Legislative Update - 2026 Week 4
Legislative Updates
Friday February 20th, 2026
There are just two weeks left in the session. Here are some things the RHA has been working on this week:
SB 97 S1 Tax Revenue Amendments by Sen. Dan McCay (R)
SB 97 Campaign Update: The RHA of Utah recently applied to the National Apartment Association for a $50k grant to run an issue advocacy campaign to oppose SB 97, the bill that would remove the primary residential property tax exemption from rental properties.
The campaign seeks to activate RHA members, other rental housing providers, real estate practitioners, and tenants to send a message to their legislators expressing concerns about this ill-considered proposal.
Campaign Website:
https://keeprentalpropertytaxexemption.com/
The link for RHA members to use to send the call for action is here:
SB 76 Residential Rental Reporting Payments Amendments by Sen. Jen Plumb (D)
This bill was heard in committee this week. The RHA opposed the bill because we believe there are better ways to help tenants build credit than this mandatory or voluntary process that the bill attempted to put into statute. The Senate Business and Labor Committee voted to hold the bill in committee, so this specific bill is unlikely to come back this session. However, Senator Stephanie Pitcher has a similar bill that we will continue to monitor.
HB 514 Landlord Communication Amendments by Rep David Shallenberger (R)
This is the bill that is seeking to establish a process for a Landlord to terminate a lease when a unit is inhabitable due to a dangerous condition and needs to be fixed without the tenant present. The House Business and Labor held the bill and asked Rep Shallenberger to bring it back with some more clear definitions and timelines. We may work on this bill in the summer, but we hope to pass a modified version of the bill with some other consensus provisions.
SB 309 Single Family Home Rental Modifications by Sen John Johnson (R)
This bill seeks to add an excise tax ranging from $2-6k per unit on any owners who own 25 or more single family home rentals. This is a massive policy change that will hopefully not be considered seriously this session but is likely to continue to be a topic of conversation this year.