How to become a landlord in Utah

At or before the start of the term, disclose in writing the owner's name, address and telephone number, or those of the person authorized to manage the unit, and give the tenant an executed copy of a written rental agreement and any rules. Before taking an application payment, give the written estimate and criteria disclosure. Before signing, offer the condition inventory, form or walkthrough. If you actually know the property is currently contaminated by methamphetamine use, storage or manufacture, disclose it in the lease (Utah Code § 57-22-4(3), (6), (7); Utah Code § 57-27-201).

• A non-refundable part of a deposit must be stated in writing when the deposit is taken (Utah Code § 57-17-2).
• A person may sue to enforce the methamphetamine disclosure, and the court may award damages, costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party (Utah Code § 57-27-201(3)).
• The owner or manager contact disclosure is covered in more detail under landlord identity (Utah Code § 57-22-4(7)).See Owner and manager identity on the Utah page

At or before the start of the rental term, disclose in writing the owner's name, address and telephone number, or the name, address and telephone number of the person authorized to manage the unit. If the manager cannot receive notices, also name the person authorized to receive notices and act for the owner (Utah Code § 57-22-4(7)).

• A managing agent, leasing agent or resident manager counts as the owner for notices unless the rental agreement says otherwise in writing (Utah Code § 57-22-2(1)).
• Also give the tenant an executed copy of a written rental agreement and a copy of any rules for the unit (Utah Code § 57-22-4(7)(b)).

Utah's Fit Premises Act and deposit law have no flood disclosure rule for rentals. Other Utah law was not checked for one (Utah Code ch. 57-22; Utah Code ch. 57-17).

Utah's Fit Premises Act has no smoke alarm section, but it requires rentals to meet local ordinances and board of health rules, so any alarm rule in the codes that apply to the building matters. State fire and building codes were not read for this page (Utah Code § 57-22-3(1)).

A tenant who is a crime victim, including of domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, a sexual offense or burglary, may require you to install a new lock by giving you a protective order issued after a hearing or a police report documenting the act, and paying the cost. You may rekey a working lock or replace the mechanism with one of equal or better quality, keep a key, and must refuse a key to the perpetrator (Utah Code § 57-22-5.1(1) to (3)).

• A perpetrator who is on the rental agreement and not barred by a protective order may petition a court within 30 days for a key or to be released from the agreement (Utah Code § 57-22-5.1(3)(e), (3)(f)).
• Until January 1, 2027, enticing a minor, sexual battery, lewdness and lewdness involving a child are excluded from the offenses that qualify; the version in force on that date drops the exclusion (Utah Code § 57-22-5.1(1)(b)).
• The Fit Premises Act sets no general rule on rekeying between tenants or on lock standards (Utah Code ch. 57-22).

Utah does not cap the amount of a security deposit. If any part of a deposit is non-refundable and there is a written agreement, say so in writing to the tenant when you take the deposit (Utah Code ch. 57-17; Utah Code § 57-17-2).

• The deposit rules apply to deposits however they are labeled, so a cleaning or pet deposit is held to the same return rules (Utah Code § 57-17-1).
• Whoever holds the owner's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the deposit rules, so a buyer of the property takes on the return duty (Utah Code § 57-17-4).

Utah's deposit law does not require a separate account for security deposits and does not require you to pay interest on them (Utah Code ch. 57-17).

• Licensing rules for real estate brokers and property managers were not read for this page (Utah Code ch. 57-17).

Before signing the rental agreement, do one of three things: give the prospective tenant a written inventory of the unit's condition, excluding ordinary wear and tear; give the tenant a form to record the condition and allow a reasonable time after move-in to complete and return it; or offer a walkthrough inspection (Utah Code § 57-22-4(6)).

• A tenant may not use your failure to follow this rule to excuse the tenant's own compliance with the rental agreement or as a basis for a lawsuit against you (Utah Code § 57-22-4(9)).
• For a useful condition record, identify the unit and inspection date, note each existing defect and attach clear room-by-room photographs. Record which inventory, returnable form or walkthrough option was offered, give both sides a copy of the resulting record and keep later repair messages with it. This is a practical recordkeeping checklist; it does not require all three statutory options (Utah Code § 57-22-4(6)).

Before you accept an application fee or any other payment from a prospective tenant, disclose in writing a good faith estimate of the rent and of each fixed non-rent expense, the type of each use-based non-rent expense, the date the unit should be available, the criteria you will use to decide eligibility (including criminal history, credit, income, employment and rental history), and how the applicant can get money back (Utah Code § 57-22-4(3)).

• You may make the estimate disclosure in a rental application, a deposit agreement or a written summary (Utah Code § 57-22-4(3)(b)).
• If the rental agreement's amounts differ from the estimate, or it adds a use-based expense you did not disclose, the applicant may demand the money back in writing within five business days after receiving the agreement, as long as the applicant has not signed it or moved in. You must then return all of it within five business days after you receive the demand (Utah Code § 57-22-4(4)).
• The Fit Premises Act does not set a maximum application fee (Utah Code ch. 57-22).