been in place since April 2025, which had kept residents safe from eviction proceedings.
During that hearing, Anderson said tenants could stay if they agreed to payment plans.
"If this order is lifted, do you intend to evict any of the plaintiffs?" the tenants' representation asked.
"We would re-approach them and see if they’re willing to do a payment plan that’s reasonable to pay the back balance. We would also, for the ones we’re pursuing eviction on due to property conditions, we would make an offer to them, 'Can you fix this?' If not, we'd see if they need help fixing it, and if they were amenable to that, I would have no problem with everyone staying," Anderson responded.
Stewart said that agreement was not honored. Now, she's explaining the harsh reality of Kentucky housing laws to her clients.
"They're incredulous that it's possible to kick them out of their home and evict them when they're following the rules and not doing anything wrong," Stewart said. "They're incredulous that that's possible, but that is in fact what the law allows."
Throughout Friday, LEX 18 attempted multiple times to reach Anderson through his LLC and property manager but did not hear back.
King's eviction case is still in court. Meanwhile, Stewart continues appealing evictions, hoping to keep residents in their homes and shine a light on a pattern she said could push vulnerable Kentuckians into homelessness.
"It feels terrible that he has a place, he has a home, he likes his neighbors, he likes his community," Stewart said of King. "It's his largest possession and he wants to stay there and pay his rent, even more than doubled, so the idea that the landlord is unwilling to do that and wants all of these folks gone, I don't understand."
