Utah's deposit chapter (Utah Code 57-17) is brief and mechanical — one clock, one writing requirement for fees, and a small-but-automatic penalty structure that rewards tenants who follow the notice procedure exactly.
How much can a landlord charge?
No statutory cap. But any portion intended to be non-refundable must be stated in writing at the time of collection — an undesignated "fee" is refundable deposit money by law, no matter what the landlord later claims.
The 30-day clock
Within 30 days of tenancy ending (and receipt of the tenant's new address), the landlord must return the balance with a written itemized statement of deductions — unpaid rent, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, cleaning to restore move-in condition, and other lease-specified charges.
The notice-then-penalty procedure
Utah's enforcement runs on a tenant-served notice: if the landlord blows the 30 days, the tenant serves notice demanding compliance within five business days — and a landlord who still fails owes the full deposit, a $100 civil penalty, and court costs (§57-17-5). Small, but automatic, and the procedure is simple enough to run without a lawyer in small claims.
Why Utah deposit disputes are documentation disputes
With no cap, no inspection machinery, and a modest penalty, Utah leaves the real fight — the wear-and-tear line on the itemized statement — entirely to the parties' evidence. The statement asserts; only a condition record proves or rebuts.
SealMove is the record. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.