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This bill amends provisions relating to unlawful detainer.
This bill:
Oppose
Strong Communities
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Utah law currently gives renters the option to notify their landlord in writing about problems that make a rental unit fail to meet basic habitability or lease standards; this bill would make that written notice mandatory rather than optional, and would extend the landlord's time to begin fixing habitability problems from three calendar days to three business days. If a landlord already began substantial repairs before receiving a renter's notice, the landlord would be considered to have satisfied their repair obligations, and renters using the "repair and deduct" remedy — where they fix a problem themselves and subtract the cost from future rent — would be required to take commercially reasonable steps to hire a licensed and insured contractor to do the work. The bill would also let a landlord end a lease with 10 days' written notice if the landlord determines a habitability problem cannot reasonably be fixed while the renter stays, requiring the landlord to repay the security deposit and prorated prepaid rent on the day the renter moves out; ending a lease this way would not stop the landlord from later pursuing other legal claims, such as for property damage. Finally, the bill would expand the legal grounds for eviction, known as "unlawful detainer," to include cases where a tenant's animal attacks a person, another animal, or protected wildlife, and cases where a tenant violates a lease term the lease itself labels as an "incurable violation," meaning the tenant would not get a chance to fix the problem before being required to leave.
Introduction
Feb 9
House Rules
Mar 5
House Committee
Feb 18
House Floor Vote
Senate Rules
Senate Committee
Senate 2nd Reading
Senate 3rd Reading
Governor
IntroductionFeb 9
House RulesMar 5
House CommitteeFeb 18
House Floor Vote
Senate Rules
Senate Committee
Senate 2nd Reading
Senate 3rd Reading
Governor
This bill amends provisions relating to unlawful detainer.
This bill:
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Utah law currently gives renters the option to notify their landlord in writing about problems that make a rental unit fail to meet basic habitability or lease standards; this bill would make that written notice mandatory rather than optional, and would extend the landlord's time to begin fixing habitability problems from three calendar days to three business days. If a landlord already began substantial repairs before receiving a renter's notice, the landlord would be considered to have satisfied their repair obligations, and renters using the "repair and deduct" remedy — where they fix a problem themselves and subtract the cost from future rent — would be required to take commercially reasonable steps to hire a licensed and insured contractor to do the work. The bill would also let a landlord end a lease with 10 days' written notice if the landlord determines a habitability problem cannot reasonably be fixed while the renter stays, requiring the landlord to repay the security deposit and prorated prepaid rent on the day the renter moves out; ending a lease this way would not stop the landlord from later pursuing other legal claims, such as for property damage. Finally, the bill would expand the legal grounds for eviction, known as "unlawful detainer," to include cases where a tenant's animal attacks a person, another animal, or protected wildlife, and cases where a tenant violates a lease term the lease itself labels as an "incurable violation," meaning the tenant would not get a chance to fix the problem before being required to leave.
Oppose
Strong Communities
Motion: Held in Committee
House/ filed
House file for bills not passed
House/ strike enacting clause
Clerk of the House
House/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules
House Rules Committee
House Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules
House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0516S01
Released
Last updated Aug 29, 2026, 5:26 PM
