How to Evict a Roommate in Utah (and Other Household Situations)
What Utah law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under Utah's Fit Premises Act, a renter is a person entitled under a rental agreement (written or oral) to occupy a residential rental unit to the exclusion of others, and an 'owner' includes a lessor or sublessor. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a renter only if they have their own agreement with the owner or with a tenant acting as sublessor. The renter may not increase the number of occupants above the number in the rental agreement without the owner's written permission. Utah Code §§ 57-22-2, 57-22-5
| Roommate not on the lease | Under Utah's Fit Premises Act, a renter is a person entitled under a rental agreement (written or oral) to occupy a residential rental unit to the exclusion of others, and an 'owner' includes a lessor or sublessor. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a renter only if they have their own agreement with the owner or with a tenant acting as sublessor. The renter may not increase the number of occupants above the number in the rental agreement without the owner's written permission. Source: Utah Code §§ 57-22-2, 57-22-5 |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. Utah's unlawful detainer law treats a subtenant's continued possession like the tenant's. A periodic tenant who stays after the owner (which includes a sublessor) serves notice at least 15 calendar days before the end of the rental period, or a tenant at will who stays after a notice to quit of at least 5 calendar days, is guilty of unlawful detainer, and removal goes through court. Lease conditions can also be enforced against a subtenant in actual occupation with a 3-day notice to perform or quit (78B-6-802(1)(h)). |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. In Utah's eviction law, 'tenant' excludes anyone with no legal right to the premises, and a 'trespasser' is a person who occupies real property but never had possessory rights there. A person who never had a right to possession is therefore a trespasser rather than a tenant. Whether a guest who was allowed to stay has gained possessory rights (for example, as a tenant at will) depends on the facts. Source: Utah Code § 78B-6-801(8)-(9) |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger statute. Utah's Fit Premises Act excludes facilities in a boarding or rooming house or similar facility from its definition of 'residential rental unit', so its habitability rules do not apply there. Utah's unlawful detainer rules still govern removing a tenant. Source: Utah Code § 57-22-2 |
| Tenancy at will | A tenant at will who stays in possession after a notice to quit expires is guilty of unlawful detainer. The notice to quit must give at least 5 calendar days. Source: Utah Code § 78B-6-802(1)(b)(ii) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Utah eviction laws · Free legal help in Utah · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.