Utah: Eviction Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Utah's eviction-notice rules live in the Forcible Entry and Detainer Act, Utah
Code §§ 78B-6-801 to -816. Section 78B-6-802 lists every ground for eviction and
the notice each one requires, and § 78B-6-805 says how the notice must be
served. Habitability duties and the tenant's repair remedies are in a separate
statute, the Utah Fit Premises Act (Title 57, Chapter 22). Utah never adopted the
Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, so it has no URLTA-style graduated
notice grid, and it has no statewide just-cause requirement.

Notice for unpaid rent

If rent is late, the landlord serves a written notice demanding, in the
alternative, "the payment of the rent and other amounts due or the surrender of
the detained premises." The tenant is in unlawful detainer only after the notice
"has remained uncomplied with for a period of three business days after service"
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(c)). Two points matter about that count. First, it is a
business-day count, so weekends and holidays don't count against you — a
change made in 2020 from the old "three calendar days." Second, paying the full
amount demanded within the period stops the eviction; the demand may be served
"at any time after the rent becomes due."

Notice for a lease violation

For a curable breach of the lease that isn't one of the serious grounds below,
the landlord serves a notice requiring "the performance of the conditions or
covenant or the surrender of the property"; the tenant is in unlawful detainer if
it "remains uncomplied with for three calendar days after service"
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(h)). So you get 3 calendar days to fix the problem. The
statute expressly lets the tenant "perform the condition or covenant and save the
lease from forfeiture" within the notice period (§ 78B-6-802(2)).

Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)

Some conduct ends the tenancy with a flat 3-calendar-day notice to quit and no
chance to cure: committing waste or assigning/subletting against the lease
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(d)), setting up "any unlawful business" (1)(e), maintaining "any
nuisance, including private nuisance" (1)(f), or committing "a criminal act on
the premises" (1)(g). The cure statute confirms the split: if the violation
"cannot afterwards be performed, or ... cannot be brought into compliance," the
landlord may use one of these no-cure notices instead (§ 78B-6-802(2)).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

To end a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy for no reason, the landlord
must serve notice to quit "15 calendar days or more before the end of that month
or period" (§ 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i)). That 15-day period is one of the shortest
no-cause notices in the country — most states require 30. A tenancy at will takes
a shorter notice of "not less than five calendar days" (1)(b)(ii), and a
fixed-term lease simply ends on its end date "without notice" (1)(a)).

How the notice must be served

Under § 78B-6-805, the landlord may deliver the notice to the tenant personally;
send it by "registered mail, certified mail, or an equivalent means" to the
tenant's residence, leased property, or usual place of business; or, if the tenant
is absent, leave a copy "with a person of suitable age and discretion" at one of
those places. Only if no such person can be found may the landlord post the notice
"in a conspicuous place on the leased property." Unlike some states, Utah does not
require a follow-up mailing when the notice is left with another person or posted.

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

For a rent default, pay the full amount within the 3 business days; for a curable
lease breach, perform the covenant within the notice period — either one lets you
"save the lease from forfeiture" (§ 78B-6-802(2)). What Utah's Fit Premises Act
does not give tenants is a general retaliation defense. The Act's only
eviction-specific protection is narrow: an owner "may not ... penalize or evict a
renter because the renter makes reasonable requests for assistance from a public
safety agency" (§ 57-22-5.1(10)). Separately, a renter facing an unfixed
habitability defect can serve a Notice of Deficient Condition and then either
abate rent and move out or "repair and deduct" up to two months' rent
(§ 57-22-6) — but only while current on rent and otherwise in compliance.

What trips people up

The rent notice is "business days," not calendar days. Since 2020 the
nonpayment notice runs three business days, so a notice served late in the week
can leave you until the following week to pay (§ 78B-6-802(1)(c)). Count business
days, and pay the full amount demanded — Utah courts have found even a small
shortfall can still be a "substantial" enough tender to matter, but do not rely
on that; pay in full and keep proof.

The no-cause notice is unusually short. A Utah landlord can end a
month-to-month tenancy with just 15 days' notice and no reason at all
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i)). If you are month-to-month, that is far less warning than
tenants get in most states — plan around the 15-day clock.

There is no general retaliation shield. Utah's Fit Premises Act does not make
it illegal to evict a tenant for complaining to a code agency or asking for
repairs; its only eviction protection is the narrow public-safety-request rule in
§ 57-22-5.1(10). Document everything and act within the cure deadlines.

Self-help is still illegal. Whatever the notice says, a landlord cannot
change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove your belongings to force you out;
possession can be taken only through the court's forcible-entry-and-detainer
process.

Common questions

How many days do I get to pay before my Utah landlord can evict me for late
rent? Three business days after the written notice is served
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(c)). Because they are business days, weekends and holidays don't
count. Pay the full amount demanded within that window and the default is cured.

My landlord gave me a 3-day notice to quit for a nuisance — can I fix it and
stay? Generally no. The 3-calendar-day notices for waste, an unlawful business,
a nuisance, or a criminal act are notices to quit with no cure right
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(d)-(g)). The cure option applies to curable breaches under
subsection (1)(h), not to these grounds.

I'm month-to-month and my landlord wants me out — how much notice do they
owe me? At least 15 calendar days before the end of the rental period
(§ 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i)). Utah has no just-cause law, so the landlord doesn't need
a reason, but must give the full 15 days.

Can my landlord evict me for calling the city about bad conditions? Utah's
Fit Premises Act doesn't prohibit retaliatory eviction generally; its only
eviction protection is for requesting help from a public safety agency
(§ 57-22-5.1(10)). If conditions are unsafe, your statutory tool is the Notice of
Deficient Condition and the rent-abatement or repair-and-deduct remedy under
§ 57-22-6 — and getting legal advice before withholding or deducting rent.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(b) — 15-day periodic-tenancy notice; 5-day tenancy-at-will notice.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter6/78B-6-S802.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(c) — 3-business-day notice to pay rent or surrender.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter6/78B-6-S802.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(d)-(h) — 3-calendar-day unconditional-quit grounds (waste/subletting, unlawful business, nuisance, criminal act) and 3-day cure-or-quit for other covenant breaches.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter6/78B-6-S802.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 78B-6-802(2) — tenant may perform within the notice period and save the lease from forfeiture.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter6/78B-6-S802.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 78B-6-805(1) — service methods (personal; registered/certified mail; leave with suitable person; post if none found).
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter6/78B-6-S805.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 57-22-5.1(10) — owner may not penalize or evict a renter for requesting public-safety assistance.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/title57/chapter22/C57-22_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Utah Code § 57-22-6(4)(a) — repair-and-deduct remedy (capped at two months' rent) after a Notice of Deficient Condition.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/title57/chapter22/C57-22_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-10)