Rent Escalation Clause
in Your Lease
How this page is sourced
Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Utah law says, what's specific to Salt Lake City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Our record of Utah's residential rental statutes finds no advance notice period before a rent increase.
- Our record of the Salt Lake City Code finds no notice period for a raise in the chapters it covers.
- § 57-20-1(1) bars a city ordinance that would control rents without the Legislature's express approval.
- The 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b) covers listed charges on month-to-month agreements. That list does not name rent.
- Before taking an application fee, an owner must give a written estimate of the rent (§ 57-22-4(3)(a)).
Copy and send: Within five business days after you receive the rental agreement, if you have not signed or moved in and an amount in it differs from the written estimate
Written demand when the lease differs from the estimate
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Utah compares
Advance notice required before a rent increase, state by state
30 days60 days90 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 27 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Understanding the Rent Escalation Clause
This page is for Salt Lake City renters whose lease has a rent escalation clause: a fixed step, a formula tied to an index, or a right to name a new rent. The key point is that no section we read in Utah's rental statutes or the Salt Lake City Code sets when a raise may start or how large it may be.
That leaves the escalation paragraph you signed as the document that answers both questions, so read it first when a raise arrives.
What renters assume
Utah gives renters a set number of days' warning before a rent increase, and the 15-day notice in Utah law is that number.
What is actually true
The 15 days in § 57-22-4(5)(b) is for "a fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost" added to a month-to-month agreement. That list does not use the word rent, and no section we read sets notice before a raise.
Salt Lake City's row carries no figure, one of 9 rows without a number on the comparison on this page. Austin and Philadelphia read no statute; Charlotte, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Louisville and Oklahoma City read no statute found; and Minneapolis reads no fixed period, tied to the lease.
Ten rows sit at 30 days: Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Chicago, Phoenix, Nashville, Boston, Newark, Detroit and Indianapolis. Five sit at 60 days, Denver, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Washington and Columbus, and three at 90 days, Seattle, Portland and Baltimore.
The blank bar measures notice of a raise and nothing else. It cannot show the 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b), which covers a listed charge on a month-to-month agreement and does not name rent.
Nor can it show § 57-20-1(1), which bars a city rule that would control rents without the Legislature's express approval.
Rent Escalation Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Salt Lake City, UT
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
C. In view of the fluctuating purchasing power of the dollar, the parties hereto, desiring to adjust the above described rentals to such purchasing power, agree that adjustments shall be made in the annual rental from time to time as hereinafter provided so as to reflect as nearly as possible such fluctuations. The parties hereto adopt as standard for measuring such fluctuations the Consumer Price Index (revised using the 1957-1959 average as equal to 100), United States average on all items and commodity groups issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, hereinafter referred to as the "Index".
Quoted from the published opinion in Steinhardt v. Rudolph, 422 So. 2d 884 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“as nearly as possible such fluctuations. The parties hereto adopt”
Adopting a formula happens at signing, and signing is the moment the Utah rent rule in our record speaks to. Before an owner accepts an application fee or any other payment, § 57-22-4(3)(a) requires a written “good faith estimate” of the rent amount and of each fixed, non-rent expense that is part of the rental agreement. With an index clause, that estimate describes the starting rent, and the paragraph you adopt describes every rent after it.
See the example
“as standard for measuring such fluctuations the”
The measuring stick is the lease's own, and our record of Utah's statutes carries no figure for the size of a raise to set beside it. What the record does carry is a limit on local government. § 57-20-1(1) provides that a county, city, or town “may not enact an ordinance or resolution that would control rents or fees on private residential property unless it has the express approval of the Legislature.” That leaves the standard named in the paragraph you signed as the measure to check each increase against.
“1957-1959 average as equal to 100), United States average”
A national average is a published number nobody in your building controls. The base period and the series named here are what every adjustment is worked from, so the copy you hold matters. Salt Lake City's § 18.96.040(A) requires that a copy of the lease or rental agreement, with its rules and regulations, “shall be given to each tenant at the time the rental agreement is entered into”. That copy shows which base and which series you agreed to.
See the example
“United States Department of Labor, hereinafter referred”
The passage defines its index with care and, as quoted, says nothing about warning you before a new rent applies. Our record of Utah's residential rental statutes finds no advance notice period before a rent increase. The 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b) covers “a fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost” added to a month-to-month agreement, and that list does not use the word rent.
See the example
The clause lost. Florida's Third District affirmed that this “double escalation” clause was unconscionable and upheld the refusal to enforce it going forward. Procedurally: the developer drafted the lease and signed both sides of it through a nominal trustee taking his orders, the unit owners had no voice in the terms, the developer's own lawyer - himself a trust beneficiary - was mistaken for theirs, and the documents were handed over at or after closing. Substantively: the rent could ratchet up but never down, a further increase applied if the dollar were devalued, the term ran 99 years, the unit owners carried taxes, insurance and maintenance while the lessor's “sole duty under the lease is to accept rents,” and unpaid rent became a lien on the apartment. The court also noted that the Florida legislature had separately declared CPI escalation clauses of this kind void as against public policy for leases entered after the statute's effective date, at Fla. Stat. § 718.401(8)(a). Two things to keep straight while reading the passage above. The up-only floor and the devaluation clause are separate paragraphs of the same lease, not part of these words - what is quoted here is the purpose-and-index half. And this was a 99-year ground lease sitting under a residential condominium: the payers were the 119 individual unit owners who lived in the apartments, so it is a lease attached to people's homes rather than an apartment tenancy.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Utah Law on Rent Escalation Clause
- The 15-day rule in Utah Code § 57-22-4(5)(b) covers the charges it lists, and that list does not name rent.
Read the law's words
The section bars an owner from charging "a fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost: (i) in an amount greater than the amount agreed to in the rental agreement; or (ii) that is not included in the rental agreement, unless: (A) the rental agreement is on a month-to-month basis; and (B) the owner provides the renter a 15-day notice of the charge." - The rent disclosure we read applies before a lease is signed.
Read the law's words
Section 57-22-4(3)(a) requires an owner, before accepting an application fee or any other payment, to disclose in writing "a good faith estimate of: (A) the rent amount; and (B) the amount of each fixed, non-rent expense that is part of the rental agreement". Under § 57-22-4(4), a prospective renter who has not signed or moved in may make a written demand within five business days after receiving the rental agreement if an amount in it differs from that estimate, and the owner "shall return all money the prospective renter paid the owner within five business days" after receiving the demand. Section 57-22-4(9) then provides that "A renter may not use an owner's failure to comply with a requirement of Subsection (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7) as a basis: (a) to excuse the renter's compliance with a rental agreement; or (b) to bring a cause of action against the owner." - Utah bars local rent control without legislative approval.
Read the law's words
Utah Code § 57-20-1(1) provides that "A county, city, or town may not enact an ordinance or resolution that would control rents or fees on private residential property unless it has the express approval of the Legislature", and § 57-20-1(2) keeps a county, city, or town's right "to enforce its zoning, building, and planning authority." Chapter 20 carries the history line Amended by Chapter 365, 2006 General Session, and § 57-22-4 carries the history line Amended by Chapter 98, 2021 General Session. - The Salt Lake City sections we read on lease terms deal with the papers a tenant receives and with later rule changes.
Read the law's words
Section 18.96.040(A) requires that "A copy of the lease or rental agreement, rules and regulations, an inventory of the condition of the premises, a list of all appliances and furnishings and a summary of this chapter shall be given to each tenant at the time the rental agreement is entered into", and § 18.96.070 bars a rule adopted after the rental agreement begins from substantially modifying the existing terms, conditions or rules without the tenant's written consent.
Sources include Utah Code § 57-22-4(5)(b); Utah Code § 57-22-4(3)(a); Utah Code § 57-22-4(4); Utah Code § 57-22-4(9); Utah Code § 57-20-1; Utah Code § 57-22-7(1); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.070; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(A) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Our record of Utah's residential rental statutes finds no advance notice period an owner must give before raising the rent. The nearest rules we read:
- § 57-22-4(5)(b) bars an owner from charging "a fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost" above the agreed amount or not in the rental agreement, unless the agreement is month-to-month and the owner gives "a 15-day notice of the charge." The list does not use the word rent.
- § 57-22-4(3)(a): before accepting an application fee or any other payment, an owner must give a written good faith estimate of the rent and each fixed, non-rent expense.
- § 57-22-4(4): if an amount in the lease differs from that estimate, a prospective renter who has not signed or moved in may make a written demand within five business days after receiving the agreement. The owner must return all money paid within five business days after receiving the demand.
- § 57-20-1(1): a county, city, or town "may not enact an ordinance or resolution that would control rents or fees on private residential property unless it has the express approval of the Legislature."
§ 57-22-4(9) says a renter may not use an owner's failure to follow subsections (2) to (7) to excuse the renter's compliance or to sue. Read the current text before relying on them.
What's Specific to Salt Lake City
Our record of the Salt Lake City Code finds no city notice period before a rent increase in the chapters it covers: 5.14, 5.15, 18.24, 18.50, 18.96 and 18.99. It does not cover the whole city code.
The closest text is § 18.96.070: a rule adopted after your agreement begins may not substantially modify the existing terms without your written consent. It speaks of rules, not rent.
Under § 18.96.040(A), you must get a copy of the lease when the agreement is made. Keep it, since its escalation paragraph states the raise.
No section we read sets the size of a raise. A stated step or formula is something you can check every increase against.
No section we read in Utah's rental statutes sets a notice period. A notice term in the lease gives you a date to count from.
No section we read sets a ceiling or notice period, which leaves the wording you sign as the limit. Fix this shape before signing.
The 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b) covers listed charges on month-to-month agreements and does not name rent. Read any charge for what it really is.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Utah Code § 57-22-4(5)(b); Utah Code § 57-22-4(3)(a); Utah Code § 57-22-4(4); Utah Code § 57-22-4(9); Utah Code § 57-20-1; Utah Code § 57-22-7(1); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.070; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(A), read on web.archive.org. The Utah Legislature's chapter file for Title 57, Chapter 22, read through an Internet Archive copy captured September 9, 2026, prints § 57-22-4 with the history line Amended by Chapter 98, 2021 General Session, its file for Chapter 20, captured April 15, 2026, prints § 57-20-1 as Amended by Chapter 365, 2006 General Session, and FindLaw's copy of § 57-22-4 marked current as of January 1, 2025 prints the same text.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A raise with no notice at all
No section we read in Utah's rental statutes sets notice before a raise, which leaves the lease to set it. A clause promising none is worth changing before signing.
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An increase with no formula
A reserved right to set any new figure gives you nothing to check it against. A written step or formula is your measure.
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A lease rent above the written estimate
§ 57-22-4(3)(a) requires a rent estimate before an application fee. If the lease differs before you sign or move in, § 57-22-4(4) gives five business days to demand a refund.
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A 15-day letter that names new rent
The 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b) does not use the word rent. Read the letter for whether it raises the rent, adds a fee, or both.
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A new rule that changes your terms
§ 18.96.070 bars a rule adopted after your agreement began from substantially modifying the existing terms without your written consent. It speaks of rules, not rent.
Your Rights as a Salt Lake City Tenant
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A rent estimate before you pay
§ 57-22-4(3)(a) requires a written good faith estimate of the rent and each fixed, non-rent expense before an owner accepts an application fee or other payment.
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Your money back if the lease differs
Under § 57-22-4(4), an applicant who has not signed or moved in may demand in writing, within five business days, the return of all money paid.
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Notice before a new month-to-month charge
§ 57-22-4(5)(b) requires a 15-day notice before an owner adds a fee, fine, assessment, interest or other cost not in a month-to-month agreement.
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Your consent to changed terms
Under § 18.96.070, a rule adopted after the rental agreement begins may not substantially modify the existing terms without your written consent.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the increase paragraph
Note when the term ends, the step or formula the clause sets, and any notice it promises.
Work the figure yourself
Apply the clause's own formula to your current rent and compare the result with the figure in the notice.
Compare the lease with the estimate
Before signing or moving in, set the lease rent beside the estimate. If they differ, § 57-22-4(4) gives five business days after receiving the agreement to demand your money back.
Read any letter for what it does
Note the date it arrived and whether it raises rent, adds a charge, or ends the tenancy. The 15-day notice covers listed charges, and that list does not name rent.
Keep your lease copy
§ 18.96.040(A) requires that you get a copy of the lease when the agreement is made. Keep it with any rent letters and their dates.
Read the current text, then get help
Read § 57-22-4 and § 57-20-1 on le.utah.gov as they stand today. Take the lease and any notice to Utah legal aid before the new rent starts.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Rent Escalation rules near Utah
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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