Sometimes commercial landlords and tenants are so eager to sign a written lease agreement that they neglect to include all of the essential terms that will govern the relationship. When this happens, it is likely that the parties do not even have an enforceable contract.

If you are involved in a dispute and you think you may need to hire a lawyer, you may want to know if you can make the other side pay for your attorney’s fees. The answer to this depends on the type of case you have. In Utah, the judge will order the other side to reimburse you for the money you paid your attorney only in certain types of cases. I will address five of them here.

If an individual or a business owes you money and is refusing to pay, the law does provide ways for you to take their money. One of them is to take money from their bank account.

Utah law sets forth nine reasons a landlord can evict a tenant. These reasons apply to both commercial tenancies and residential tenancies. If a landlord wants to evict for a reason other than one of these, there is a good chance the landlord may not be able to evict.

The Wage & Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor issued a “Field Assistance Bulletin,” providing more information regarding how it will be enforcing the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). (In case you missed it, you can find an overview of the requirements in the FFCRA here.)

The laws that govern landlords and tenants in Utah are found
in the following Utah Code sections:

1. Beware the Binding Nature of Your Lease

This should go without saying, and yet, far too many businesses learn this the hard way. Yes, a lease is a binding legal contract. No, a landlord is not likely to let you out of it just because your business is struggling. Let's say you sign a 5-year lease for $3,000 per month. You just signed a $180,000 contract. Every commercial tenant should go into a lease with the mindset that it will be bound to pay all or a substantial portion of the full contract price. (There are some exceptions; e.g., the landlord's duty to mitigate.)

Hiring is a compliance minefield. Laws, rules, and regulations loom at every turn to trip employers up. The process involved in verifying a person’s employment authorization is no different. Most employers know how to fill out an initial I-9 when taking on a new hire; but they often have questions about other aspects of I-9 compliance, such as:

Hiring is a compliance minefield. Laws, rules, and regulations loom at every turn to trip employers up. The process involved in verifying a new hire’s employment authorization is no different. Most employers know how to fill out an initial I-9 when taking on a new hire. But they often have questions about other aspects of I-9 compliance, such as:

Diversity in the workplace has become a focus for many employers, and for good reason—companies benefit from having a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints to draw from. But when people talk about “diverse” employees, they are usually referring to employees whose race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, ability, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation are different from the employees traditionally found in the company.

As a general rule, if a person owns land, that person has the right to develop it, adapt it, or otherwise use it for some beneficial purpose. In the commercial context, the beneficial purpose is usually to make money. But, as we know, the ways in which landowners can use their properties are regulated by zoning and land use laws.

An owner of commercial real estate is usually concerned with at least five types of expenses:  (1) property taxes; (2) property insurance; (3) CAM expenses (the cost of common area maintenance, e.g. parking lots, sidewalks, and landscaping); (4) utilities; and (5) janitorial services.

Sometimes commercial landlords and tenants are so eager to sign a written lease agreement that they neglect to include all of the essential terms that will govern the relationship. When this happens, it is likely that the parties do not even have an enforceable contract. 

We need the oxygen trees produce to survive, but certain trees are a nuisance, including that one that is in your neighbor’s yard. Yes, you know the one. Here are some quick tips to help you understand how Utah law deals with tree disputes.

Almost all commercial leases have a provision that in some form or another prohibits the tenant from subleasing to a third party without the landlord’s prior written consent. But what would happen if the tenant ignored that provision, subleased the property without the landlord’s knowledge, and made money off of the sublease? Would the landlord be entitled to collect that money from the tenant?

Fact scenario: A commercial tenant breaches the lease. There are three years left on the term of the lease. The commercial landlord is therefore damaged in the amount of monthly rent for the 36 months left on the lease. But, the landlord may not be able to hold the tenant liable for all 36 months of rent. The landlord must take reasonable steps to find a new tenant and thereby reduce or “mitigate" the damages. 

John Doe is an aspiring entrepreneur and wants to lease a building for his brilliant restaurant idea. John Doe sets up ABC Restaurant, Inc. ABC Restaurant, Inc. and the landlord enter a five-year lease. The landlord incurs $30,000 in tenant improvement expenses. 



No. A landlord cannot lawfully evict a tenant by taking matters into his or her own hands, changing the locks, removing the tenant's property, etc. All evictions must go through the court. Only after a court issues an order allowing the landlord to change locks and remove property can these things be done.

The security deposit is one of the most hotly disputed issues in landlord tenant relationships. Here are some things you should know as a residential Utah landlord to help protect you when these disputes arise.