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Salt Lake City, Utah Medium Risk Clause

Utilities Clause
in Your Lease

LDWritten by LeaseDecoded Research Team
Last reviewed: October 2026
Not legal advice
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

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Read time: 8 minutes

What it actually means, what Utah law says, what's specific to Salt Lake City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.

Daily city fine, set by fee schedule
Maximum fixed dollar penalty for an unlawful utility shuto
A utilities clause decides who pays for power, water and gas, not whether they can be cut. Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service". No section we read sets a fixed dollar penalty; the city fine accrues daily after a notice and order, set by a fee schedule we did not read.

Quick Summary - What You Need to Know

  • § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service".
  • An owner-caused shutoff is a repair failure (§ 18.96.110(O)) the owner must start fixing after your written notice.
  • Daily city fines follow a notice and order (§ 18.50.100(E)); no section we read pays them to you.
  • Utah's § 57-22-6 gives the owner three calendar days to fix a habitability problem after your notice.
  • Wording that moves duties to you must be clear, specific, and boxed, bold or underlined (§ 18.96.040(C)).

Count it for your dates

3 days: when does it end?

Day 3 falls on

What it means: The owner's corrective period of three calendar days for a standard of habitability ends. It runs from a notice of deficient condition under § 57-22-6; the letter on this page cites the city code, not § 57-22-6. If the owner took no substantial action toward correcting it by then, you get the remedy your notice chose: rent abatement with termination, or repair and deduct capped at two months' rent. A renter not in compliance with § 57-22-5 gets no remedy. Applies to an owner of a residential rental unit that is the renter's principal place of residence; the three calendar days apply to a standard of habitability, and boarding or rooming houses, mobile home lots and occasional recreational rentals are outside the Act (Utah Code § 57-22-6). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.

Copy and send: As soon as electricity, water or natural gas stops at your unit

Written notice that service is off

Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.

Section 01

Understanding the Utilities Clause

This page is for Salt Lake City renters reading the utilities paragraph of a lease, or sitting without power, water or heat right now. A utilities clause decides whose name is on each account and who pays each bill.

It does not decide whether the owner may switch a service off, and in Salt Lake City the city code answers that question directly. If a service stops, both the city and state routes start from written notice to the owner, so begin with the dates and a dated letter.

What renters assume

If the bills are in my name, or I am behind on rent, the landlord can cut my utilities.

What is actually true

Salt Lake City's Fit Premises Ordinance puts the duty on the owner: § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service". Who pays the bill is a separate question.

Salt Lake City is one of 15 rows on the comparison on this page with no fixed dollar figure. The other 12 rows carry one: New York City at $10,000, Denver and Milwaukee at $5,000, Las Vegas at $2,500, Washington at $2,000 and Austin at $1,000.

Atlanta, Baltimore and Minneapolis sit at $500, Chicago and Boston at $300, and Detroit at $200.

Two other blank rows are daily city fines, as Salt Lake City's is: Newark at $100 a day and Kansas City at $1,000 a day, each with no cap. Salt Lake City's label names its daily fine without an amount, because the fee schedule that sets it is outside what we read.

A blank bar is not an empty rule. The duty in § 18.96.050(T) is there; what the bar cannot show is a fixed sum, because our record carries none.

Clause decoder

Utilities 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.

Real clause - quoted in a published court opinion

Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.

Under any allocation method, [the tenant] may be paying for part of the utility usage in common areas or in other residential units as well as administrative fees.

Quoted from the published opinion in Northland Investment Corp. v. Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, 349 Conn. 35 (2024). 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
1

“Under any allocation method”

Salt Lake City answers this billing question in its own code. Item Z of § 18.96.050 requires a property owner to “Provide separate meters for each tenant for gas and electricity or include charges for utility services in the rent.” The route the Connecticut court left open, building utility costs into the rent, is one of the two that sentence names. An allocation formula on a gas or electric bill is worth reading against it before signing, and our record does not say how the city treats one.

Tenant-favourable“Gas and electricity are metered separately to your unit, and water is included in the rent”
What this lease said“Under any allocation method”
Landlord-favourable“Tenant pays a share of the building's gas and electric bills, calculated by Landlord's chosen formula”
2

“be paying for part of the”

A clause that makes you pay is a clause that moves a duty, and both Utah codes say how that has to be written. Salt Lake City's § 18.96.040(C) provides that an owner “may allocate any duties to the tenant by explicit written agreement”, and that the agreement “must be clear and specific, boxed, in bold type or underlined.” At state level, Utah Code § 57-22-3(4) provides that any duty in the act may be allocated by explicit written agreement signed by the parties.

See the example
Neither sentence names the utility duty specifically, so read a utilities clause against both. A payment term set in ordinary type in the middle of a paragraph is the shape to compare with the city's boxed, bold or underlined form.
Tenant-favourable“Tenant pays the utilities listed in the boxed schedule below, each metered to Tenant's unit, and no others”
What this lease said“be paying for part of the”
Landlord-favourable“Tenant shall pay such utility charges as Landlord may assign from time to time”
3

“in common areas or in other residential units”

A shared bill carries a shared risk: when the building's account is the landlord's, a termination notice can reach your unit and the common areas alike. Salt Lake City puts a warning in front of you. Before entering into a rental agreement, § 18.96.040(A) requires the owner to disclose “any current notice by a utility provider to terminate water, gas, electrical or other utility service to the dwelling unit or to common areas of the building”. The disclosure includes the proposed date of termination.

See the example
Ask before signing whether any such notice is current, and get the answer in writing with the date. A notice the owner held and did not disclose is a fact worth having on paper.
Tenant-favourable“Landlord confirms that no utility provider has given notice to terminate service to the unit or common areas”
What this lease said“in common areas or in other residential units”
Landlord-favourable“Tenant accepts the premises and common areas with utility service in its present condition”
4

“administrative fees”

Whatever these fees come to, a dispute over them is a dispute about money, and the city's rule is about the service. § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to “Not interrupt or disconnect utility service”. § 18.96.110(O) lists “Disconnection of electrical, water or natural gas service caused by property owner” among the failures an owner must begin repairing after written notice, within the period in the inspector's notice and order.

See the example
The city's civil fine accrues for each day after the notice and order, in an amount set by a fee schedule we did not read, and the sections we read do not say any fine goes to the tenant. The state route is separate: § 57-22-6 sets a corrective period of three calendar days for a standard of habitability, then rent abatement with termination or repair and deduct capped at two months' rent. Read its current text to see whether your outage fits it.
Tenant-favourable“No administrative fee applies to utilities; Tenant pays the provider's charges and nothing more”
What this lease said“administrative fees”
Landlord-favourable“A monthly utility administration fee applies, and unpaid utility charges may result in suspension of service”
What the court did with it

Ratio utility billing lost. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority's ruling that billing residential tenants a formula-derived share of a master-metered bill is unlawful. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16-262e (c) makes the owner of a multiunit residential dwelling liable for the costs of all utility services furnished to the building, except service that is individually metered or billed for one unit's exclusive use - and an allocated share is neither. Because the clause charged the tenant for usage the tenant did not exclusively consume, and backed the charge with late fees and eviction, it could not be enforced. The court left the landlord one lawful route: forecast the year's utility costs and build them into fixed rent at signing, where a renter can see the number before agreeing to it. Three justices dissented. The court also observed that the administrative fees this lease allowed were not defined or limited anywhere in it.

How this state's law treats this clause
Salt Lake City's Fit Premises Ordinance bars a property owner from interrupting or disconnecting utility service, and our record finds no fixed dollar sum for a breach: the city's daily civil fine is set by a fee schedule we did not read. Our record of the Utah statutes we read finds no section that names a utility shutoff. Read the current city code before relying on it, in: Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.050(T); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.110(O); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.120; Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.100(D); Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.100(E); Salt Lake City Code § 18.24.030; Salt Lake City Code § 18.24.020; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(A); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(C); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.020; Utah Code § 78B-6-814; Utah Code § 57-22-4(1)(b)(ii); Utah Code § 57-22-6; Utah Code § 57-22-3(4); Utah Code § 57-22-7

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.

Section 02

Utah Law on Utilities Clause

The law in Utah
  • The city rule is a flat duty with a repair route behind it.
    Read the law's wordsSalt Lake City Code § 18.96.050 lists what "A property owner shall" do, and item T reads "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service". Item R adds a duty to "Supply electricity, and hot water at all times and heat during at least the months of October through April and as weather conditions might otherwise reasonably warrant", except where those services are within the tenant's exclusive control and supplied by a direct public utility connection, and § 18.96.110(O) treats "Disconnection of electrical, water or natural gas service caused by property owner" as a failure the owner must repair within the period in the inspector's notice and order.
  • The penalty is a city fine whose amount sits outside the code text we read.
    Read the law's wordsSection 18.24.030(B) provides that when the city pursues administrative or civil action, "a civil penalty shall be assessed for each violation in the amount set forth in the Salt Lake City consolidated fee schedule" and that "Each day a violation continues after notice of the same shall give rise to a separate civil fine." Section 18.24.030(D) lets the city sue for an injunction, an abatement order and "a judgment in the amount of the civil fines accrued for the violation, including costs and attorney fees".
  • The Utah self-help statute in our record speaks of exclusion and sets no sum.
    Read the law's wordsUtah Code § 78B-6-814 provides that "It is unlawful for an owner to willfully exclude a tenant from the tenant's premises in any manner except by judicial process", with an exception for retaking abandoned premises. Separately, § 57-22-4(1)(b)(ii) requires an owner to "maintain electrical systems, plumbing, heating, and hot and cold water", and § 57-22-6 lets a renter serve a notice of deficient condition, gives the owner a corrective period of three calendar days for a standard of habitability, and then allows rent abatement with termination or repair and deduct capped at two months' rent.
  • Before signing, the city requires a utility warning.
    Read the law's wordsSection 18.96.040(A) requires the property owner, before entering into a rental agreement, to "disclose to the tenant any current notice by a utility provider to terminate water, gas, electrical or other utility service to the dwelling unit or to common areas of the building, the proposed date of termination". Section 18.96.050(Z) requires an owner to "Provide separate meters for each tenant for gas and electricity or include charges for utility services in the rent."
  • Duties can be shifted in writing, at both levels.
    Read the law's wordsSection 18.96.040(C) provides that "A property owner may allocate any duties to the tenant by explicit written agreement. Such agreement must be clear and specific, boxed, in bold type or underlined." Utah Code § 57-22-3(4) provides that "Any duty in this act may be allocated to a different party by explicit written agreement signed by the parties." Neither sentence names the utility duty specifically, so a lease clause on utilities is worth reading against both.
  • Scope limits apply.
    Read the law's wordsSalt Lake City Code § 18.96.020 excludes, among others, residence at detention, medical, geriatric, educational, counseling or religious institutions, transient hotel or motel occupancy (single room occupancy units remain covered), and occupancy by a condominium unit owner. Utah Code § 57-22-2(5) defines a residential rental unit as "a renter's principal place of residence" and excludes "facilities contained in a boarding or rooming house or similar facility, mobile home lot, or recreational property rented on an occasional basis."

Sources include Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.050(T); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.110(O); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.120; Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.100(D); Salt Lake City Code § 18.50.100(E); Salt Lake City Code § 18.24.030; Salt Lake City Code § 18.24.020; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(A); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.040(C); Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.020; Utah Code § 78B-6-814; Utah Code § 57-22-4(1)(b)(ii); Utah Code § 57-22-6; Utah Code § 57-22-3(4); Utah Code § 57-22-7 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.

Our record of Utah Code § 78B-6-814 and the Utah Fit Premises Act finds no section that names a utility shutoff or prices one. The state rules come at it from the side:

  • § 78B-6-814 Lockouts. "It is unlawful for an owner to willfully exclude a tenant from the tenant's premises in any manner except by judicial process", except to retake premises the tenant abandoned. It sets no sum.
  • § 57-22-4(1)(b)(ii) Upkeep. An owner must "maintain electrical systems, plumbing, heating, and hot and cold water".
  • § 57-22-6 Repair route. After you serve a notice of deficient condition, the owner has a corrective period of three calendar days for a standard of habitability. Then the Act allows rent abatement with termination, or repair and deduct capped at two months' rent.
  • § 57-22-3(4) Shifting duties. "Any duty in this act may be allocated to a different party by explicit written agreement signed by the parties." It does not name the utility duty.

The Act covers a renter's principal place of residence (§ 57-22-2(5)), not a boarding or rooming house, mobile home lot or recreational property rented on an occasional basis. § 57-22-7 bars city rules inconsistent with the Act but keeps a city's administrative remedies, within limits; we take no position on how it applies to the city chapter.

Section 03

What's Specific to Salt Lake City

Maximum fixed dollar penalty for an unlawful utility shutoff

Same clause, 27 cities, different rules. Tap any city for its own guide.

New York City, New York
Up to $10,000
Denver, Colorado
$5,000 or 3x rent
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
$5,000 fine or forfeiture
Las Vegas, Nevada
$2,500 + actual damages
Washington, District of Columbia
$2,000 finepaid to DC
Austin, Texas
$1,000 + 1 month's rent
Atlanta, Georgia
$500 finepaid to state
Baltimore, Maryland
$500 fine per offense
Minneapolis, Minnesota
$500 or treble damages
Chicago, Illinois
$300/tenant+ rent abatement
Boston, Massachusetts
$300 fine + 3 months' rent
Detroit, Michigan
$200 or actual damages, per occurrence
Los Angeles, California
$100/day, no cap
Miami, Florida
3 months' rent
Seattle, Washington
$100/day, no cap
Phoenix, Arizona
2 months' rent
Nashville, Tennessee
Actual + punitive damages
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2 months' rent
Portland, Oregon
2 months' rent
Columbus, Ohio
No fixed sum; actual damages
Newark, New Jersey
$100/day city fine, no cap
Charlotte, North Carolina
No fixed sum; civil action
Kansas City, Missouri
$1,000/day city fine, no cap
Indianapolis, Indiana
No fixed sum; court order + damages
Louisville, Kentucky
Up to 3 months' rent
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No fixed sum; deduct or exit
Salt Lake City, Utah
Daily city fine, set by fee schedule

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.

Salt Lake City Chapter 18.96 sets the owner's utility duties. Item R of § 18.96.050 requires electricity and hot water at all times and heat during at least October through April, unless the service is in your exclusive control on a direct public utility connection.

Item Z requires separate gas and electric meters for each tenant, or utility charges included in the rent. Before you sign, § 18.96.040(A) requires the owner to disclose any current utility notice to terminate service and its proposed date. Fines run through § 18.50.100.

Does it say who holds each utility account?

§ 18.96.050(Z) requires separate gas and electric meters for each tenant, or utility charges included in the rent.

Is any duty moved to you in boxed, bold or underlined wording?

§ 18.96.040(C) requires an agreement moving duties to be "clear and specific, boxed, in bold type or underlined".

Does it reserve a right to cut service?

Red flag. § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service".

Does it split a shared gas or electric bill by formula?

Question it. Item Z names two routes for gas and electricity: separate meters for each tenant, or charges included in the rent.

Sources

The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.

Section 04

Red Flags to Watch Out For

  • A shutoff reserved for unpaid bills or rent

    The city code bars the owner from interrupting or disconnecting utility service (§ 18.96.050(T)). A clause claiming that right is the one to question before signing.

  • A shared meter split by formula

    Item Z of § 18.96.050 calls for separate meters for each tenant for gas and electricity, or utility charges included in the rent.

  • A utility cutoff notice nobody mentioned

    § 18.96.040(A) requires the owner to disclose any current utility notice to terminate service, and the proposed date, before the rental agreement.

  • No heat between October and April

    Item R requires heat during at least October through April, unless that service is in your exclusive control on a direct public utility connection.

  • Duties moved to you in small print

    § 18.96.040(C) requires wording that is clear and specific, boxed, in bold type or underlined. Utah's § 57-22-3(4) allows it by explicit written agreement signed by the parties.

Section 05

Your Rights as a Salt Lake City Tenant

  • Service stays on

    The owner may not interrupt or disconnect your utility service (§ 18.96.050(T)).

  • Heat, power and hot water

    Electricity and hot water at all times, and heat during at least October through April, under Item R of § 18.96.050.

  • No lockout without a court

    § 78B-6-814 makes it unlawful for an owner to willfully exclude you except by judicial process.

  • A state repair route

    § 57-22-6: after your notice of deficient condition and three calendar days for a habitability standard, rent abatement with termination, or repair and deduct capped at two months' rent.

Section 06

What To Do - Step by Step

1

Write down when the service stopped

Note the date and time and photograph the meter or thermostat. Each day after a notice and order is a separate city fine, so log every day.

2

Ask the utility why it stopped

§ 18.96.110(O) covers a disconnection caused by the property owner. Note who you spoke to, when, and what they said.

3

Give the owner written notice

Cite § 18.96.050(T) and keep a dated copy. The city repair route in § 18.96.110 and the state route in § 57-22-6 both start from notice.

4

Ask the city to inspect

Enforcement runs through the inspector's notice and order under § 18.50.100. Give the city the unit, the dates and a copy of your notice.

5

Check what the lease moved to you

Look for a boxed, bold or underlined clause under § 18.96.040(C), or a signed written agreement under § 57-22-3(4).

6

Read the current text, then take advice

Read § 18.96.050 and § 57-22-6 as they stand today. A Utah legal aid office or tenant lawyer can review the facts before you withhold rent or leave.

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Section 07

Frequently Asked Questions

can my landlord shut off my utilities in salt lake city
Your lease's utilities clause decides who pays each bill, not whether service can be cut. Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.050(T) requires a property owner to "Not interrupt or disconnect utility service", and § 18.96.110(O) treats a disconnection the owner causes as a failure to repair.
what is the fine for a landlord shutting off utilities in salt lake city
No section we read sets a fixed amount. Under § 18.50.100, civil fines accrue as set in the city's consolidated fee schedule, which we did not read, and each day after a notice and order is a separate fine. No section we read pays that fine to the tenant.
does utah law cover a landlord cutting off utilities
Our record of Utah Code § 78B-6-814 and the Utah Fit Premises Act finds no section that names a utility shutoff. § 78B-6-814 bars willfully excluding a tenant except by judicial process, and § 57-22-4(1)(b)(ii) requires an owner to maintain electrical systems, plumbing, heating, and hot and cold water.
when must a salt lake city landlord provide heat
Item R of § 18.96.050 requires heat during at least the months of October through April and as weather conditions might otherwise reasonably warrant. Electricity and hot water are due at all times, unless the service is in your exclusive control on a direct public utility connection.

Utilities rules near Utah

The same clause in the nearest states we cover.

ArizonaPhoenixPenalty for a shutoff2 months' rentRead the guide →CaliforniaLos AngelesPenalty for a shutoff$100/day, no capRead the guide →ColoradoDenverPenalty for a shutoff$5,000 or 3x rentRead the guide →NevadaLas VegasPenalty for a shutoff$2,500 + actual damagesRead the guide →

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Legal Disclaimer: This guide is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Information reflects general Utah and Salt Lake City law as of October 2026 but may not reflect recent changes. Consult a licensed attorney in Utah for advice about your specific situation.