Real Estate Bookkeeping In Utah
Utah runs three different accounting models at once. The Wasatch Front is fast-growth multifamily held across LLC stacks assembled deal by deal. Utah County is heavily new construction, so a real share of the work is the handover from development to operations. Park City is a nightly rental market with lodging taxes and owner-use splits that have nothing in common with a monthly rent roll.
Locate the city nearest to you and select your software below to learn more. Don’t see your city? Schedule a meeting with us to learn more about how REA can help your property management accounting needs.
Utah at a glance
- Security deposit return
- 30 calendar days
- Governing statute
- Utah Code 57-17-3
- Cities we publish
- Salt Lake City · Provo · Park City
What Utah Law Changes About Your Books
Deposit Handling and Trust Requirements
Trust and deposit rules are set state by state, and they change the accounting itself, not just the paperwork around it. A deadline is a ledger requirement: you cannot return a deposit inside a statutory window if the ledger cannot say what is owed.
Security deposits
Utah Code 57-17-3 requires the balance of the deposit, the balance of any prepaid rent, and an itemised written explanation of every deduction, within 30 days of the renter vacating and returning possession. If that is missed, the renter may serve notice of non-compliance, after which the owner must refund the entire deposit and all prepaid rent plus a $100 penalty.
Trust and segregation
Utah is unusually broad about what a deposit may be applied to: unpaid rent, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, cleaning, and other costs and fees provided for in the contract. That last category makes the lease part of the deduction test, so the ledger has to tie each deduction to the provision authorising it rather than only to the cost.
What we do about it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant, so a 30 calendar days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways, including every beneficiary balance
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger, not filed separately
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
Summary of statutory requirements provided for orientation. It is not legal advice, and local ordinances can impose stricter rules than the state minimum.
Cities We Cover in Utah
Market by Market
We work with property managers and investors across all of Utah, all 250 cities and towns of it. The markets below are the ones we publish Utah-specific detail for. If yours is not listed, the same team and the same Utah Code 57-17-3 rules still apply.
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City has absorbed a decade of in-migration and the portfolios reflect it: management companies that were running a few hundred doors are now running a few thousand, often with the accounting process that suited the smaller number still in place.
Bookkeeping by platform
Provo
Utah County is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country, and a large share of the doors here are new. That means a material part of the accounting is not steady-state property management at all, it is the handover from construction to operations.
Bookkeeping by platform
Park City
Park City is a nightly rental market, and short-term rental accounting has almost nothing in common with the monthly rent roll the rest of Utah runs on. Revenue arrives per stay, taxes stack by jurisdiction, and the owner is frequently also a user of the property.
Bookkeeping by platform
Select Your Software
We Work Inside Your Platform, From Anywhere in Utah
Services Available in This State
Every back-office function below is available on its own or as part of a full monthly close, anywhere in the state.
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
Onboarding and responsiveness
Real Estate Accounting truly is a special company. They helped as if they were a part of our company, with the concern and caution as an employee would have, but even more. They quickly ascertained our needs and developed an effective team to help with our accounting needs. They were extremely responsive and always accurate. I would recommend their services to anyone who needs help with their property management accounting.
Smaller portfolio, still looked after
Adam the owner took a personal interest in my situation and was willing to work with me to see if his company was a good fit. I may be too small for them but I would highly recommend them to anyone considering a bookkeeper for their property management business.
Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate
Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!
230+
Property Accountants
30M+
Commercial Sq. Ft.
Up to 50%
Saved vs In-House
Every month
On-Time Close
Property Accounting for Utah Portfolios
Schedule a call and we will walk your Utah deposit and trust setup, tell you whether it reconciles today, and scope the monthly work.