A Basic Overview

When you get ready to move out, give your landlord a written notice as early as possible and at least according to what it says in your lease – this could be up to 90 days. In the notice, give the landlord your forwarding address to which to return your security deposit. It is best to give your landlord a local address, which can be the address of your attorney, a family member, or someone else that you trust if you do not know your new address or will not be moving locally. Leave the place clean, personally return the keys, and ask for a receipt for the keys. The landlord may be able to charge you for each day that you have the keys after you move out because of uncertainty about whether you have relinquished possession. Take pictures or videos, have witnesses walk through the place, and ask the landlord or manager to walk through as proof of the condition of the dwelling when you left. Keep any pictures or video as a record.

Ask the landlord if there is any damage they plan to charge to you for. Make a list of the damages and get the landlord to sign the list. Depending on the item, it may be better to take care of it yourself. For example, if the landlord says you will be charged to remove bags of trash, you can remove them to avoid the charge. Or, if the landlord says the stove top is not adequately cleaned, you can re-clean it before you turn over possession. You should then do a follow-up inspection. If you disagree with the landlord, try to calmly negotiate in person and in writing.

If the landlord will not walk through the house or apartment with you (or sign the list), send an email, text, or letter confirming that the landlord refused to walk through the apartment with you or to sign the list. Keep a copy of the email, text, or letter. Later, if the landlord makes deductions from your deposit for damages that were not there when you left, or for damage that was not as bad as the landlord claims, you have a basis to dispute the amount of the deductions.

If you are moving out and did not give enough advance written notice that you were not renewing the lease, or you are moving before the lease is up, you may not be entitled to your security deposit.

Always give notice if you want to end your lease – even if it is the end of your lease period

Most written leases say that at the expiration date the lease is automatically renewed on a month-to-month basis unless one of the parties terminates the lease.  Sometimes the lease may automatically renew for an additional year with the same conditions, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Your lease will say how far in advance you must give notice that you do not want to renew your lease. Below is a notice of intent not to renew lease form that you can fill out and give to your landlord.

If you’re on a month-to-month lease, you usually must give one month’s notice before you can stop paying rent. Unless the lease says otherwise, the notice can provide for termination on any day of the month, if the date of termination is at least one month from the date of the notice. If permitted by the lease and the notice terminates the tenancy on a day which does not correspond to the end of the month or the beginning of a rent paying period, the tenant need only pay for rent up to the date of termination. However, if rent is paid more than once a month, it may be sufficient to give a termination notice only equal to the interval between rental payments. For example, if you pay your rent weekly, you or your landlord need give only one week’s notice in writing to terminate the tenancy.

“My landlord sent me a termination notice. What do I do now?”

If it’s the end of the lease period or you’re month-to-month:

• You should get at least 30 days’ notice (unless you’re paying week-to-week, and then you may only get seven-days’ notice) or at least the notice required in your lease.
• You should move out by the last day of your lease. If you don’t, the landlord can evict you and that can negatively impact your rental history, which will make it more difficult for you to rent in years to come. Receiving an eviction notice does not impact your credit score, though having an eviction filed against you in district court can.
• The landlord cannot discriminate or retaliate. If you think that’s why they’re terminating your lease, reach out to a legal service provider like Utah Legal Services or the Disability Law Center.

If you broke the lease or violated terms of the lease:

A landlord may try to terminate the lease and evict you if you don’t pay rent on time, violate the rules, or break the lease in other ways 

Even if the landlord terminates the lease (or your rights to possession), you have the right to dispute the landlord’s decision and stay in your house or apartment. If you do not move, the landlord will be required to file an eviction lawsuit, and a judge or jury will decide whether the landlord has the right to terminate the lease. While a landlord cannot physically remove you from the premises unless an eviction suit has been properly filed and an order of restitution has been issued against you, in Utah fighting an eviction can have significant consequences that may follow you for a long time. For more information on what can happen to you in an eviction case, visit the Utah Legal Services page.

“I think my landlord is discriminating or retaliating”

A landlord may not terminate a lease or non-renew the lease for retaliatory reasons or for discriminatory reasons. If you believe your landlord is retaliating against you or discriminating against you, contact a legal services provider like Utah Legal Services or the Disability Law Center. You can also file a discrimination complaint with the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division.  The Fair Housing Act allows a tenant to sue a landlord for damages for illegal discrimination.

Discrimination means limiting your rights or privileges included in your lease or treating you differently or unfairly based on your race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, source of income, familial status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Retaliation means punishing you for exercising your rights, such as reporting landlords for violating the lease or not maintaining safe living conditions.

“What if I want to end my lease early?”

You may be responsible for paying the rest of the rental payments until the lease term ends or until the date the landlord leases the unit to another tenant. You may also have to pay for the costs of finding a new tenant, such as the cost of advertising the unit, and you may also be charged for damages to the property more than normal wear and use. If a tenant moves out early, and the tenant’s deposit is too small to cover these charges, landlords sometimes pursue other actions to collect the funds, and usually make reports to credit agencies if collection efforts prove unsuccessful.

If you want to terminate early, you should try to work something out with your landlord. If you make a deal, get the new agreement in writing to prove you have worked something out with the landlord and may no longer responsible under the lease.

You should at least give the landlord notice that you will be moving out. If you let them know, they may be able to find another tenant to replace you more quickly after you move. You can also find someone else to rent your place to reduce your liability if the landlord approves them.

“What happens to my lease if the landlord changes?”

If the landlord sells, dies, or transfers the property, the new owner may honor your lease and any other agreement you made with the original owner or management, unless the lease agreement specifically states that the lease will terminate in such case. This is another reason to always have important agreements in writing, signed, and dated.

If the property is foreclosed, the federal law called Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act allows tenants with existing leases to stay in the property until the of their lease term and requires that the new owner give the tenant a 90-day notice to vacate before filing an eviction. If the buyer at the foreclosure sale intends to use the property as a personal residence, they still have to give you a 90-day notice, but they do not have to honor the full terms of the lease.

An Overview of Eviction

An eviction is a lawsuit filed by a landlord to remove people and belongings from the landlord’s property. In Utah law, these are also called “forcible entry and detainer” or “forcible detainer” suits.

A landlord must start this process by giving a notice to vacate and demand for possession to the tenant. You do not have to move out at this point, but there may be significant consequences if you choose to fight the case in court. See the sections below for more information about how to advocate for yourself if you’re being evicted.

A landlord may evict a tenant for violating the terms of the lease (for example, for failing to pay rent) or staying past the agreed lease term (“holding over”). Your landlord cannot discriminate against you, or limit your rights or privileges included in your lease, based on your race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, source of income, familial status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Your landlord cannot retaliate against you, or punish you, for exercising your rights, such as reporting landlords for violating the lease or not maintaining safe living conditions.

If you are getting evicted, you should try to get legal advice from an attorney. If you have a very low income, you may qualify for free or low-cost legal aid from a Utah Legal Services.

An eviction can make it hard for you to rent in the future

If the landlord files an eviction with the court, win or lose, other landlords may not want to rent to you in the future. Court records are public information, and a landlord might refuse to rent to you just because you have had an eviction case filed against you. If you want to keep an eviction off your record, it is best to try and come to an agreement with your landlord or move out before they file a case in court.

“What should I do if I get an eviction notice?”

If you get an eviction notice, it’s important to take action and not ignore the notice. You can take some small steps to stop or delay your eviction. Below is some information to help you understand your rights in the case of an eviction. When you receive an eviction notice, it is important to act quickly. Staying in your unit after your eviction notice expires can cause your landlord to collect treble damages, which can burden you with debt.

Treble damages are fees that you may be required to pay if you stay in your unit after your eviction notice expires. These fees could include:

• Three times the daily rent for each day you stay past the eviction notice expiration
• Three times the amount you owe in unpaid rent
• Three times the amount of money you owe under the lease (including late fees)
• Three times the amount it costs to repair any damages you caused to the residence if your notice is for waste (causing physical harm or neglecting the residence)
• Three times the amount it costs to undo any nuisance you caused if your eviction is for nuisance
• Attorney fees
• Court fees

Seek legal services. In Utah, there is not much you can do to fight an eviction, but it is strongly recommended that you consult with an expert about what you can do. You can reach out to Utah Legal Services or the Modest Means program to connect with free or low-cost legal assistance.

Try mediation. It never hurts to see if your landlord would be willing to try to work through the problem. Using a Landlord-Tenant mediation service can help both sides come to an agreement.

Begin looking for a new place to live. Most notices do not give you much time, so you need to act quickly. You may want to reach out to trusted family and friends to see if you could move in with them for a short time while you find a more permanent solution.

If you have school aged kids, contact their school and ask about McKinney-Vento services. Your kids may qualify to remain in their current school and get transportation to and from school if you are facing eviction or if they lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The Salt Lake City School District has put together a form to determine eligibility.

McKinney-Vento Questionnaire English

McKinney-Vento Questionnaire Spanish

McKinney-Vento Questionnaire Arabic

McKinney-Vento Questionnaire Russian

McKinney-Vento Questionnaire Somali

“What can happen to me if I stay past my eviction notice?”

Staying after your eviction notice can be very expensive and can leave you with lots of debt. As part of the eviction case, the court may award your landlord treble damages. Treble damages are fees that you may be required to pay if you stay in your unit after your eviction notice expires. These fees could include:

• Three times the daily rent for each day you stay past the eviction notice expiration
• Three times the amount you owe in unpaid rent
• Three times the amount of money you owe under the lease (including late fees)
• Three times the amount it costs to repair any damages you caused to the residence if your notice is for waste (causing physical harm or neglecting the residence)
• Three times the amount it costs to undo any nuisance you caused if your eviction is for nuisance
• Attorney fees
• Court fees

An eviction lawsuit is also a public record, which can make it harder for you to find another place to rent, can cause you to lose public housing assistance (Section 8 voucher or the ability to rent a rent-subsidized property).

You can calculate the estimated treble damages per day that you stay in your housing after the eviction notice expires by entering your monthly rent amount into the calculator below.