Eviction Notice Requirements in Utah

At a glance

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)