Utah

NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet). 

In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.  

You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected]. 

COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.

Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:

In Salt Lake City, the Men’s Resource Center is no longer accepting new clients but continues to shelter its existing residents. 

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS), which administers the state’s federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) program, will stop contracting with housing advocacy organizations to process ERA applications. Under the new plan, which will begin next year, the state will stop funding renter advocacy groups but will continue paying landlords $150 for each application they submit on behalf of their tenants. Since Utah disbursed just 39% of its ERA allocation by the fall deadline, the state was required to submit a Program Improvement Plan to the Treasury Department. DWS declined to release a copy of its plan to the Utah Investigative Journal Project.

Updated on December 13, 2021

At the beginning of July, tens of thousands of Utah renters feared eviction while over a hundred million dollars in federal rental assistance remained unspent. Fox 13 breaks down the latest results from the Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey on Utah renter households.
Updated on August 3, 2021

Utah Public Radio reports that landlords in Utah, and across the country, who violate the CDC eviction moratorium could face penalties from state and federal authorities, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. Tara Rollins with the Utah Housing Coalition says agencies like People’s Legal Aid can help renters file complaint against property owners who violate the CDC eviction moratorium.

Updated on April 28, 2021

The Salt Lake Tribune reports some Utah landlords are evicting survivors of domestic violence. The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition in October 2020 reported seeing a 25% to 50% increase in domestic violence calls for service during the pandemic. Advocates worry that evictions re-victimize individuals facing domestic violence, and too often, the loss of housing can be used as a legal weapon by abusers.

Updated on March 31, 2021

The Deseret News reports that nearly half of Utahns say the state should enact an eviction moratorium. Housing advocates contend that the federal eviction moratorium is failing to protect large numbers of Utah renters. Governor Spencer Cox does not plan to reenact the statewide moratorium, but he reports the need for an additional round of federal rent relief.

Updated on March 01, 2021

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Utah Apartment Association opposes translating key pieces of eviction law information into Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic to help communities of color disproportionately impacted by evictions. This article is part of a series on Utah evictions and the state’s leading landlord law firm.

Updated on February 22, 2021

Utah County is considering splitting from the state’s COVID-19 rental assistance program and launching its own program that would reduce application barriers and provide flexibility on the application requirements. The state received $147 million for the Utah Rent Relief program, and Utah County received about $19.2 million for rental assistance.

Updated on February 17, 2021

The Associated Press reports an outbreak at a Utah homeless shelter has resulted in 72 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The sharp increase coincides with a rise in cases in Utah as a whole. There are currently 93 confirmed cases in Salt Lake City-area homeless shelters.

Updated on October 5, 2020

Salt Lake City and county officials are encouraging Utahns to apply for rental assistance funds available through the CARES Act as soon as possible and regardless of their immigration status. Many renters seeking help from Comunidades Unidas, a Utah nonprofit, are concerned they will need to repay the rental assistance or that it will prevent them from obtaining lawful permanent resident status. “We’re having to do a lot of education in terms of trying to minimize the fear in our communities,” said the Mayra Cedano, the organization’s executive director.

Updated on September 29, 2020

Weber County officials are concerned about a potential wave of evictions after the CDC eviction moratorium expires January 1, 2021.

Updated on September 22, 2020

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced on September 1 an additional $1.1 million to existing housing assistance programs for residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Undocumented residents are eligible to receive funding. The funds will be allocated to three community organizations focused on rapid rehousing, rental assistance, and mortgage assistance. 

Updated on September 15, 2020

Evictions cases in Utah have climbed a month after federal protections for some renters expired. Utah landlords filed 354 evictions in July and 569 evictions in August.

Updated on September 2, 2020.

Op-Eds or Letters to the Editor

At a time when our collective health depends on people’s ability to stay at home, it has never been clearer that housing is healthcare. Read here.

State and Local News

At the beginning of July, tens of thousands of Utah renters feared eviction while over a hundred million dollars in federal rental assistance remained unspent. Fox 13 breaks down the latest results from the Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey on Utah renter households.
August 3, 2021

The Deseret News examines the pandemic’s potential long-term impacts on children, including the harmful effects of housing insecurity on children.

On August 5, the Utah Department of Workforce Services announced that people who are receiving unemployment benefits are now eligible to receive rental assistance. Previously, only renters who were not receiving unemployment benefits were eligible. Since the program launched in May, it has helped 285 Utah households to remain in their homes.

Tara Rollins, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, expressed concern about a potential rise of evictions in the coming months.

Updated on August 13, 2020.

Officials with the Bear River Association of Governments (BRAG) are concerned that an impending wave of evictions could overwhelm overstretched housing assistance programs. BRAG received 1,200 calls in June from Cache County residents in need of rent or utility assistance. This sharp increase in need came after Governor Gary Herbert allowed the state’s eviction moratorium to expire.

The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness is preparing for the coming winter by working on overflow shelters and other solutions to protect people experiencing homelessness during the coldest months. The coalition is considering using federal coronavirus relief funding to pursue solutions, such as hotel vouchers, acquiring a facility for long-term beds, leasing existing buildings, and continuing operating a hotel. The coalition has already secured 80 hotel vouchers for women experiencing homelessness. 

Updated on August 4, 2020.

KUER discussed NLIHC’s Out of Reach 2020 report findings on the gap between wages and the cost of rent in Utah. The article also mentions advocates’ concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the state’s housing crisis. Deseret News also discussed NLIHC’s Out of Reach 2020 report and advocates’ concerns that COVID-19 has made affordable housing more of an issue for Utahans who already struggled to afford rent before the pandemic.

Updated on July 20, 2020.

Affordable housing advocates in Utah, including the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, are concerned that tenants behind on rent could soon face evictions. The Utah Housing Coalition partnered with Utah Community Action to offer an online version of the “Tenant Toolkit.”

Updated on July 7, 2020.

Utah affordable housing advocates, including the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, are urging the Legislature to maintain funds for affordable housing as lawmakers make budget cuts due to COVID-19.

Updated on June 22, 2020.

Housing advocates in Utah are warning of a spike in evictions as the federal eviction moratorium and additional CARES Act benefits expire in July. The state’s $4 million rental assistance program has received nearly 1,093 requests for aid. Advocates, including the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, are urging Congress to include $100 billion in rental assistance in the next relief package.

Updated on June 12, 2020.

The Utah Housing and Community Development Division launched a new Rental Assistance Program on May 11. More than $4 million is available through several programs, including existing federal HOME funds and the CARES Act. The program is designed to help those whose income has been impacted by the pandemic but are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Housing advocates, faith leaders, and civic groups are urging Utah Governor Gary Herbert to extend the COVID-19-related rent deferral and eviction moratorium for two more months.

Utah advocates have expanded their efforts to test people experiencing homelessness, low-income renters, and Latino community members for the coronavirus. The Midtown Community Health Center, which operates clinics and shelters, is pre-screening individuals before they enter the shelter and has begun drive-thru testing.

Tara Rollins and Francisca Blanc of the Utah Housing Coalition, an NLIHC state partner, highlighted the need for Utahans to ensure that all essential workers have access to a safe, affordable home.

The Utah Economic Response Task Force released a health and economic recovery plan that includes loan and mortgage freezes.

Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.

Governor’s emergency declaration prohibiting enforcement of eviction actions where tenant is current on payment and has suffered economic hardship due to COVID expired on May 15. Eviction hearings are being conducted remotely. 

Updated: July 31

In the third week of July, 14.4% of adults in Utah reported they had missed their previous housing payment or had little confidence they would make their next one on time, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 46,653 renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment.

Updated: July 29

In the first month after the eviction moratorium was lifted on May 15th, 224 eviction cases were filed. Somewhere between 45-70% of rental units in Utah are covered by the CARES Act eviction protections, which expire at the end of July. According to a weekly survey by the Census, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the state either missed their last housing payment or have little/no confidence of being able to make next month’s housing payment.

Updated: July 16