When Aaron Murphy moved from California to Utah in 2021, he found a $1,000-a-month one-bedroom basement apartment in Midvale to rent.
“I consider myself pretty lucky, you know, to be in this space,” the 30-year-old said. “It’s a good place, good location.”
About a year later, Murphy’s landlord raised his rent by $200 a month. It took some more budgeting, but he thought it was a fair increase considering what others were paying to live in Salt Lake County.
Since Murphy was new to Utah, it made him wonder: Are there any laws that govern increases or set limits on how much landlords can raise the rent?
Short answer: there’s not.
“For most private landlords, there’s no real limit or cap on how much they can increase the rent,” said Daniel Crook, the housing task force managing attorney for Utah Legal Services. “It’s very much a private-market driven decision that is made by the landlords individually.”
And while you might be wondering about it, you should know that the Legislature has banned local rent control. Per the code: “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.”
Murphy was one of many Utah tenants who saw their rent raised between 2020 and 2022.
Dejan Eskic, senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, said there were a decade’s worth of rent increases in those two years at the beginning of the pandemic. According to a report from the institute, “the average asking rent in Salt Lake County increased 11.0% annually between 2020 and 2022, compared to 2.6% annually between 2010 and 2020.”
However, Eskic said a record number of apartments have been constructed in Utah recently. That increased supply has meant prices have stagnated or even decreased — although rents are still high, and extra fees can pile up, too.
“That supply has outpaced demand for the first time in over a decade,” Eskic said.
That won’t last forever. High financing costs are slowing down the production of apartments and homes, Eskic said. In late 2026 or early 2027, he expects rents to start rising again.
After the extreme increases in recent years, some Utah tenants have called for caps on how much landlords can increase rent. But Eskic said the economic literature is pretty clear that strict rent control in a market means less apartment supply.
“While you’re capping rents, you’re not capping maintenance costs and upkeep costs, so you’re discouraging production, basically,” he said. “Every year the developers are getting less and less of a return.”
If your landlord does raise your rent, you can try shopping around to find your best option. With the increased rental supply coming online, Eskic said renters have a little bit more of a competitive advantage. To attract renters, many offer incentives like one or two months of free rent if you sign a new lease.
Usually, Crook said, your landlord can’t raise your rent before your lease expires. But he emphasized it's important to read and understand your contract because sometimes it includes exceptions.
Crook said landlords are only required to let tenants know about the rent increase 15 calendar days before the next time rent is due unless the individual lease says otherwise. If a tenant’s lease is ending, Crook added the landlord also only has to give a 15-day notice that they will not renew the tenant’s lease and they have to move out, unless their lease says otherwise. Tenants should read their lease carefully, Crook said, because sometimes the contract requires the landlord to give more advance notice, like 30 or 60 days.
Denise George, a Utah licensed paralegal who focuses on landlord-tenant law, has a podcast called “Two-Minute Tenant” for Utah renters and offers free short consultations for renters. She said tenants can try to negotiate with their landlord, but added the caveat that “you should start out remembering that the landlord kind of has all the power in the situation.”
Her recommendations are to be polite, professional and try to keep emotions out of the conversation. George suggests bringing up things like “I’ve been a really good tenant” or “I’ve always paid on time,” and to think about whether you communicate best in person, over the phone, or in writing. Tenants can also ask to stay for a month or two at the old rate while they look for a new place.
“Sometimes it can be more profitable for the landlord to keep a renter at a lower rent price than to even let their place sit empty for one month depending on what their bills are,” George said.
If your landlord is willing to negotiate, George said make sure to get it in writing instead of just an oral agreement.
Still, negotiating might not work. George said once a lease expires, there are no promises. Your landlord could raise your rent or decide not to renew your lease.
“As your lease is coming toward an end, you should have in mind that it’s possible you will be priced out of that residence, and you might need to have some tentative plans in place just in case,” George said.
Past legislative efforts have failed to increase the amount of notice landlords have to give before raising rent. Republican Rep. Marsha Judkins, who is not running for reelection, tried during the 2024 legislative session to require landlords to give tenants 60 days advance notice of rent increases.
Republican Rep. Tyler Clancy told KUER he plans to take on Judkins’ mantle and work on future bills that require giving tenants more of a heads-up about rent increases.
