Utah
A Utah simple (basic) lease agreement serves as a formal document that outlines rental arrangement terms between landlords and tenants. This contract specifies crucial details including lease duration, monthly rent payments, and responsibilities for both parties in rental properties.
Utah Simple Basic Lease Agreement
Utah Simple (Basic) Lease Agreement
Utah maintains no statewide rent control laws, which means landlords can set rental prices freely without government restrictions. The state regulates late fees through specific caps, though landlords don’t need licenses to operate rental properties.
Rent Control and Pricing Freedom
The rental market operates without rent control restrictions. Landlords can adjust rental prices according to market conditions, making contracts flexible for property owners while tenants should understand these pricing freedoms.
Required Disclosures for Utah Rentals
Utah landlords must include specific disclosures in every rental contract to comply with state regulations:
Essential Property Disclosures
Move-In Inspection Checklist: Rental contracts must include a written property inventory that tenants review before signing. This checklist protects both parties in rental arrangements.
Landlord Contact Information: Every contract must disclose the landlord’s name, address, and phone number, or those of their property manager or authorized representative.
Health and Safety Disclosures
Methamphetamine Contamination Notice: Rental agreements must disclose if the property was previously used for manufacturing, using, or storing methamphetamine substances.
Lead Paint Disclosure Requirements: Rental properties built before 1978 require federal lead-based paint disclosures in contracts to protect tenant health.
Security Deposit Rules
Utah law doesn’t cap security deposit amounts that landlords can collect through rental contracts. While landlords don’t need to provide receipts or pay interest on deposits, they must return security deposits within thirty days after tenants vacate properties.
Security Deposit Return Process
When landlords make deductions from security deposits, rental agreements require written notices explaining each deduction reason. This transparency protects tenants’ rights in rental arrangements.
Rent Payment Terms and Late Fees
Rental contracts specify rent due dates without statewide payment restrictions. Landlords can increase rent freely since Utah lacks rent control laws.
Late Fee Limitations
Utah caps late fees at either $75 or 10% of the rent payment, whichever amount is greater. Rental contracts don’t require grace periods, so landlords can issue 3-day quit notices immediately when rent becomes overdue.
Tenant Rights for Rent Issues
Utah tenants can withhold rent or make necessary repairs when landlords fail to address rental unit problems, as outlined in their contracts.
Landlord Entry Rights
Utah landlords must provide at least 24 hours’ notice before entering rental properties, unless contracts specify different terms.
Special Entry Protections
Utah tenants who experience stalking, sexual assault, burglary, or domestic violence can request lock changes for safety, regardless of contract terms.
Property Maintenance Responsibilities
Utah landlords must ensure rental units remain sanitary, safe, and suitable for human occupancy according to contract standards.
Landlord Maintenance Duties
Rental agreements require landlords to maintain common areas and essential systems including plumbing and heating in properties.
Tenant Maintenance Obligations
Utah tenants must comply with health regulations, maintain property cleanliness, and avoid damaging rental units as specified in contracts. When tenants fail to maintain utilities, landlords can terminate agreements with 3-day non-compliance notices.
Terminating Rental Agreements
Utah allows landlords to terminate month-to-month contracts with 15-day notices to tenants.
Abandoned Property Procedures
Rental contracts require landlords to store unclaimed tenant property for 15 days after vacation. Landlords can charge storage fees and dispose of unclaimed items after this period expires.
Legal Statutes
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78B-6-802 – Unlawful detainer by tenant for a term less than life
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78B-6-802 – Unlawful detainer by tenant for a term less than life
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-17-3 – Deductions from deposit – Written itemization – Time for return
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-17-3 – Deductions from deposit – Written itemization – Time for return
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-17-2 – Non-refundable deposit – Written notice required
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-4(3) – Owner’s duties
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-17-5 – Failure to return deposit or prepaid rent or to give required notice – Recovery of deposit, penalty, costs, and attorney fees
- Utah Code Ann §§ 7-15-2 – Notice – Form
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-6 – Tenant Allowed to Withhold Rent or Repair and Deduct Rent
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78B-6-814 – Exclusion of tenant without judicial process prohibited – Abandoned premises excepted
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78B-6-815 – Abandonment
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78B-6-816(2-3) – Abandoned premises – Retaking and rerenting by owner – Liability of tenant – Personal property of tenant left on premises
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-4(2) – Owner’s duties
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-4 – Owner’s duties
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-4(4) – Owner’s duties
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-5(2)(c) – Renter’s duties – Cleanliness and sanitation – Compliance with written agreement – Destruction of property, interference with peaceful enjoyment prohibited
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-5 – Renter’s duties – Cleanliness and sanitation – Compliance with written agreement – Destruction of property, interference with peaceful enjoyment prohibited
- Utah Code Ann §§ 57-22-5.1 – Crime victim’s right to new locks – Domestic violence victim’s right to terminate rental agreement – Limits an owner relating to assistance from public safety agency
- Utah Code Ann §§ 78A-8-102 – Small claims – Defined – Counsel not necessary – Removal from district court – Deferring multiple claims of one plaintiff – Supreme Court to govern procedures
Understanding rental requirements helps both landlords and tenants navigate rental relationships successfully while complying with state regulations and protecting their respective rights in Utah properties.
FAQs
In Utah, landlords must provide several disclosures in lease agreements, including a move-in checklist, identification of the property owner or manager, disclosure of any methamphetamine contamination, and lead-based paint disclosure for units built before 1978.
There is no legal limit on the amount a landlord can collect as a security deposit in Utah. However, landlords must return the deposit within thirty days after the tenant vacates the property.
In Utah, a landlord can charge a late fee for overdue rent that cannot exceed $75 or 10% of the rent payment, whichever is greater. There is no grace period for rent payments.
Landlords in Utah are required to ensure that rental units are sanitary, safe, and fit for human occupancy. They must maintain common areas and essential systems such as plumbing, heating, and air conditioning.
A tenant can terminate a month-to-month lease in Utah by providing a 15-day notice to the landlord. This notice must be given before the end of the rental period.
If a landlord does not correct a problem in the rental unit, a tenant can either withhold rent until the issue is resolved or make the repairs themselves and deduct the costs from the rent, provided the repairs do not exceed two months’ rent.
In Utah, a landlord must provide at least 24 hours’ notice to a tenant before entering the rental property, unless the lease specifies otherwise.
In Utah, landlords must store any unclaimed property for 15 days after a tenant leaves. If the tenant does not claim the property within that time, the landlord can dispose of it.