New Utah HOA laws for 2026: what changed on May 6
The 2026 session was the biggest year for Utah community-association law in a decade. SB 122 rewrote what your declaration is allowed to say and how fast records requests must be answered; HB 306 capped reinvestment fees and sent half of every one to reserves; SB 196 unblocked lien filings; HB 215 put wildfire mitigation above landscaping rules. All of it took effect May 6, 2026.
SB 122 — HOA amendments (the omnibus)
- Sixteen categories of provisions a declaration may no longer contain — including bans on for-sale and political signs, flags in windows, water-wise landscaping conversions, radon mitigation, entryway security cameras, driveway parking of legal vehicles, restrictions on items stored out of view, and most interior-conduct rules.
- Records requests standardized at 10 business days, with the $25-per-day penalty now starting on the eleventh business day. Records are explicitly association property — a departing manager must hand them back on request.
- Condominium associations must now prepare, adopt, and present an annual budget to members (mirroring the § 57-8a-215 process, with a 51% disapproval vote within 45 days).
- Transfer fees renamed administrative setup fees, usable only for costs of processing the transfer; managers who collect them owe the association an annual accounting by December 31.
- The HOA ombudsman's advisory opinions become publicly available; the $150 filing fee is nonrefundable, the civil penalty is capped at $5,000, and binding arbitration is no longer a prerequisite.
HB 306 — Reinvestment fee amendments
- For covenants recorded after May 6, 2026: reinvestment fees capped at 0.5% of property value — 0.25% for low-amenity associations (detached single-family, no capital-intensive common infrastructure). Large master-planned developments stay exempt.
- Outside master-planned developments, at least 50% of every reinvestment fee must be deposited into the reserve fund.
- Associations must disclose on the state HOA registry whether they charge reinvestment or transfer fees; registration contact requirements were simplified to name, phone, and email.
SB 196 — Wrongful lien amendments
- Removed the rule that barred associations from filing liens until their Department of Commerce registration was complete — collections no longer stall on registry paperwork.
HB 215 — Landscaping restrictions
- Associations may not prevent owners from removing vegetation in wildland-urban interface areas — wildfire mitigation now outranks landscaping covenants.
The board checklist
- Read your declaration against SB 122's prohibited-provision list and stop enforcing anything that conflicts — the provisions are unenforceable whether or not you amend.
- Put a records-request procedure in writing: acknowledge, gather, deliver within 10 business days. (Our free response-letter generator computes the deadline and cites the statute.)
- If you charge a reinvestment fee: confirm it fits the new caps, route at least 50% to reserves, and disclose it on the state registry at your next renewal.
- Condo boards: adopt and present an annual budget if you weren't already — the community-association budget process now applies.
- Expect better-informed homeowners: ombudsman advisory opinions are public now, and your owners will read them.
Common questions
When did Utah's new HOA laws take effect?
May 6, 2026. The 2026 General Session's community-association bills — SB 122 (the omnibus HOA amendments), HB 306 (reinvestment fees), SB 196 (wrongful liens), and HB 215 (wildland vegetation) — all carry that effective date.
What did SB 122 change for Utah HOAs?
The omnibus bill added a long list of provisions declarations may no longer contain (political signs and flags, water-wise landscaping, radon mitigation, security cameras, interior conduct, and more), standardized the records-request deadline at 10 business days with penalties from day 11, required condominium associations to adopt and present annual budgets, renamed transfer fees to administrative setup fees with annual manager accounting, and made HOA ombudsman advisory opinions publicly available.
What are the new reinvestment fee caps in Utah?
Under HB 306, for covenants recorded after May 6, 2026, reinvestment fees are capped at 0.5% of property value — or 0.25% for a 'low-amenity association' (detached single-family homes without capital-intensive common infrastructure). Outside large master-planned developments, at least 50% of every reinvestment fee must be deposited into reserves.
Do boards have to rewrite their CC&Rs because of SB 122?
No — but provisions that conflict with the new restrictions are unenforceable. Boards should review their declaration against the new list and stop enforcing anything the statute now prohibits; a formal amendment can come later.
What should a Utah board do first?
Three things: review the declaration against SB 122's prohibited-provision list and stop enforcing conflicts; set up a records-request procedure that answers within 10 business days; and, if the association charges a reinvestment fee, route at least half of each fee into the reserve account and disclose the fee on the state registry.
Kahoa answers your homeowners with these citations built in
Every statute on this page ships inside Kahoa's Utah pack — modern HOA management software your board supervises. Upload your CC&Rs and the correspondence desk drafts replies to homeowner email with the statute and your own documents cited — your board approves and sends.
This page explains Utah statute in plain language for community boards and homeowners. It is general information, not legal advice, and it isn't a substitute for reading the statute or talking to a Utah attorney about your association's specific situation. Statute text quoted from le.utah.gov, current as of the verification date shown above.
Bill summaries reflect SB 122, HB 306, SB 196, and HB 215 as enacted in the 2026 General Session. Read the enrolled bills at le.utah.gov.