[US-KY] I just need to know if the landlords are allowed to do this, we can seek out a lawyer if not. The only reason im posting is because i feel this is a retalitory situation. (Sorry this is so long, this is editing out a LOT)

We live in a townhome that we've been renting for three years now. In Feburary 2023, my husband gave them a check worth several months of rent. We had been doing this often, no harm done. Took it to the office, put it in the hands of the employees, and moved on. A month later, we noticed it had not been taken out of our account. We emailed the property manager and she said in an email "it has been deposited and applied to your account." So naturally, we assumed we were good and forgot about it.

We had gotten a renewal offer a few months ago December 2023, but it dissapeared. They started some new verification process for pets, so we thought we needed to finish that in order to see our renewal offer. We waited and waited with no response. We emailed them a few days ago asking what we needed to do to see the new lease to sign early for our discount. Our property manager (a newer girl, not there when we signed the first time) responded that "accounting" noticed they needed a receipt for that check. We forwarded her the email where SHE SAID in March 2023 that the check was "deposited and applied", and she informed us that accounting noticed it and flagged it because it never looked like it came out out of our account. So they still needed proof in January 2024

We have no problem re-writing a check. But it is VERY concerning that they lost a check for several months of rent. Anyone could've cashed it or stolen information on it. So naturally we are pissed about them loosing it. We are in a neighborhood facebook group, and someone posted something about our landlord company being stupid for something unrelated. Well my husband was very pissed off about someone loosing a giant check with his name on it. So he commented on this post just venting his frustration that they lost his check. Another thing to add to the list of annoyances people were sharing, didn't seem like a concern since everything he said is a fact.

We get an email this morning from the landlord. They have the missing charge on our account for us to pay whenever, totally fine. They also said they are not renewing our lease because we "do not seem happy here and will voice that to anyone willing to listen." This is the same apartment that sends out renewals months in advance to secure people, people are constantly moving in and out, properties are empty for months, and oh yeah...they lose checks. That is the only reason we have been given. Update: We went digging and our Property Manager is in that facebook group. She definitely saw his comment. We also went through and confirmed that nothing we said showed us being "unhappy" or defamatory. We've never mentioned being unhappy or lied about anything. Snarky? Yes. But not lies, and nothing worse than what others have said on this page.

TLDR: We voiced a factual concern in a private Facebook group our property manager is a part of, after she noticed her mistake she used that comment and told us she was not renewing our lease specifically because we "do not seem happy here and will voice that to anyone willing to listen." Is this retaliation since the post we made is factual?

Your answer wont upset us, we just want to know what rights we have here. Thanks!