Renting a home that was foreclosed in Utah: your rights

Your rights as a renter in Utah, in order

1. Federal floor: 90 days' notice, and your lease may continue

   After the sale

   A bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, and a lease signed before the foreclosure runs to its end unless the buyer will live in the home. If you have a Section 8 voucher, the new owner takes over your lease and housing assistance contract. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

   Pub. L. 111-22 § 702; Pub. L. 115-174 § 304; 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)

2. Utah's eviction law uses the federal 90-day notice

   Only after the notice's effective date

   Utah law says a bona fide tenant under the federal act is in unlawful detainer only if the tenant stays after the effective date of a notice to vacate given under that act. The separate rule for a former owner who stays after a trustee's or sheriff's sale does not apply to you as a renter.

   Utah Code §§ 78B-6-802(1)(i), 78B-6-802.5

3. If you get an eviction summons, answer within 3 business days

   3 business days after you are served

   The Utah courts warn that you have only 3 business days to respond to an eviction summons and could lose automatically if you miss it. In your answer, say that you are a tenant, when you got the notice, and whether you have a lease. Only a court order, carried out by a sheriff or constable, can remove you.

   Utah Code § 78B-6-807(3)

4. Before foreclosure: an HOA can tell you to pay rent to it

   After the owner is more than 60 days behind on dues

   If your landlord's HOA or condo association is owed assessments for more than 60 days and its rules allow it, it can send you a written notice to pay future rent to the association until the debt is paid. Paying the association as that notice requires is not a default under your lease, and the owner must credit it and cannot sue you for it. The association must tell you in writing within 5 business days after the debt is paid.

   Utah Code §§ 57-8a-310, 57-8-53

5. Who to pay after the sale

   From the sale date

   No Utah statute we found tells a renter who to pay after a foreclosure sale. Ask the new owner in writing for its name, address and proof of ownership, keep paying rent as your lease requires to the party you confirm, and keep every receipt.

6. Your security deposit

   Within 30 days after you move out

   Whoever holds the owner's interest when your tenancy ends is bound by Utah's deposit law. That owner must return the balance of your deposit and any prepaid rent, with a written list of deductions, within 30 days after you move out and return possession. If it does not, the law gives you a notice form to demand it.

   Utah Code §§ 57-17-3, 57-17-4

Common questions in Utah