Utah late fee laws for rent: the greater of 10 percent or $75
Utah lets an owner charge a late fee of up to the greater of 10 percent of the rent in the rental agreement or $75. The same section bars any fee that is bigger than the agreement says or missing from it, with one month-to-month exception that needs 15 days' notice.
What is the most a Utah owner can charge?
Utah Code 57-22-4(5)(a) says an owner may not charge a renter a late fee that exceeds the greater of two numbers: 10 percent of the rent agreed to in the rental agreement, or $75. The statute does not pick one or the other for you. It lets the larger of the two stand as the ceiling.
That makes the $75 figure a floor under the ceiling for small rents. On a $600 unit, 10 percent is only $60, so the ceiling is $75. Once rent passes $750, the percentage takes over.
| Monthly rent | 10 percent | Ceiling (greater of the two) |
|---|---|---|
| $600 | $60.00 | $75.00 |
| $750 | $75.00 | $75.00 |
| $900 | $90.00 | $90.00 |
| $1,400 | $140.00 | $140.00 |
Does the fee have to be in the lease?
Yes, in practice. Subsection (5)(b) bars an owner from charging a fee, fine, assessment, interest or other cost that is more than the rental agreement states, or that the agreement does not include at all. So the clause needs a number, and the number needs to be written before the rent is late.
The one carve-out is for month-to-month agreements. There, the owner can add a charge that is not in the agreement if the owner gives the renter a 15-day notice of the charge. A fixed-term lease has no such route in that subsection.
Example a made-up owner rents a townhome in Ogden for $1,200 a month on a month-to-month agreement that lists no late fee. On the 1st the owner gives written notice of a new $60 late fee. The fee cannot start until the 15-day notice has run, and $60 is under the $120 ceiling (10 percent of $1,200). An owner with a fixed-term lease and no fee clause would have no such option.
What must you disclose before the renter pays anything?
Section 57-22-4(3) applies before an owner accepts an application fee or any other payment from a prospective renter. The owner has to disclose in writing a good faith estimate of the rent and of each fixed, non-rent expense that is part of the rental agreement. The owner also has to name the type of each use-based, non-rent expense in the agreement.
Subsection (4) gives a prospective renter a remedy. If the amount in the estimate differs from the rental agreement, or the agreement includes a type of use-based expense that was never disclosed, the renter can demand money back in writing within five business days after receiving the agreement, as long as the renter has not signed or moved in. Read the statute for the full conditions. The practical lesson is to list your late fee on the same disclosure sheet as your other charges.
How do you keep a Utah late fee defensible?
- Write the fee as one dollar amount, or as a percentage with the dollar figure beside it, and keep it at or under the ceiling.
- Re-check the ceiling at every renewal. If rent rises, 10 percent rises with it, but a flat fee in the lease does not move.
- Charge one fee per missed payment and post it as its own line, separate from rent.
- Keep the lease page and the disclosure sheet together so you can show what the renter saw.
How DoorKeeping handles it in Utah
DoorKeeping sets late fees within your state's caps, so a fee rule you approve in Utah cannot post above the greater of 10 percent of rent or $75, rounded down to the cent, and the tenant gets a reminder first. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your lease and your disclosures with your own Utah attorney.
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Questions
- What is the maximum late fee in Utah?
- The greater of 10 percent of the rent in the rental agreement or $75, under Utah Code 57-22-4(5)(a).
- Can a Utah landlord charge a late fee that is not in the lease?
- Not under a fixed-term agreement. The statute bars a fee that is not included in the rental agreement, with an exception for month-to-month agreements where the owner gives a 15-day notice of the charge.
- Is $75 always allowed in Utah, even on cheap units?
- A $75 fee fits under the ceiling at any rent, because the ceiling is the greater of 10 percent of rent or $75. The fee still has to be written in the rental agreement.