State of Utah Rental Laws
Laws concerning rental properties exist at the federal, state and local levels. Federal regulations require basic services at rental sites and nondiscrimination of tenants. State laws determine specific rental, eviction and abandonment regulations. Local codes delineate building, health, noise and nuisance codes that landlords and tenants must follow. Utah rental laws encompass each of these three levels. Tenants and landlords should check with the municipality to determine specific local codes.
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Discrimination and Rental Agreement
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The state of Utah prohibits tenant discrimination based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, handicap, source of income or religious affiliation. Additionally, a landlord may not discriminate against a prospective tenant because the tenant has children. An exception to this prohibition is age minimums for tenancy in senior housing. However, tenant screening is legal based on credit reports and references. Once a landlord has found a suitable tenant, she must come to an agreement of rental terms with the tenant. The terms must be in writing and signed by both the landlord and tenant.
Landlord Rights and Responsibilities
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Landlords are required to comply with all state and local noise, health and building codes. If the landlord wishes to perform any nonemergency maintainence, he must provide the tenant with at least 24 hours' written notice prior to entering the rented housing. Utah law requires the landlord to give at least 15 days' written notice of any changes made to the rental agreement. A landlord has the right to evict a tenant because of unpaid rent following legal procedures outlined in Section 5.
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Tenant Rights and Responsibilities
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Tenants are required to abide by the lease agreement and pay rent on time at the agreed-upon rate. Tenants must abide by local noise and nuisance ordinances. Tenants must request any repairs in writing and notify the landlord in writing if leaving the premises for an extended period of time. Utah law requires the tenant to give at least 15 days' notice prior to terminating tenancy unless the rental agreement states otherwise. A tenant has the right to terminate a lease if rental property conditions do not meet health and safety codes or the landlord has violated the rental agreement.
Security Deposit
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Landlords must return security deposits within 30 days of lease termination or within 15 days of receipt of the tenant's new address. Any funds witheld from the deposit must be itemized and detailed in writing for the tenant, and any difference returned to the tenant.
Eviction
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If a lease-holding tenant owes the landlord rent, the landlord must present the tenant with a "Notice to Quit." The tenant then has 15 days to pay due rent. A tenant at will, or non-lease-holding, tenant has three days to pay due rent. After the allotted Notice to Quit time, the landlord must file an unlawful detainer lawsuit with the disctrict court. A sheriff, constable or other impartial third party must deliver notice of the unlawful detainer filing. The tenant has three days to counter the complaint to the court. If she does not, the default verdict is in favor of the landlord and an order of restitution is made to allow a sheriff to physically force the tenant out of the rental property. If the tenant does counter, a trial will take place to determine proper resolution.
Abandonment
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According to the Utah State Courts website, a landlord may deem a rental property abandoned if the rent is at least 15 days overdue and the landlord "does not know where the tenant is." The landlord may deem the property abandoned under these conditions whether the tenant has left belongings or not. If the property is abandoned, the landlord may clean the property of the tenant's belongings and begin renting to a new tenant. However, the landlord must hold or store the belongings in a safe location for 30 days and make an adequate effort to locate the tenant. After 30 days, the landlord may sell or otherwise dispose of the belongings and use the funds to compensate for any unpaid rent.
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References
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