Landlord and Tenant Lawyers in Salt Lake City

Find the right Tenant attorney in Salt Lake City, UT

Tenant Law in Utah

In Salt Lake City, Utah, relationships between tenants and landlords can occasionally become strained.

Both parties to a landlord/tenant relationship are controlled by an extensive body of laws and regulations, defining their legal rights and obligations.

Landlord's Rights in Salt Lake City, UT

The most basic right that landlords have is the right to be paid the agreed-upon rent by their tenant. Obviously, renting apartments is how landlords make a living, so they are entitled to collect the rent that the tenant agreed to pay.

Landlords also have a right to be free from damage to the rented unit. Tenants are expected not to damage their dwellings, intentionally or negligently. Landlords can deduct the cost of repairs from the tenant's security deposit. In general, tenants are not responsible for damage resulting from ordinary wear and tear.

Tenant's Rights in Salt Lake City, UT

At the most basic level, tenants have a basic right to what they're paying for: a habitable living environment. Consequently, landlords in Salt Lake City, Utah must ensure that the units they rent to tenants meet some basic standards for human habitation. These requirements vary from state to state, but are often fairly easy to meet. There are no legal criteria that rented units be pretty, particularly spacious, or luxurious. They simply have to be fit for human beings to live in them. To be considered "habitable," rented units must have water, electricity, some form of heating (if the local climate necessitates it), and adequate protection from the elements (proper insulation, no roof leaks, windows that close, etc.).

Furthermore, tenants have rights to common areas that are free of physical obstructions, as well as serious health and safety hazards. Common areas are the places in apartment buildings and other residential complexes which every tenant can access, and include hallways, stairwells, and fire escapes. In Salt Lake City, Utah, these areas must be kept in a safe condition, at the landlord's expense.

A tenant also has a right, under federal law and the laws of Utah to be free from discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, or gender. Landlords can additionally not discriminate against persons with disabilities, and must make reasonable accommodations for those disabilities.

Lastly, tenants are legally protected from arbitrary eviction. Landlords usually must have a very good reason to evict a tenant before the lease agreement reaches the end of its term (at this point, they are of course allowed to decline to renew the lease). Of course, if the tenant breaches the lease agreement (such as by failing to pay rent, damaging the property, or violating other reasonable rules the landlord has put in the lease), the landlord, like a party to any other contract, is free to terminate the agreement and evict the breaching tenant.

Can a Salt Lake City, Utah Landlord/Tenant Lawyer Help?

Landlords and tenants generally want to avoid conflict with one another. Nonetheless, conflicts are sometimes unavoidable. If you end up in a major dispute with a landlord or a tenant, a reliable Salt Lake City, Utah landlord/tenant attorney can help.

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Life in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah is the capital of, and largest city in, the state of Utah. It is also the county seat of Salt Lake County. It has a population of about 180,000 people in the city proper, and its greater urban area has a population of over 2 million people. Salt Lake City was established as the center of Mormon settlement in the Utah Territory, with the first permanent settlement being established in 1847. Disputes quickly sprung up between the settlers and the federal government, largely over the former Mormon practice of polygamy (marrying multiple wives to a single man), which the religion was believed to encourage or mandate at the time. As part of an agreement to end these disputes, Utah (and the Mormon Church) banned polygamy, as a condition of Utah's admission to the Union. Modernly, Salt Lake City is a thriving medium-sized city, and it is one of the main population and economic centers in the Mountain West. Its economy is largely service-based. Utah is known for having some of the best skiing conditions in North America, so winter tourism is a major sector in the local economy. If you live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and need an attorney, it's very likely that you'll be able to find one who's right for you. Salt Lake City, Utah lawyers are used to handling a wide variety of cases, with great variation in sophistication.

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