Utah's residential habitability rules sit in the Fit Premises Act, in Title 57 of the Utah Code, and the act works differently from a full uniform landlord and tenant act. It sets a floor for the condition of the property and then expects the rental agreement to do a share of the work, allocating specified responsibilities in writing. A template that says nothing about them leaves them unallocated, which is a worse outcome than allocating them badly.
The act sets a floor and looks to the lease for the rest
The landlord owes a fit premises duty covering the fundamentals of a habitable dwelling. Several other maintenance responsibilities may be allocated to the tenant, but only if the rental agreement says so in writing. An imported template that is silent leaves those duties with the landlord by default, and the first time anyone checks is when something has already gone wrong.
Deposits and the written notice
Utah requires a written itemised notice of what is retained from a deposit within a period after the tenancy ends and after the tenant provides a forwarding address. The sequence matters: the clock is tied to events, not simply to the end date. Track both dates in the tenancy record rather than relying on somebody's recollection of when keys came back.
Non-refundable fees have to be disclosed
Utah allows a portion of a deposit to be designated non-refundable if the rental agreement discloses it in writing. Undisclosed, it is refundable, whatever the office practice has been. This is a one-line drafting point with a direct cash consequence at the end of every tenancy, and it is the clause most often absent from an out-of-state template.
What still has to be done well
Documenting condition at move-in and at move-out, issuing receipts, keeping a ledger that reconciles, and giving the notice within the period. Utah's act rewards a landlord who can show what was agreed in writing and what the property looked like on two dates. Neither of those is hard; both are routinely missing.
Questions people ask about utah lease agreement
What is the Fit Premises Act?
Utah's statute on the condition a rented dwelling must be in, and how maintenance responsibilities may be allocated between landlord and tenant.
Can a Utah deposit be non-refundable?
A portion may be designated non-refundable if the rental agreement discloses it in writing. Without that, it is refundable.
When does the deposit clock start?
It is tied to the end of the tenancy and to the tenant providing a forwarding address, so record both dates.