Utah real estate law
Real Estate is a very broad term that comprises of various different aspects of Real Estate businesses. There are different laws in the state of Utah or the Salt Lake City to take care of the needs of the different businesses. There are different laws for Tenants, Landlords, Home Ownership etc.
Federal Law made to protect the Tenants Rights
If a person has applied to rent an apartment, and the application has been rejected by the Landlord, it is the right of that person to know why his\her application has been rejected. It is illegal for a landlord to refuse anyone rental application for discriminatory reasons. Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of:
1. Race
2. Color
3. Religion
4. National origin
5. Sex
6. Age
7. Familial status (including not allowing children, discrimination against pregnant women)
8. Physical disability
9. Mental disability that includes alcoholism and past drug addiction
Federal housing law prohibits a variety of discriminatory conduct:
1. A landlord cannot say that an apartment is not available when in fact it is available.
2. A landlord cannot use a different set of rules for assessing applicants belonging to a protected class.
3. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to persons in a protected class.
4. A landlord cannot provide different services or facilities to tenants in a protected class or require a larger deposit, or treat late rental payments differently.
5. A landlord cannot end a tenancy for a discriminatory reason.
6. A landlord cannot harass you.
There are various other aspects too that the Federal Law has covered such as
A house with unsafe conditions, such as holes in the floor, plaster coming down from the ceiling, bad wiring, etc cannot be given on rent.
The rental housing must be free of lead-based paint
No landlord can give a house with gross infestation of vermin such as cockroaches or mice on rent to any tenant.
Every tenant has a right to privacy. A landlord cannot come into a tenant?s apartment or house without prior permission unless there is a true emergency like a fire or a flood in the bathroom.
The landlord must give a tenant advance notice before coming into the apartment for other reasons, like making repairs or showing the unit to a potential tenant.
A landlord cannot require a deposit that exceeds a limit set by the residing state's law.
The landlord must return the deposit to the tenant at the end of the lease term with interest set by a statute. The landlord usually has thirty days to return the mount after the tenant has moved out.
If the entire deposit is not returned, the landlord must send the tenant an itemized list of how the money was spent. Common conditions that lead to reduced deposit refunds include:
Repairs to damages on the premises beyond mere wear and tear.
Cleaning to restore the premises to the condition they were in at the beginning of your lease that is beyond normal wear and tear conditions.
Unpaid rent. If the tenant has failed to pay the landlord rent for any specific time, the landlord can deduct that amount.
Checklist for reviewing a Lease Agreement
Listed below is a checklist of things a tenant should look for in a lease before he\she sign it. A lease is a contract, so the tenant should know how it will affect her\him. Since a lease is a contract, the tenant should read and review the agreement very carefully and be able to negotiate changes to it.
The first and the most important thing to look at in a Lease agreement is the tenure of the lease. One year is the typical amount of the time a house is leased out for, however some landlords let out their apartments for a rent on a monthly basis, which gives both the tenant and the landlord great flexibility. A month to- month is ideal if the tenant is living in someplace for a short time, like in case if the tenant is in school and move home when school is not in session, or if the tenant s job requires him\her to move a lot.
The lease might refer to the tenant as the "lessee" and the landlord as the "lessor." The space that is being let out may be referred to as the "premises" or the "leased premises."
The lease may prohibit the tenant from using the premises for a home business.
The lease may limit the number of people who can live on the premises.
The lease may prohibit pets. In such a case, if the tenant has a pet , then he\she should talk to the landlord and get the landlord to agree and remove that clause from the lease agreement. The tenant may be able to have his\her pet move only if the landlord agrees to drop that provision.
Another very important aspect to be reviewed very carefully is the provisions in the lease relating to ending the tenancy. The lease should clearly state how much advance notice a tenant should give to the landlord before leaving the premises.
Check to see what the agreement states, in case if the tenant "holds over" and does not move out on time.
Check the date for making the rental payments every month. Check to see if the agreement gives the tenant time to make a payment after the due date without triggering the fee.
Take a close look on the security deposit requirements Check to see if the residing state requires that the deposit be returned with interest and an itemized statement of deductions from the deposit.
It is advisable that the tenant and the landlord go through the premises together after the landlord has agreed to rent to the tenant, so that both can see what condition the premises is in and what repairs may be required. Take pictures of the apartment when moving in, especially areas that may be damaged already, and take the same picture while moving out. These photos may prove invaluable if the landlord later withholds money from the security deposit.
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