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House approves bill letting universities use internal eviction processes with due-process protections
Summary
The Utah House passed First Substitute House Bill 343 to allow higher education institutions to remove students from campus housing under internal procedures (with notice and opportunity to be heard); supporters cited operational burden and cost of judicial eviction processes.
The Utah House on the floor voted to pass First Substitute House Bill 343, a measure that allows institutions of higher education to exclude or evict students from university-owned housing through an internal administrative process rather than pursuing a judicial eviction.
Representative McDonough, speaking for the sponsor, said the change responds to a request from the university system and aims to reduce the administrative and legal burden on campuses. "This legislation permits an institution of higher education to exclude or evict a student from student housing if the student has violated the student's lease without resorting to a judicial process," Representative McDonough said.
McDonough referenced a letter from David Beulah, the Interim Commissioner of Higher Education, and cited examples from other states: he said 24 states have adopted similar statutes. He also told members the University of Utah currently has 35 students who are refusing to pay for housing and described staff time and Attorney General office estimates of the costs involved in pursuing judicial evictions.
The bill requires universities to create and implement policies that protect students' due-process rights prior to removal from housing, including notice and an opportunity to be heard, McDonough said. "Higher education institutions are not traditional landlords and their students living in student housing are not traditional tenants," he added, arguing universities are positioned to administer fair and expeditious internal processes.
The House substituted the bill and then closed voting; the measure passed the chamber with a recorded tally of 62 yes and 4 no and was transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
Supporters said the bill targets only student housing and includes procedural safeguards; opponents voiced concerns about removing judicial oversight but the transcript records no roll-call objections sufficient to block passage. The bill's next step is consideration in the Utah Senate.
