Exhibit 5.1

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP Columbia Square 555 Thirteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20004   T: +1 202 637 5600 F: +1 202 637 5910 www.hlc.com

September 18, 2026

Board of Trustees

Kite Realty Group Trust

30 S. Meridian Street, Suite 1100

Indianapolis, IN 46204

To the addressee referred to above:

We are acting as counsel to Kite Realty Group Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the “Company”), in connection with its registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the resale from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis by the selling shareholders identified in the prospectus which forms a part of the Registration Statement, and as to be identified in one or more supplements to the prospectus, of up to 11,937,690 common shares of beneficial interest, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Shares”) that are issuable to such selling shareholders upon exchange of the 3.25% Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2032 (the “Notes”) of Kite Realty Group, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”). This opinion letter is furnished to you at your request to enable you to fulfill the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K, 17 C.F.R. § 229.601(b)(5), in connection with the Registration Statement.

For purposes of this opinion letter, we have examined copies of such agreements, instruments and documents as we have deemed an appropriate basis on which to render the opinions hereinafter expressed. In our examination of the aforesaid documents, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the accuracy and completeness of all documents submitted to us, the authenticity of all original documents, and the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies (including pdfs). We also have assumed that the Shares will not be issued in violation of the ownership limit contained in the Company’s Articles of Amendment and Restatement of Declaration of Trust, as amended and supplemented. As to all matters of fact, we have relied on the representations and statements of fact made in the documents so reviewed, and we have not independently established the facts so relied on. This opinion letter is given, and all statements herein are made, in the context of the foregoing.

This opinion letter is based as to matters of law solely on the applicable provisions of Title 8 of the Corporations and Associations Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended, and applicable provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, as amended, currently in effect. We express no opinion herein as to any other statutes, rules or regulations.

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in the state of Delaware. “Hogan Lovells Cadwalader” is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells Cadwalader International LLP and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP, with offices in: Alicante Amsterdam Baltimore Beijing Berlin Birmingham Boston Brussels Charlotte Colorado Springs Denver Dubai Dublin Dusseldorf Frankfurt Hamburg Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Houston London Los Angeles Luxembourg Madrid Mexico City Miami Milan Minneapolis Monterrey Munich New York Northern Virginia Paris Philadelphia Riyadh Rome San Francisco São Paulo Shanghai Silicon Valley Singapore Tokyo Washington, D.C. Associated Offices: Jakarta Shanghai FTZ. Business Services Centers: Johannesburg Louisville. For more information see www.hlc.com.

Based upon, subject to and limited by the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares, if and when issued upon the exchange of the Notes in accordance with the Registration Statement and the terms of the Indenture, dated as of July 2, 2026, among the Operating Partnership, the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, upon due execution and delivery on behalf of the Company of certificates therefor, including global certificates, or the entry of the issuance thereof in the books and records of the Company, as the case may be, will be validly issued, fully paid, and nonassessable.

This opinion letter has been prepared for use in connection with the Registration Statement. We assume no obligation to advise of any changes in the foregoing subsequent to the effective date of the Registration Statement.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the prospectus constituting a part of the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are an “expert” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.