Close Window

Other Defenses


 

Be aware that if your landlord tries to evict you for a good reason, the fact that you have a baby, or are pregnant, or just lost your job, or you have nowhere to go will not prevent a judge from evicting you. Also, if you stay after an eviction notice, you could be liable for three times the daily rent for the days you stay there after the notice expires.

There may be other defenses you have to the eviction. Because the eviction process happens so fast in Utah, the courts require that a landlord follow the law exactly. If a landlord makes a mistake, the judge could dismiss the case and make the landlord start all over.

For example, each of the eviction notices must give the tenant a certain amount of time to move, or in some cases, remedy the problem. A landlord cannot file the eviction case in court before the time in an eviction notice has expired.

To count the time a tenant has, don't count the day the eviction notice is served. The next day is day one. Then count calendar days, which includes holidays and weekends. For example, a three day pay or vacate notice served on Friday afternoon gives the tenant until the end of the day Monday to pay or move. The landlord cannot file a lawsuit for eviction until the following Tuesday or later.

As another example, if February has 28 days the year a fifteen-day no cause notice is served on a month to month tenant, the landlord must serve the notice no later than February 13. The tenant must have a full 15 days before the end of the month to move and the day of service is never counted.

The most accurate method to count the days is to use an actual calendar.


Page Last Modified: 7/7/2015
Close Window