Utah: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Utah's deposit rules live in Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 17 — five short
sections. The general duty comes first: "Owners or designated agents
requiring deposits however denominated from renters leasing or renting
residential dwelling units shall either return those deposits at the
termination of the tenancy or provide the renter with written notice
explaining why any deposit refundable under the terms of the lease or
rental agreement is being retained." (§ 57-17-1). The deadline, itemization,
deduction, and penalty rules that give that duty teeth are in §§ 57-17-3
and 57-17-5.

Deadline to return the deposit

The deadline has two stages, and missing the first one doesn't by itself
hand you the statute's remedy. Stage one: "No later than 30 days after the
day on which a renter vacates and returns possession of a rental property
to the owner or the owner's agent, the owner or the owner's agent shall
mail or deliver to the renter... the balance of any deposit; the balance of
any prepaid rent; and... a written notice that itemizes and explains the
reason for each deduction." (§ 57-17-3(2)). Stage two only kicks in if the
landlord misses stage one: you must serve the landlord a specific written
notice — the statute supplies the exact form — stating that the landlord
failed to comply and where to send what's owed (§ 57-17-3(3)). Once that
notice is served, the landlord has five business days to comply (§
57-17-3(5)). Skip that second step and you aren't entitled to the
statute's remedy at all, even if the landlord blew the original 30-day
deadline: "A renter is not entitled to relief under this section if the
renter fails to serve a notice in accordance with Subsection 57-17-3(3)."
(§ 57-17-5(3)).

Itemized statement required?

Yes. If the landlord keeps any part of the deposit or prepaid rent, the same
30-day mailing or delivery must include "a written notice that itemizes and
explains the reason for each deduction" (§ 57-17-3(2)(c)). The statute
doesn't set a separate, later deadline for the itemization — it's due at the
same time as the money.

What can be deducted

A landlord may apply the deposit toward "the payment of rent, damages to
the premises beyond reasonable wear and tear, other costs and fees provided
for in the contract, or cleaning of the unit." (§ 57-17-3(1)). Ordinary wear
and tear itself isn't a permitted deduction — only damage beyond it.

Maximum deposit amount

Utah sets no dollar or rent-multiple cap on the deposit at all. One related
wrinkle: if a landlord wants to treat any part of the deposit as
non-refundable, that has to be spelled out in writing to the tenant when the
deposit is taken — "If there is a written agreement and if any part of the
deposit is to be made non-refundable, it must be so stated in writing to the
renter at the time the deposit is taken." (§ 57-17-2). Absent that writing,
the whole deposit is refundable subject only to the lawful deductions above.

Interest on the deposit?

No. Nothing in Chapter 17 requires a landlord to pay interest on a held
deposit.

Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding

Once a landlord fails to comply within the five-business-day window that
follows a properly served tenant notice, the tenant may recover "the full
deposit" if the deposit wasn't timely returned, "the full amount of the
prepaid rent" if that wasn't timely returned, and "a civil penalty of $100,"
plus the right to sue to enforce it (§ 57-17-5(1)). If the tenant wins that
suit, "the court shall award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party
if the court determines that the opposing party acted in bad faith" (§
57-17-5(2)) — a fee-shifting rule that can run against either side depending
on who the court finds acted in bad faith. None of this is available,
though, unless the tenant served the Subsection (3) notice first.

Separate account or bond required?

No. Chapter 17 doesn't require a landlord to hold a deposit in a segregated
account, an interest-bearing account, or a bond.

What trips people up

Missing the landlord's 30-day deadline doesn't hand you the $100-penalty
remedy by itself. You still have to serve the landlord the statutory
"Tenant's Notice to Provide Deposit Disposition" form named in § 57-17-3(3)
before the five-business-day cure clock — and the underlying penalty —
exist. Skipping that step forfeits the remedy under § 57-17-5(3), even if
the landlord was genuinely late.

A sale of the rental property doesn't wipe out your claim. Whoever holds
the owner's or agent's interest in the property when the tenancy ends is
bound by Chapter 17's requirements (§ 57-17-4), so a new owner who bought
mid-tenancy inherits the deposit obligations.

A "non-refundable" deposit only works if it was put in writing when you
paid it. If your lease or a separate notice at move-in didn't say a
portion was non-refundable, treat the whole deposit as refundable subject
only to the ordinary deductions.

Common questions

My landlord never sent anything 30 days after I moved out — what do I do
now? Serve the landlord the written notice described in § 57-17-3(3) (the
statute gives you the exact wording to use). That starts the landlord's
five-business-day clock; only after that clock runs out can you sue for the
full deposit, full prepaid rent, and the $100 penalty.

Does Utah cap how much my landlord can charge as a deposit? No. Utah Code
Chapter 57-17 sets no limit on the amount.

Can my landlord make part of my deposit non-refundable? Only if that was
stated in writing to you when the deposit was collected. Without that
writing, the whole deposit is refundable subject to the statute's ordinary
deductions.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 57-17-1 — general duty to return the deposit or explain retainage.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-2 — non-refundable deposit must be disclosed in writing.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-3(1) — permitted deductions.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-3(2) — 30-day mail/deliver deadline for balance and itemization.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-3(3) — tenant's statutory notice after a missed deadline.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-3(5) — landlord's 5-business-day cure window after being served.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-4 — successor owner/agent bound by the chapter.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-5(1) — recovery of full deposit, full prepaid rent, and $100 penalty.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-5(2) — costs/attorney fees to the prevailing party on a bad-faith finding.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
• Utah Code § 57-17-5(3) — no relief without the tenant's statutory notice.
  https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter17/C57-17_1800010118000101.pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)