If you live with an abusive partner, you should be able to move out and break your lease without a penalty. That's the idea behind domestic violence protections for Utah renters. But the KSL Investigators found it's not always the reality.
WEST JORDAN — After reporting to police that he held her down and hit her, Jasmine Stanley believed taking her name off the lease for the apartment she shared with her ex would be simple.
Her experience shows how hard it can be for tenants like her to make a fresh start. Utah allows renters to end their contracts because of relationship violence, but they need a protective order or a police report to do so, and landlords can require them to pay up in order to bow out. Landlords can suffer property damage and lost rent, he noted, and neighbors and other tenants can feel unsafe. There are also costs associated with marketing the open apartment and finding a new tenant, Smith said.
The existing law "did leave some room for interpretation," said Jacob Kent, the nonprofit's housing law supervisor. But the new law taking effect in May is clear, Kent added: The renter owes a month's rent to buy out of their contract.
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