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Senate passes revised unlawful-detainer bill with due‑process amendment
Summary
The Senate passed House Bill 196 as amended to distinguish trespassers from tenants and to require due process protections before eviction; sponsors said the amendment preserves balance between landlord and tenant rights.
The Utah Senate passed House Bill 196, an amendment package revising unlawful‑detainer law, after the sponsor moved a consensus amendment designed to preserve tenant due process. The motion to pass the amended bill under suspension of the rules carried; the clerk recorded 27 yea votes, 0 nay, with 2 absent.
Sponsor Senator Weiler described Amendment #4 as a narrow measure meant to “ensure that due process is honored before anyone in possession of a rental property is evicted,” explaining the change draws a clearer distinction between an open‑unit trespasser and a tenant withholding rent as an offset for unresolved habitability issues.
Senators said the change aims to preserve a delicate balance between landlord and tenant rights while giving victims of certain crimes remedies under other statutes. The Senate passed the amended bill under suspension of the rules and the measure will be returned to the House for final enrollment and signature.
