.webp)
Application fees have always been one of the murkier parts of renting in Utah, and as of May 7, 2025, that's changed. HB 182 requires landlords to put the real numbers in writing before a prospective tenant ever hands over a dime, not after. If your current process still involves collecting an application fee first and explaining the full cost picture later, that process is now out of step with state law, and it's worth getting ahead of before it becomes a problem with an applicant or a court.
Key Takeaways
HB 182 requires landlords to provide a written disclosure before collecting any payment from a prospective tenant, including application fees.
The disclosure has to include a good-faith estimate of rent, all fixed and use-based fees, the unit's availability date, and eligibility or screening criteria.
If final lease terms end up differing from what was disclosed, the law also addresses what refund obligations apply.
The same legislative session added a 60-day notice requirement for rent increases exceeding 10%, and capped late fees at the greater of $75 or 10% of rent.
Owners of buildings with four or more units face additional disclosure obligations around screening criteria and denial reasons.
What HB 182 Actually Requires
Codified within Utah Code Section 57-22-4, HB 182 requires a written disclosure before a landlord collects any payment from a prospective tenant, application fees included. That disclosure needs to lay out a good-faith estimate of the rent, a breakdown of fixed and use-based fees and expenses not already included in that rent figure, the unit's availability date, and the eligibility or screening criteria the applicant will be evaluated against. The intent is straightforward: an applicant should know the real total cost and the real qualification bar before they're asked to pay anything, not discover either one after the fact.
Who This Disclosure Requirement Applies To
The core disclosure requirement applies broadly to landlords collecting payment from prospective tenants, but a few of HB 182's provisions carry an added layer for larger operations. Owners of multifamily buildings with four or more units face additional obligations, including disclosing their screening criteria and providing applicants who are denied a specific reason for that denial rather than a generic rejection. If your portfolio includes any properties that cross that four-unit threshold, it's worth confirming your current denial process actually documents a specific reason, not just a pass or fail outcome.
Refund Terms: The Part Landlords Often Miss
One detail that gets overlooked in a lot of compliance reviews is the refund terms requirement. If the final lease terms end up differing from what was disclosed upfront, whether that's a different rent figure, a fee that wasn't originally listed, or availability that shifted, the disclosure has to address what happens to any payment already collected. Leaving this out entirely, or burying it in fine print that doesn't actually match your leasing software's default template, is one of the more common gaps we've seen in lease documentation built before this law took effect.
Two More Changes From the Same Legislative Session
HB 182 didn't arrive alone. The same May 7, 2025 effective date brought a 60-day notice requirement for any rent increase exceeding 10%, giving tenants meaningfully more runway than a standard 30-day notice would provide for a smaller increase. Late fees were also capped statewide at the greater of $75 or 10% of the periodic rent, closing off the kind of open-ended late fee language that used to show up in older lease templates. Reviewing your rent increase notice timelines and late fee language alongside your application disclosure process is worth doing together, since all three changes took effect on the same date and touch overlapping parts of the leasing workflow.
What Happens If You Don't Comply
Utah hasn't published a single flat penalty schedule for HB 182 violations the way some states have for security deposit law, but that doesn't make non-compliance low-risk. A disclosure dispute can complicate an eviction case, support a tenant's claim in small claims court, or simply damage a landlord's credibility if a fee dispute escalates. Since the law's entire purpose is documentation and transparency, the practical exposure comes from not having a paper trail that shows the disclosure was actually given, in writing, before payment was collected. Keeping a dated copy of every applicant disclosure on file is the simplest way to protect yourself if a dispute ever comes up. Our tenant screening process is built around exactly this kind of documentation, so every applicant receives a clear, written breakdown before any payment changes hands.
Getting Your Listings and Leases Aligned
Beyond the lease itself, this law touches how a property gets marketed in the first place. Listing descriptions, application portals, and any pre-qualification messaging all need to reflect the same fee and rent figures that end up in the formal disclosure, since a mismatch between what a listing implies and what the disclosure states is exactly the kind of inconsistency that draws scrutiny. Our marketing process keeps listing details and disclosure language consistent from the first ad through the signed lease, which matters more now than it did before this law took effect.
FAQ
Does HB 182 apply if I only own a single rental property?
The core disclosure requirement applies broadly to landlords collecting payment from prospective tenants. Some additional obligations, like specific denial reason requirements, apply specifically to owners with four or more units.
What exactly has to be in the written disclosure?
A good-faith estimate of rent, all fixed and use-based fees not included in that rent figure, the unit's availability date, and the screening or eligibility criteria applicants will be evaluated against.
Did anything else change around the same time as HB 182?
Yes. The same effective date brought a 60-day notice requirement for rent increases over 10% and a statewide late fee cap of the greater of $75 or 10% of rent.
What's the biggest compliance risk if I skip this disclosure?
Without a documented, written disclosure given before payment was collected, you have little to point to if a fee or rent dispute escalates into a legal issue later.
Making Sure Your Process Is Actually Compliant
HB 182 changes the order of operations for every Salt Lake City rental, disclosure now has to come before payment, not after. Reviewing your current application process, lease templates, and marketing materials against this requirement is worth doing now rather than after a dispute forces the issue. Curious whether your current leasing process actually meets this standard?
Our property management services page walks through how we keep every property we manage aligned with Utah's current disclosure requirements.