Utah Eviction Notice
Utah eviction notice: the 3-business-day pay-or-quit notice under Utah Code Section 78B-6-802. Free template, statute cites. Attorney review available.
Introduction
This page's compact notice text is the actual eviction notice a Utah landlord fills out and serves, not a broader explainer of how Utah eviction law works, and Utah's statute hides a counting trap most landlords never notice: the same "3-day" notice runs on two different clocks depending on why it's served. Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-day pay-or-quit notice counted in business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Every other 3-day notice on this page, comply-or-vacate for a curable lease violation, and unconditional quit for an incurable one, is counted in calendar days instead, so weekends count against the tenant. Mix up which clock applies and a landlord can file a day early. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-802) Utah's Forcible Entry and Detainer statute, Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 8, governs the whole pre-filing notice process. There's no mandatory government form for the notice itself, only optional sample forms from the Utah State Courts self-help site, but the notice ground still controls both the day count and whether the tenant gets any chance to fix the problem: a curable lease violation lets the tenant cure and keep the lease, while grounds like unauthorized subletting, waste, an unlawful business, nuisance, or a crime on the premises get no cure option at all. A holdover after a fixed lease term simply expires needs no notice whatsoever, a rule easy to confuse with the 15-day notice periodic tenancies require. Serve the wrong day count and the eviction case can be dismissed before it starts.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer action (Utah's court process for eviction, similar to what other states call an unlawful detainer suit) in Utah district or justice court.
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Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-day pay-or-quit notice, but it runs on business days: the count excludes weekends and legal holidays, starting the business day after the tenant receives the notice. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(c))
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A curable lease violation other than nonpayment (sometimes called a "comply-or-quit" notice) gets a 3-day notice too, but this one runs on calendar days, so weekends count. The tenant, a subtenant in actual occupation, or another person interested in the lease may cure and save the lease from forfeiture, unless the violation cannot afterward be fixed. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(h), (2))
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Certain grounds get no chance to cure at all (an "unconditional quit" notice): unauthorized assigning or subletting or committing waste, running an unlawful business on the premises, maintaining a nuisance, or committing a criminal act while remaining in possession. Each gets a 3-calendar-day notice to quit with no cure option. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(d)-(g))
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The governing law is Utah's Forcible Entry and Detainer statute, Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 8, Sections 78B-6-801 through 78B-6-817, which sets the notice rules and the court process that follows.
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Service (delivering the notice to the tenant) can use any one of several methods with no required order: personal delivery, registered or certified mail, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the tenant's residence or workplace, or posting a copy on the property. Unlike states that require personal delivery first, Utah lets the landlord choose freely among these. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-805)
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There's no state-mandated form for the notice itself, only optional sample forms published by the Utah State Courts. Ending a periodic tenancy (month-to-month or another period) without cause needs at least 15 calendar days' notice before the period ends; a tenancy at will needs at least 5 calendar days. A holdover after a fixed lease term simply expiring needs no notice at all. (Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(a)-(b))
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Utah, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Utah Requirements for Eviction Notice
3-business-day notice for nonpayment of rent or other amounts due, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Counting starts the business day after the tenant receives the notice, per the Utah State Courts' own form instructions. This business-day count is distinct from every other notice type on this page, which counts in calendar days.
3-calendar-day notice for a curable lease condition or covenant violation other than rent. The tenant, a subtenant in actual occupation, a mortgagee of the term, or another person interested in the lease's continuance may perform the condition and save the lease from forfeiture, unless the violation cannot afterward be performed, in which case an unconditional notice applies instead.
3-calendar-day notice with no cure option, for unauthorized assignment or subletting contrary to the lease, committing waste, running an unlawful business on the premises, maintaining a nuisance, or committing a criminal act while remaining in possession. No opportunity to cure is provided by the statute for these grounds.
Any one of four methods satisfies the statute, with no required order: personal delivery to the tenant (or the commercial tenant's usual place of business), registered or certified mail, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the tenant's residence, leased property, or usual place of business, or affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the leased property.
There is no government-mandated fill-in form for the pre-filing notice itself, and Utah Code Section 78B-6-802 does not itemize required notice content the way some states do. The Utah State Courts self-help site publishes optional sample notice forms for each ground, including instructions for correctly counting business days versus calendar days, but using them is not legally required.
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 8, "Forcible Entry and Detainer," Sections 78B-6-801 through 78B-6-817.
Distinct from the 3-day for-cause notices above: ending a periodic tenancy (month-to-month or another period) without cause requires the landlord to serve notice at least 15 calendar days before the end of that period. A tenancy at will requires at least 5 calendar days' notice. By contrast, a holdover after a FIXED lease term simply expires requires no notice at all under the statute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Utah requires 3 days' notice before filing, but the count depends on the reason. Nonpayment of rent gets a 3-business-day pay-or-quit notice, excluding weekends and legal holidays. A curable lease violation or an incurable violation like unauthorized subletting, waste, or nuisance gets a 3-calendar-day notice instead, so weekends count toward those 3 days.
Usually no. Utah Code Section 78B-6-802 requires written notice before filing a forcible entry and detainer action for nonpayment of rent, a lease violation, or the incurable grounds listed in the statute. The one exception is a holdover after a fixed lease term simply expires, which the statute treats as terminated without any notice at all.
Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(c) counts the 3-day pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment in business days, meaning weekends and legal holidays don't count toward the 3 days. Every other 3-day notice on this page, the comply-or-vacate notice under (1)(h) and the unconditional quit notices under (1)(d)-(g), counts in calendar days, so weekends do count. Using the wrong count for the ground you're serving on can make the notice period run short.
No. There's no state-mandated fill-in form for the pre-filing notice itself; a landlord can write their own as long as it states the correct ground and the correct day count. The Utah State Courts self-help site publishes optional sample notice forms for pay-or-vacate, comply-or-vacate, and each unconditional-quit ground, along with instructions on correctly counting business versus calendar days.
Only for some grounds. A curable lease violation under Utah Code Section 78B-6-802(1)(h) lets the tenant, a subtenant, or another interested party fix the problem within the 3-calendar-day period and keep the lease. Grounds treated as incurable, unauthorized subletting, waste, an unlawful business, nuisance, or a criminal act on the premises, get no cure option under (1)(d)-(g); the notice just states a 3-calendar-day deadline to vacate.
Utah Code Section 78B-6-805 gives the landlord a choice among several methods with no required order: personal delivery to the tenant, registered or certified mail, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the tenant's residence or workplace, or posting a copy on the property. Unlike states that require trying personal delivery first, any one of these methods satisfies the statute on its own.
Common curable violations include unauthorized pets, occupants, or minor property damage. Utah Code Section 78B-6-802 treats certain violations as automatically incurable regardless of whether the tenant wants to fix them: assigning or subletting contrary to the lease, committing waste on the premises, running an unlawful business there, maintaining a nuisance, or committing a criminal act while remaining in possession. Those get the 3-calendar-day unconditional quit notice with no cure right.
If the tenant hasn't paid, cured, or vacated by the deadline, the landlord can file a forcible entry and detainer action in the court for the county where the property sits. The statute also requires a written notice period to have run before filing; a suit filed before the notice period expires can be dismissed on that basis alone.