Utah Roommate Agreement
The Utah rules that shape the document: why removing a paying roommate always requires a formal eviction, the narrow non-paying long-term guest track, and the Salt Lake City roommate cap.
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Introduction
A roommate agreement is a private contract between co-tenants, not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change what the lease says. In Utah, a handful of state rules sit on top of the national template: Utah has no lodger statute like California's, so a paying roommate can only be removed through a formal judicial eviction, a separate and much narrower track lets an owner or co-tenant use a fast non-judicial process against a non-paying long-term guest only, no statute addresses splitting a security deposit between roommates, and Salt Lake City zoning caps an unrelated roommate household at three people. Everything else, the rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours, is covered by the national template.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Utah has no lodger law like California's. A paying roommate qualifies as a tenant under Utah Code 76-6-206.4(1)(a)(iv) and can only be removed through a formal judicial eviction, an unlawful detainer under Utah Code 78B-6-814 and 78B-6-802. There is no shortcut for removing a paying roommate, and self-help removal is illegal.
- 2
Utah does have a fast, non-judicial removal track, but it applies only to a non-paying long-term guest, someone occupying the home more than 48 hours without paying compensation or providing labor in lieu of it. If that person stays after being told to leave, it is a class B misdemeanor and police may remove them. The moment a roommate pays anything, this track disappears and full eviction applies.
- 3
Whether a Utah roommate counts as a tenant, a subtenant, or a mere long-term guest is not decided by this agreement. It turns on the paperwork with the landlord and on whether the roommate pays rent or provides labor, which is what pushes someone from guest into tenant by operation of law under Utah Code 76-6-206.4.
- 4
No Utah statute addresses how departing roommates split a security deposit refund. Utah Code 57-17-1 is written only in singular owner-to-renter terms, so the split or reimbursement between roommates is left entirely to this agreement.
- 5
No Utah statute or case gives a tenant an affirmative right to add a roommate over the landlord's objection, unlike New York's Roommate Law. The lease controls whether a new roommate may move in.
- 6
Utah's Fair Housing Act protects three classes beyond the federal list, source of income, sexual orientation, and gender identity (Utah Code 57-21-5(1)), and its owner-occupant exemption for renting a room in a small dwelling does not extend to advertising: even an exempt owner may not post a listing expressing a preference on any protected ground (57-21-5(2)).
- 7
Salt Lake City's zoning code caps an unrelated roommate household at three people citywide (Salt Lake City Code 21A.62.040's definition of family), regardless of what this agreement says. The city has proposed repealing this cap, but as of September 2026 it remains the codified rule.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Utah, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
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Utah Requirements for Roommate Agreement
Utah has no lodger statute permitting non-judicial removal of a paying roommate. A roommate who pays rent or provides labor qualifies as a tenant under Utah Code 76-6-206.4(1)(a)(iv), and Utah Code 78B-6-814 bars excluding a tenant except by judicial process, meaning a formal unlawful detainer under 78B-6-802. The agreement should not suggest any self-help removal right.
Utah Code 76-6-206.4 lets an owner, a tenant, or someone with apparent authority remove a non-paying long-term guest, defined as someone occupying more than 48 hours without paying compensation or providing labor in lieu of it, through notice and, if they refuse to leave, a class B misdemeanor criminal trespass charge with police removal. This does not apply once a roommate pays anything.
No Utah statute directly labels an added roommate a co-tenant or subtenant. Whether a roommate is a tenant by operation of law under Utah Code 76-6-206.4(1)(a)(iv), or merely a long-term guest, turns on whether they pay rent or provide labor in lieu of it, not on this agreement.
No Utah statute addresses how roommates split a security deposit refund or sets a default joint-and-several or pro-rata rent rule among roommates on one lease. Utah Code 57-17-1 governs only the landlord-to-renter relationship. State the split and reimbursement rules explicitly in the agreement.
Utah's Fair Housing Act adds source of income, sexual orientation, and gender identity as protected classes beyond the federal list (Utah Code 57-21-5(1)). The owner-occupant exemption for a small dwelling does not extend to advertising, so even an exempt owner may not post a discriminatory listing (57-21-3(3), 57-21-5(2)). Section 57-21-5(6)(b) separately permits single-sex housing designations in shared rental property.
Salt Lake City Code 21A.62.040 defines family to cap an unrelated roommate household at three people living as a single housekeeping unit. A fourth unrelated roommate may violate city zoning regardless of the roommate agreement's terms, though the city has proposed repealing it as of September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
The lease is between the tenants and the landlord. A Utah roommate agreement is a separate contract between the co-tenants themselves, covering rent splits, chores, guests, and issues Utah's landlord-tenant statutes do not address, such as splitting a security deposit or how rent liability is divided.
No. A Utah roommate agreement does not bind the landlord and cannot change the lease. If the lease requires landlord consent to add an occupant or prohibits subletting, that term still controls no matter what the roommates agree among themselves.
Not if the roommate pays rent. A paying roommate qualifies as a tenant under Utah Code 76-6-206.4(1)(a)(iv), and Utah Code 78B-6-814 bars excluding a tenant except by judicial process, meaning a formal unlawful detainer. Utah has no lodger statute like California's that allows non-judicial removal of a paying roommate. A faster track exists only for a non-paying long-term guest; see the next question.
Utah Code 76-6-206.4 lets an owner, a tenant, or someone with their apparent authority give notice to a long-term guest, defined as a person occupying the residence more than 48 hours without paying compensation or providing labor in lieu of it. If the guest stays after notice, it is a class B misdemeanor criminal trespass and police may remove them. This does not apply to a roommate who pays anything toward rent or provides labor; that roommate is a tenant and requires a full eviction.
It depends on whether they pay rent or provide labor in lieu of it, not on the roommate agreement. A roommate who pays is likely a tenant by operation of law under Utah Code 76-6-206.4, even without a written lease. A roommate who pays nothing is, at most, a long-term guest with no tenant rights. Check the actual arrangement, since this status decides what removal process applies.
No Utah statute addresses this. Utah Code 57-17-1 governs only the landlord-to-renter relationship and is written in singular terms throughout, with no provision for dividing a shared deposit among roommates. Put the split or reimbursement rule in the roommate agreement, since nothing else will govern it.
No. No Utah statute gives a tenant an affirmative right to add an occupant over the landlord's objection, unlike New York's Roommate Law. The lease controls whether a new roommate may move in, and this agreement cannot override that.
In some settings, yes. Utah Code 57-21-5(6)(b) states it is not unlawful discrimination for a landlord or property manager to designate single-sex housing and limit occupancy by biological sex at birth in a dormitory, boarding house, shared rental property, or other group-living accommodation. This carve-out applies more broadly than the separate owner-occupant exemption, but Utah's Fair Housing Act still fully protects race, religion, disability, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the other listed classes.