Roommate 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
- The Utah sections we read set no deadline for telling an owner about a new roommate.
- § 57-22-5(1)(f) requires the owner's written permission before occupants go above your lease's number.
- Under § 57-22-6(4)(b), breaking that rule can cost you rent abatement and repair and deduct.
- Salt Lake City's zoning family in § 21A.62.040 includes not more than three unrelated people.
- A shared bedroom needs 50 square feet more for each sleeper over 2 (§ 18.50.180(B)(2)).
Copy and send: Before the new person moves in, once you have found the occupant number in your lease
Ask to add a roommate
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Utah compares
Deadline to notify the landlord of a new roommate, state by state
30 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 Roommate Clause
This page is for Salt Lake City renters who want a partner or friend to move in and need to know who must agree and how fast to tell the owner. Utah puts permission first: the owner's yes must be in writing before the number of people goes above the number in your lease.
The Utah sections we read set no deadline for the notice. Salt Lake City also counts the household and measures bedroom space, which is a separate question from the owner's permission.
What renters assume
Utah gives a Salt Lake City renter a grace period to tell the owner after a friend moves in.
What is actually true
The Utah sections we read set no grace period. § 57-22-5(1)(f) puts permission before the move: a renter may not increase the occupants above the rental agreement's number "without written permission of the owner".
The bars in the comparison on this page measure the deadline for telling a landlord about a new roommate. Two of the 27 rows carry a figure: New York City at 30 days and Seattle at 30 days under a Seattle rule. The other 25 rows carry none.
Twelve of those read no statute: Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, Portland, Boston and Las Vegas. Charlotte, Minneapolis and Milwaukee read no set deadline.
Baltimore, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Detroit name a zoning family limit, and Kansas City a zoning household limit. Washington, DC reads lease controls consent, Columbus no statute; lease controls, Newark names city occupancy caps, Louisville city floor-area limits, and Salt Lake City no set deadline; written permission.
Salt Lake City's label names a consent rule, not a clock. § 57-22-5(1)(f) asks for the owner's written permission before the occupant count rises, and our record of it carries no notice period.
Roommate 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.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). 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
“You must promptly reimburse us”
You is the renter, and Utah defines that word through the agreement rather than through who happens to live there. § 57-22-2(4) makes a renter “any person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a residential rental unit to the exclusion of others”, and § 57-22-2(2) counts an agreement “written or oral”. Whether a roommate is a renter turns on what was agreed, which makes it worth putting on paper.
See the example
“the apartment community”
The lease speaks of a community; Salt Lake City's zoning code speaks of a household. Salt Lake City Code § 21A.62.040 defines a family to include “A group of not more than three (3) persons not related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship” living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit. A dwelling, in the same definitions, is designated for residential purposes of a family “for occupancy on a monthly basis”.
See the example
“any guest's”
A guest is not who Utah's consent rule counts. § 57-22-5(1)(f) bars a renter from increasing “the number of occupants above that specified in the rental agreement without written permission of the owner”, and the measure is the occupant figure in the agreement. Our Utah record does not say when a guest who stays on becomes an occupant. The lease's guest paragraph is the place to look for a number of nights.
See the example
“or occupant's improper use or negligence”
An occupant the owner never approved changes more than this sentence. § 57-22-6(4)(b) says “A renter is not entitled to a renter remedy if the renter is not in compliance with all requirements under Section 57-22-5”, and the written permission rule is one of those requirements. The remedies at stake are rent abatement and repair and deduct after an owner ignores a notice of deficient condition.
See the example
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
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 Roommate Clause
- Permission first, in writing.
Read the law's words
Utah Code § 57-22-5(1)(f) requires each renter to "occupy the residential rental unit in the manner for which it was designed, but the renter may not increase the number of occupants above that specified in the rental agreement without written permission of the owner". The section names no time for asking and none for the owner to answer, and the occupant count it measures against is the one written in the rental agreement. - Breaking that duty can cost the repair remedies.
Read the law's words
Utah Code § 57-22-6(4)(b) provides that "A renter is not entitled to a renter remedy if the renter is not in compliance with all requirements under Section 57-22-5", and § 57-22-5(1)(f) is one of those requirements. The renter remedies are rent abatement and repair and deduct after an owner fails to act on a notice of deficient condition. - Who counts as a renter is set by the agreement.
Read the law's words
Utah Code § 57-22-2(4) defines "Renter" as "any person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a residential rental unit to the exclusion of others", and § 57-22-2(2) defines a rental agreement as "any agreement, written or oral" that "establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, or any other provisions regarding the use and occupancy" of the unit. Section 57-22-5.1(9) adds that when a domestic violence victim ends their own future obligations, that "does not terminate the rental agreement for any other person entitled under the rental agreement to occupy the residential rental unit." - Salt Lake City adds space and household rules.
Read the law's words
Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.180(B)(2) provides that "Where more than 2 persons occupy a room used for sleeping, the required floor area shall be increased at the rate of 50 square feet for each occupant in excess of 2", and § 18.50.180(C)(1)(a) requires an efficiency unit to add 100 square feet of floor area "for each occupant in excess of two". The zoning definition of family in § 21A.62.040 includes "A group of not more than three (3) persons not related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit", and adds that the term "shall not be construed to mean a club, group home, residential support dwelling, a lodge or a fraternity/sorority house."
Sources include Utah Code § 57-22-5; Utah Code § 57-22-6; Utah Code § 57-22-2; Utah Code § 57-22-7; Utah Code § 57-20-1; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.060; Salt Lake City Code § 21A.62.040; Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.180 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
The Utah sections closest to a roommate rule:
- § 57-22-5(1)(f) Written permission. A renter "may not increase the number of occupants above that specified in the rental agreement without written permission of the owner". The count that matters is the one in your agreement. The section names no time for asking and none for the owner's answer.
- § 57-22-6(4)(b) The cost of breaking it. "A renter is not entitled to a renter remedy if the renter is not in compliance with all requirements under Section 57-22-5". The renter remedies are rent abatement and repair and deduct, after an owner fails to act on a notice of deficient condition.
- § 57-22-2 Who is a renter. Any person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy the unit to the exclusion of others. Under § 57-22-2(2), that agreement may be written or oral.
- § 57-22-5.1(9) Co-tenants. When a domestic violence victim ends their own future obligations, the agreement does not end for any other person entitled to occupy the unit.
Our record shows § 57-22-5 as last amended in 2010. Read it on le.utah.gov before you rely on it.
What's Specific to Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City repeats the permission rule in § 18.96.060(K), asking for "written permission of the owners". Its zoning code, § 21A.62.040, defines a family to include a group of not more than three unrelated persons living as a single housekeeping unit. § 18.50.180(B)(2) raises a sleeping room's required floor area by 50 square feet for each occupant over 2.
The city sections we read set no day count for telling an owner about a new occupant. We describe these city rules as enacted without predicting how any state section applies to them.
Good. § 57-22-5(1)(f) measures an added occupant against the number "specified in the rental agreement", so find that figure.
Good. Permission must be in writing, and the Utah sections we read set no time for asking or for the owner's answer.
§ 21A.62.040 includes in a family a group of not more than three persons not related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship.
§ 18.50.180(B)(2) adds 50 square feet of required floor area for each sleeping-room occupant over 2.
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 § 57-22-5; Utah Code § 57-22-6; Utah Code § 57-22-2; Utah Code § 57-22-7; Utah Code § 57-20-1; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.060; Salt Lake City Code § 21A.62.040; Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.180, read on web.archive.org. The Utah Legislature's file of Title 57, Chapter 22, in an Internet Archive copy saved September 9, 2026, shows this section as last amended by Chapter 352 of the 2010 General Session; confirm the current text with the Utah Legislature before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A roommate moved in on a spoken okay
§ 57-22-5(1)(f) asks for the owner's written permission before the occupant count rises. Get the yes on paper, dated, before anyone moves in.
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An unapproved occupant and a broken furnace
§ 57-22-6(4)(b) denies the renter remedies to a renter not in compliance with § 57-22-5, and the occupant rule is one of its requirements.
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A state reporting deadline nobody can cite
If you are told Utah law fixes a number of days for reporting a roommate, ask which section. The Utah sections we read set no deadline for that notice.
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A fourth unrelated adult moving in
§ 21A.62.040 counts a group of not more than three unrelated persons as a family. That is a zoning rule, separate from the owner's permission.
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A small bedroom for an extra sleeper
§ 18.50.180(B)(2) raises the required floor area by 50 square feet for each sleeping-room occupant over 2. Measure before anyone moves in.
Your Rights as a Salt Lake City Tenant
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A permission rule you can point to
§ 57-22-5(1)(f) sets the test: the owner's written permission once the count goes above the number in the rental agreement.
-
Co-tenants keep their agreement
Under § 57-22-5.1(9), a domestic violence victim ending their own future obligations does not end the agreement for others entitled to occupy the unit.
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Renter status set by the agreement
§ 57-22-2(4) defines a renter by entitlement under a rental agreement, and § 57-22-2(2) counts an agreement "written or oral".
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Floor space is measured, not asserted
§ 18.50.180(B)(2) adds 50 square feet per sleeping-room occupant over 2, and § 18.50.180(C)(1)(a) adds 100 square feet per occupant over two in an efficiency unit.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the occupant number in your lease
§ 57-22-5(1)(f) measures an added occupant against the number specified in the rental agreement. If the lease names no number, note that before you ask.
Count the household
§ 21A.62.040 includes in a family a group of not more than three unrelated persons living as a single housekeeping unit.
Measure the bedrooms
Add 50 square feet per sleeping-room occupant over 2, or 100 square feet per occupant over two in an efficiency unit (§ 18.50.180).
Ask for written permission, and keep it
Email the owner with the person's full name and move-in date. § 18.96.060(K) repeats the state rule, asking for "written permission of the owners".
Keep your repair remedies intact
§ 57-22-6(4)(b) denies a renter remedy to a renter not in compliance with § 57-22-5. Keep the written yes on file.
Check the current text before relying on it
Read § 57-22-5 on le.utah.gov, and check § 21A.62.040 and § 18.50.180 against Salt Lake City's current code.
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Roommate rules near Utah
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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