Utah Late Rent Fee Laws: Limits, Grace Periods, and Penalties

Utah Code § 57-22-4(5)(a) prohibits an owner from charging a late fee that exceeds the greater of 10 percent of the rent agreed to in the rental agreement or $75. On $1,500 rent the ceiling is $150; on $600 rent the ceiling is $75 because the flat figure is higher than 10 percent. This is a hard statutory ceiling, not a presumption of reasonableness, so a fee above it is unenforceable no matter what the lease says. Utah courts also decline to enforce open-ended daily late fees that accumulate past the statutory ceiling.

Utah has no statutory grace period. If the rental agreement makes rent due on the 1st, it is late on the 2nd and a late fee may be assessed then. The three-day pay-or-vacate notice under Utah Code § 78B-6-802 is an eviction prerequisite, not a grace period for fees.

Section 57-22-4(5)(b) bars an owner from charging any fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost that is not included in the rental agreement, unless the tenancy is month-to-month and the owner gives 15 days' notice of the charge. HB 182 (2025) layers on a separate duty to disclose rent, recurring fees, and nonrefundable fees in writing before collecting any money from an applicant or tenant.

Utah sets no multiplier or statutory damages for an unlawful late fee. The practical consequence is that the charge is void, cannot be used to support an eviction or a deposit deduction, and the tenant can recover the overcharge; Utah Code § 78B-5-826 makes any attorney fee clause in your lease reciprocal, so a losing landlord can end up paying the tenant's fees.

Utah Code §§ 7-15-1 and 7-15-2 allow the holder of a dishonored check to collect a $20 service charge, rising to $40 if the issuer does not pay within 30 days of proper written notice, plus collection costs in a civil action. The lease must still disclose the NSF charge under § 57-22-4(5)(b).

HB 182 (2025 General Session), effective May 7, 2025, requires Utah landlords to give prospective tenants written disclosure of rent, recurring fees, nonrefundable fees, and late fee terms before collecting any payment. The underlying 10 percent or $75 late fee cap itself was unchanged.

Plenty of older guides and aggregator pages still say Utah has no late fee cap. That has been wrong since May 5, 2021, when the greater-of-10-percent-or-$75 ceiling took effect; treat any source repeating the no-cap line as out of date. The ceiling is per late payment, not per day, so a $10-per-day clause that runs a full month on a $900 rent blows past the $90 limit and becomes unenforceable. If you rent month-to-month and want to add or raise a fee mid-tenancy, you need 15 days' written notice under § 57-22-4(5)(b). Since HB 182 you also need the fee disclosed in writing before you accept any payment, including an application fee.

• Utah Code § 57-22-4
• Utah Code § 7-15-1