Rent Increase Notice Requirements in Utah

At a glance

Utah's ordinary state-law framework

Utah does not prescribe a general notice period, amount cap, frequency limit, or mandatory form for an ordinary residential rent increase. Utah Code § 57-22-2(2) defines a rental agreement as the written or oral agreement that establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, and other provisions regarding use and occupancy. The current chapter supplies no general unilateral rent-increase procedure. Utah Code § 57-22-2(5) excludes a mobile home lot from its residential-rental-unit definition. A different chapter, § 57-16-4(4)(a), makes rent and fee increases for periodic mobile-home-park tenancies unenforceable until 60 days after notice is mailed to the resident.

Local rent control is restricted separately. Under Utah Code § 57-20-1(1), a county, city, or town may not control rents or fees on private residential property without the Legislature's express approval. Subsection (2) preserves state and local zoning, building, and planning authority.

What trips people up

Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i) does use a 15-day period, but it is an unlawful-detainer provision. It applies when an owner serves an indefinite monthly or other periodic tenant with notice requiring the tenant to quit at the end of the month or period. It does not say that the notice changes the rent while the tenancy continues. Subsection (1)(b)(ii)'s five-day tenancy-at-will period is likewise a termination rule.

For a fixed term, read the rent and any adjustment language in the existing rental agreement. Section 57-22-2(2) confirms that the agreement establishes or modifies occupancy terms, but it does not itself create a statutory right to raise rent before that term ends. A renewal offer at a new price is different from a mid-term change.

The Legislature considered a different rule in 2026. HB 478 would have required 60 days' notice for certain increases, but the official bill record shows that the House struck its enacting clause and filed it among bills not passed. The current code still carries the rental-agreement definition quoted above.

Common questions

Does Utah require 15 days' notice of a rent increase?

No general state statute says so. The 15-day period in § 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i) concerns a notice requiring a periodic tenant to quit at the end of the rental period.

Is there a statewide limit on the percentage increase?

No general statewide percentage or formula applies to the ordinary private tenancy covered here. Section 57-20-1(1) also bars local residential rent control unless the Legislature expressly approves it.

Is there a special tenant remedy for a defective increase notice?

The current general provisions cited here state no rent-increase-specific penalty because they impose no general increase-notice rule. Lease terms and any separate fact-specific statutory claim must be evaluated independently.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 57-16-4(4)(a). Separate 60-day mailed-notice rule for periodic mobile-home-park rent and fee increases. Official statute (accessed October 30, 2026).
• Utah Code § 57-20-1. Local residential rent-control prohibition and preserved zoning, building, and planning authority. Official statute (accessed October 30, 2026).
• Utah Code § 57-22-2(2), (5). Rental-agreement definition and residential-rental-unit exclusion for mobile home lots. Official statute (accessed October 30, 2026).
• Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(b). Notices to quit for indefinite periodic tenancies and tenancies at will. Official statute (accessed October 30, 2026).