Can I get a retroactive permit for a basement apartment in Utah?

Often — cities generally have a process to apply for after-the-fact permits. Whether your specific unit ends up approved depends on zoning and whether it can meet code, and you should expect the city to verify the hidden work (often by exposing some of it) and to require any needed safety corrections before final approval.

Does Utah's ADU law automatically make my existing basement apartment legal?

No. State law creates a path for internal ADUs, but it doesn’t erase permit, inspection, or local compliance requirements, and it doesn’t retroactively bless unpermitted work.

Do I have to open finished walls to permit existing work?

Usually at least partially, because inspectors must verify electrical, plumbing, and framing they never saw. Sometimes small access cuts are enough; occasionally a licensed professional’s documentation can reduce it, at the building official’s discretion.

Does every basement bedroom need an egress window?

Sleeping-room egress is one of the most common inspection issues in Utah, and cities’ ADU materials list emergency escape/rescue openings as a requirement. There’s a narrow state provision that can excuse enlarging an existing window in specific cases, but don’t assume it applies — confirm the exact opening size and window-well rules for your address and current code.

Can I rent my basement apartment without living in the home?

It depends on your city. State law lets cities prohibit renting an internal ADU when the home isn’t the owner’s residence, and many Utah cities require owner occupancy to rent.

Can I use a basement ADU as an Airbnb in Utah?

Don’t assume so. Internal ADUs are framed around 30+ day rentals, cities can prohibit stays under 30 days, and Salt Lake City bars ADUs from short-term rental.

Are internal ADUs charged impact fees in Utah?

Utah law exempts the construction of an internal ADU within an existing primary dwelling from impact fees. That’s the impact fee specifically — other fees (permit, plan review, utility hookup, inspection) can still apply, and detached ADUs can be charged impact fees.

Can my HOA stop me from having a basement apartment?

Generally not, if it’s a compliant internal ADU that doesn’t violate local land-use, building, health, or fire rules — state law limits an HOA’s ability to prohibit renting one. Read your CC&Rs, because the details are fact-specific.

Can I sell the basement apartment separately?

Usually no for an internal ADU. In Utah, an internal ADU may typically be rented but not sold or subdivided from the primary residence.

What if a previous owner built it without permits?

You inherit the compliance question. Gather any records, expect an inspection to verify the concealed work, and don’t rely on a prior “it’s legal” representation — cities warn those are often wrong.

What should I do before I rent it out?

Confirm eligibility, permit/license status, safety corrections, and your city’s rental rules first. The safe next step is a feasibility review before you advertise, sign a lease, or pay for corrections.

How to Legalize an Unpermitted Basement Apartment in Utah

If your Utah basement apartment was built without permits, it can often be legalized — usually by applying for the permits it should have had, and where it qualifies, by having it recognized as an internal accessory dwelling unit (ADU) under state law. It's not automatic, free, or guaranteed. Whether yours qualifies depends on your city, your lot, and whether the existing work can pass safety code. This page is for homeowners who already have or inherited an unpermitted unit and want to understand the real legalization path.

What an "internal ADU" means: under Utah's state framework, a self-contained living space (its own kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area) created within the footprint of a detached single-family home the owner lives in as their primary residence, offered as a long-term rental of 30 days or more — most often a basement apartment. A detached ADU is a separate structure in the yard. Owner occupancy means the property owner lives in either the main home or the unit.

Last verified: July 2026 · By the Utah ADU Builders Editorial Team

A quick note on who we are.

Utah ADU Builders is a Utah-focused ADU planning, feasibility, and builder-matching resource — not a city, law firm, lender, or licensed contractor. We may earn compensation when homeowners request a feasibility review or get connected with local professionals, but that never changes how we explain Utah's rules, costs, or risks. This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by address and change often, so local verification is required.

What we verified for this page

• Utah state ADU law: Utah Code §10-21-303 (municipalities) and §17-80-303 (counties), plus the Utah Office of Property Rights Ombudsman's official ADU guidance.
• City & county rules: Salt Lake City (Code 21A.40.200 + the city ADU Handbook), Salt Lake County (unincorporated), Provo, Draper, and Saratoga Springs.
• Building, safety & licensing framework: Utah's adopted building code (International Residential Code with Utah amendments) and Utah's contractor-licensing rules for work on rental property.
• What we did not do: publish a single statewide dollar figure to legalize a unit (there isn't a reliable one), or claim any builder is "verified" or "pre-vetted." Cost and eligibility are property-specific.

Sources are linked at the bottom of this page.

The bottom line, before you scroll

Most Utah cities and counties evaluate an unpermitted basement apartment against three separate questions. Clearing one doesn't cover the others — which is exactly why a space that looks like an apartment can still be treated as illegal.

The three-gate legalization test. Source: Utah Code §10-21-303; city ADU ordinances.
The three tests	The question your city or county asks	Where people get stuck
Zoning / use	Is a second unit (internal ADU) even allowed at your address, and do you meet the conditions?	Owner-occupancy rules, parking, small-lot limits, or being in a prohibited area
Building code	Can the existing work be shown to meet current safety code?	Bedroom egress windows and verifying electrical/plumbing that's hidden behind finished walls
Licensing	Any rental or ADU permit/license — and a recorded document — that's required?	A recorded covenant or affidavit, plus a rental/business license before you can legally rent

Best next step: figure out whether your specific unit is likely a candidate before you advertise it, sign a lease, or pay for correction work. That's what a feasibility review is for.

See whether your basement apartment is likely a fit for legalization

A few property questions; no obligation. Do this before you spend money on corrections.

Check My Property's Feasibility →

Can you legalize an unpermitted basement apartment in Utah?

Often there's a path — but it's not automatic. Utah cities generally have a process to permit existing work after the fact, and most must allow a qualifying basement unit as an internal ADU. Whether yours can be legalized depends on your zoning, your lot, and whether the existing construction can be verified to meet safety code — and some units can't be legalized as built.

Likely legalizable

Owner-occupied, detached single-family home; the address allows an internal ADU; long-term rental use (or family use); parking works; and any safety issues are correctable (usually egress, alarms, minor electrical).

Needs review first

No permit records; a separate/lockable entrance; older or unknown work behind the walls; a possible parking or lot-size problem; or uncertainty about whether your parcel is in an allowed area.

High risk / not ready

Not owner-occupied where the city requires it; a short-term-rental plan; a prohibited area; serious life-safety problems; or a city that says the unit can't be legalized as configured.

An honest admission: an unpermitted basement apartment is not automatically worth legalizing just because Utah has become more ADU-friendly. Some units clear the process with minor corrections. Others fail on owner-occupancy, parking, eligibility, or safety costs that don't pencil out. The point of checking feasibility first is to find out which camp you're in before you spend.

What "legalize" actually means

For most homeowners it's some combination of three things — and people routinely confuse them:

1A retroactive (after-the-fact) building permitfor the physical work that was never inspected.
2Recognition as a permitted internal ADU(the zoning/use approval).
3A rental or ADU license, often paired with a recorded document on your property's title, if you'll rent it.

You may need all three. Getting one does not satisfy the others.

First, figure out which situation you're in

The right first move depends on how the unit came to be. Find yourself below — it changes your urgency and your first step.

Situation triage for unpermitted basement units.
Your situation	What it changes	Practical first step
You built or finished it without permits	You control the timeline, but you may have a disclosure obligation later	Document what was done; check whether your address can have an internal ADU
You bought a home that already had it ("the agent said it was legal")	You may not know what's behind the walls; verification is the wildcard	Gather any records; expect an inspection to confirm the hidden work
It got flagged during a sale, refinance, appraisal, or insurance renewal	You're on someone else's clock	Move on feasibility fast; legalizing before or during listing may reduce appraisal, financing, and closing friction
It's fine as family space, but now you want to rent it	Renting adds owner-occupancy and licensing on top of code	Confirm your city allows renting an internal ADU, and under what conditions

A phrase we see from real Utah homeowners captures the feeling: "found no records of any permits being pulled." That's a starting point, not a verdict. No permit record raises the odds that inspections and corrections will be required — it doesn't automatically mean the unit can never be legal.

Check your specific situation

Start a Property Feasibility Check →

Is your basement even an "apartment" in the eyes of the city?

A finished basement is not automatically an ADU — and, importantly, a second kitchen by itself usually isn't either. What tips a space into "separate dwelling unit" territory is how self-contained and independent it is: its own kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area, and especially a separate or lockable entrance that walls it off from the main home.

Utah cities are explicit about this. Draper's community development staff have put it plainly: having a second kitchen doesn't make an ADU — you generally need a lockable, walled-off unit that functions as a full second household. Draper's and Saratoga Springs' codes both state that a second kitchen within the home is not, by itself, an internal ADU.

If your space is really just a finished basement with a wet bar or extra kitchenette and no separate household living there, your path may be simpler (permit the finishing work, not an ADU).

If it functions as a true separate unit — someone lives there independently behind a locking door — the city will treat it as a dwelling unit, which triggers the full three-test process.

Don't call it a duplex. An internal ADU is subordinate to your main home and, in Utah, generally may be rented but not sold or subdivided separately. That's different from a legal two-family dwelling.

What Utah law does — and doesn't — do for your unit

Utah's internal-ADU law opened a real door, but it did not automatically legalize existing units. State law makes a qualifying internal ADU a permitted use in residential zones, and it hands cities a specific list of conditions they may attach. Your city's ordinance is what you actually build against.

What state law helps with

A qualifying internal ADU is a permitted use in areas zoned primarily for residential use (Utah Code §10-21-303 for cities , §17-80-303 for counties ) — no discretionary hearing required for one that meets the standards.
Internal ADUs are exempt from impact fees. An impact fee is a one-time charge cities levy on new development to help pay for added demand on utilities, parks, roads, and emergency services. Utah law specifically exempts the construction of an internal ADU within an existing primary dwelling from impact fees. That's the impact fee only — permit, plan-review, application, utility-hookup, and inspection fees can still apply.
Your HOA generally can't ban a compliant internal ADU. Where an internal ADU wouldn't violate local land-use, building, health, or fire rules, state law provides that a homeowners association's CC&Rs or rules may not prohibit renting it. This is fact-specific — read your CC&Rs. See also: Utah HOA ADU Rules.

What state law does not solve

It doesn't override building, health, and fire code — the unit still has to be shown to meet safety code.
It doesn't guarantee you can rent it. Cities may require a permit or license and may bar renting if the home isn't owner-occupied.
It doesn't allow short-term rental. A short-term rental is a stay under 30 consecutive days (think Airbnb/Vrbo). Internal ADUs are framed around long-term (30+ day) rental, and cities may prohibit shorter stays.
It doesn't erase local permit, license, parking, owner-occupancy, or lot-size rules, and it doesn't force a city to accept old, unpermitted work without corrections.

One more reality check on "it's old, so it's grandfathered": being older doesn't automatically make a basement apartment a legal nonconforming use. That status is hard to establish and very fact-specific in Utah — don't count on it without confirming your specific situation.

The three tests every Utah city applies

Legalizing a basement apartment isn't one approval — it's clearing three gates your city evaluates separately. Here's what each one actually checks.

1Zoning / use: is a second unit allowed at your address?

Under state law, a qualifying internal ADU is a permitted use — but cities keep meaningful control. The conditions your city may impose commonly include:

▸Owner occupancy to rent (many Utah cities require it)
▸One additional off-street parking space (often not allowed to be tandem)
▸A minimum lot size — some cities/counties prohibit an internal ADU on lots at or under 6,000 square feet
▸No separate utility meter for the internal unit
▸Short-term rental prohibited (under 30 days)
▸The exterior can't be changed to look like anything other than a single-family home
▸Some parcels are simply not eligible (lot size, road width/ownership, or a "prohibited" ADU zone)

Because of that last point, several cities publish an interactive eligibility map (Draper and Saratoga Springs , for example). Eligibility is address-specific — a rule that applies two streets over may not apply to you.

2Building code: can the existing work be shown to meet code?

Utah enforces the International Residential Code (IRC) with state amendments, and the catch with unpermitted work is proof: an inspector has to verify work that was never inspected. These are the items most often flagged on basement units. Treat the specific numbers as typical — confirm current figures for your address:

▸Bedroom egress — each sleeping room generally needs an emergency escape-and-rescue opening large enough to climb out of, commonly around 5.7 sq ft of clear opening, with a window well that may need a permanently attached ladder if it's deep. It's one of the most common corrections, and often one of the larger single ones because it can mean excavation and cutting the foundation.
▸Smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide alarms — correctly located
▸GFCI protection — near sinks and wet areas
▸Handrails/guardrails on stairs — Provo, for instance, requires handrails on any stairway with more than three steps
▸A permanent heat source and adequate ventilation
▸Ceiling height — generally at least 7 feet in living areas
▸Fire separation between units and water-heater/combustion safety — where applicable

One nuance for existing bedrooms: Utah's building code includes a narrow provision that can excuse enlarging an existing bedroom egress window that's smaller than today's standard — but only if the window met the code in effect when the bedroom was finished and enlarging it would compromise the structure or can't meet setback and window-well rules. It's a limited exception, it hinges on the original work having been done to the code of its time (much unpermitted work wasn't), and your building official decides whether it applies. Don't assume your window qualifies. See our full Utah egress window requirements guide for exact sizes, window-well rules, and the ADU exception.

3Licensing: permits, licenses, and recorded documents

If you'll rent, most cities add a licensing layer and a recorded document that ties the ADU restrictions to your property:

▸Salt Lake City requires a building permit to establish an ADU, compliance with building/fire/utilities codes, and a recorded restrictive covenant — and prohibits using an ADU as a short-term rental.
▸Salt Lake County (unincorporated) requires a building permit to convert/create, a recorded owner-occupancy affidavit, a business license to rent, and written confirmation from your water provider.
▸Provo requires a building permit if any construction/remodeling is involved; if no remodeling is needed, a Rental Dwelling License still applies. Provo records a deed restriction with the Utah County Recorder and runs a health-and-safety inspection when the ADU is created.

Step by step: how legalizing actually works

The path is more predictable than it feels. Most Utah homeowners move through the same sequence. The single biggest variables are whether corrections are needed and how much hidden work must be exposed for inspection.

1
Gather the facts before asking for quotes. Address; city/county; property type; owner-occupancy status; any current tenant; rental plan (30+ days vs short-term); a floor plan; photos of the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, entrance, windows, stairs, and utilities; any old permits or inspection records; the utility-meter setup; and the parking layout.
2
Confirm the address can have an internal ADU. Eligibility is local and parcel-specific.
3
Research existing permit records. What was permitted (if anything) shapes everything that follows.
4
Identify the likely safety/code corrections — usually egress, alarms, GFCI, handrails, heat/ventilation.
5
Apply for the required permits/licenses — building (plus electrical/plumbing/mechanical as needed) and the ADU/land-use approval or rental license.
6
Expect verification of concealed work and make corrections , then pass inspections for a certificate of occupancy or zoning certificate.
7
Record any required covenant/affidavit and obtain your rental/business license before you rent. Then keep every document — approved plans, permit cards, inspection sign-offs, the recorded covenant, and the license — for future tenants, lenders, appraisers, and buyers.

Important warning from the cities themselves: an inspection can reveal minimum health-and-safety violations that must be corrected whether or not you ultimately get the permit — and submitting an application does not guarantee approval by any particular date, or at all.

Will I have to tear open finished walls and ceilings?

Usually you should expect to expose at least some of the work — and this is the part most pages skip. Because an inspector has to verify electrical, plumbing, and framing that were never inspected, plan on opening up at least part of what's finished. Sometimes that's a few small access cuts; sometimes it's more. In some cases a licensed professional's documentation may reduce how much has to be opened, but that's at your building official's discretion — not something to count on.

Outcomes vary widely for exactly this reason. In some cases, well-executed, visible work means an inspector doesn't require tearing into concrete or drywall. In others, concealed or questionable work means opening things up is the only way to confirm safety. Either way, this — not the paperwork — is usually the biggest driver of hassle and cost.

What usually makes an unpermitted basement apartment fail?

The dealbreakers are almost always eligibility, rental use, or safety — not paint, flooring, or finishes.

Eligibility and use blockers

Blocker	Why it matters	Fixability
Not an owner-occupied, detached single-family home where required	Many internal-ADU rules are tied to owner-occupied detached homes	Often hard to work around
Not owner-occupied, but you want to rent	Cities may prohibit renting an ADU when the home isn't the owner's residence	Depends on your use plan
Parcel in a prohibited/ineligible area (lot size, road, zone map)	Some addresses simply don't qualify	Usually hard
Parking can't be added	Cities may require an extra off-street space	Sometimes fixable
Short-term-rental plan	Internal ADUs are for 30+ day rental; STR is commonly barred	Usually means changing the use plan

Safety/code blockers

Issue	Why it matters
Bedroom egress	Sleeping rooms generally need an emergency escape/rescue opening
Missing smoke/CO alarms	Standard life-safety inspection item
Unsafe or unpermitted electrical / missing GFCI	Common in older basement work
Low ceilings	May fall below minimum room-height rules
No permanent heat source / poor ventilation	Cities list these as minimum requirements
Stair/handrail problems	Common basement safety correction

And a documentation blocker worth naming: "the realtor said it was legal" is not proof. Draper's own guidance warns there's a high likelihood an existing internal unit was never legal, regardless of what a real-estate agent represented — which is part of why the ADU permit exists in the first place: to determine each unit's real status and bring it into compliance.

How the rules differ across Utah

State law sets the floor, but legalization is local and address-specific. Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Provo, Draper, and Saratoga Springs each combine building permits, licenses, inspections, parking rules, owner-occupancy documents, maps, and recorded notices differently. Use this as a starting point, then confirm current rules for your address.

City comparison table. Sources: official municipal and county ADU pages (see Sources below). Rules current as of July 2026 — verify for your address.
Jurisdiction	Internal ADU allowed?	Owner-occupancy to rent	Min. lot size (internal)	License + recorded doc	Notable
Utah (statewide baseline)	Yes — permitted use in residential zones	Cities may require it	Cities may prohibit ≤ 6,000 sq ft	Cities may require permit/license	No impact fees on internal ADUs; must meet building/health/fire code
Salt Lake City	Yes	Required (narrow exceptions)	No minimum lot size	Building permit + recorded restrictive covenant	Documents a path to legalize existing unpermitted units (ADU Handbook); no short-term rental; pre-4/4/2023 conditional-use ADUs are legal conforming
Salt Lake County (unincorporated)	Yes	Owner-occupancy affidavit required	6,000 sq ft	Business license + recorded affidavit	Written water-provider confirmation required; no separate meter for internal ADU
Provo	Yes, in an ADU-overlay area	Required (owner in home or ADU)	Confirm for your zone	Rental Dwelling License + recorded deed restriction	Only owner-occupied detached homes may apply; health/safety inspection at creation, reinspection ~every 3 years; not allowed on properties with open violations
Draper	Yes	Required	Confirm for your parcel	ADU permit + owner-occupancy affidavit	Interactive eligibility map; extra non-tandem parking; second kitchen alone isn't an ADU; enforcement can include notice of violation and fines
Saratoga Springs	Depends on your zone (Allowed / Potential / Prohibited)	Required (≥50% owner must live there)	Greater than 6,000 sq ft	ADU permit per city process	Interactive IADU map; second kitchen alone isn't an IADU; violations draw a notice and fines if uncorrected
Everywhere else in Utah	Possible under Utah's internal-ADU baseline if the parcel, dwelling type, owner-occupancy, and code all qualify	Varies	Varies	Varies	Two cities in the same county can implement the state baseline differently — verify yours

City rules above are summarized from official municipal and county sources as of July 2026. Local ADU rules are the most change-prone part of this page — verify the current rules for your specific parcel before acting.

Can you rent it while you're trying to legalize it?

Don't assume you can. Utah cities can require a rental permit or license before you legally rent an ADU, and several state that a valid ADU permit must be in place before the unit is rented or even offered for rent. Advertising or leasing an unpermitted unit can create exactly the enforcement and disclosure problems you're trying to avoid.

Long-term vs short-term: internal ADUs are built around 30+ day rentals. Cities may prohibit stays under 30 days, and Salt Lake City bars ADUs from short-term rental outright. If your plan was Airbnb/Vrbo, that plan likely needs to change.
If a tenant already lives there: don't rely on a web page to sort out your obligations. A feasibility review can flag the ADU and property issues, but landlord-tenant questions should go to a qualified attorney.

What if it can't be legalized?

Sometimes the honest answer is that the unit can't be rented as configured — and knowing that early saves money. If the address isn't eligible or the corrections aren't practical, the realistic paths are: keep it as compliant owner/family space, remove or disable the "separate unit" features, or explore a different ADU path if your lot allows one.

Outcome	What it means
Legalizable with minor corrections	A permit/license/inspection path is likely practical
Legalizable with major corrections	Run the feasibility and cost review before committing
Not rentable as configured	It may need to stay owner/family space until corrected
Not legalizable as an internal ADU	Some features may need removal, or a different project path
Enforcement notice already received	Deadlines and legal obligations may apply — get qualified help quickly

Enforcement is real but usually measured: state law lets a city issue a written violation notice, give a cure period, and — if the violation isn't fixed — record a lien against the property. Cities like Draper can also assess fines. Acting early — before an enforcement deadline — usually gives you more options and less pressure than waiting, and it starts with knowing whether your unit qualifies.

If the basement path doesn't work but your property might support a detached ADU in the yard, that's a separate feasibility question — not an automatic pivot. Explore it as a fresh option, not a fallback assumption.

How much does it cost to legalize a basement apartment in Utah?

There's no reliable single number, because cost is driven by corrections, not paperwork. City permit fees are often modest compared with the correction work; the bigger variables are exposing and refinishing hidden work, adding egress if it's missing, and any engineering. Legalizing after the fact can cost more than permitting the work would have upfront, and your total depends entirely on the scope.

Cost drivers for legalizing a Utah basement apartment. Figures are general guidance — your total depends on corrections needed.
Cost driver	Why it varies
City permit + plan-review fees	Scope and number of trades — usually the smallest piece
Possible investigation/re-inspection fees	Some cities add fees for unpermitted work
Exposing + refinishing concealed work	How much has to be opened for inspection
Egress window + well (if missing)	Excavation, cutting the foundation, adding a well/ladder — frequently a large single correction
Fire separation, alarms, GFCI, handrails, heat	Depends on the age and condition of the existing build
Engineering (if required)	When inspection-by-opening isn't feasible
Rental/business license + recorded documents	City-specific, if you'll rent

For scale on the permit/license side alone (not construction): Draper lists an ADU permit application fee of $450 in its 2025 application checklist, plus an annual renewal — one city's example, one worth confirming, since fees vary widely and change. See: Utah ADU permit fees by city. Your real number depends on which corrections your unit needs.

Get a legalization + cost estimate path for your unit

The correction scope depends on your city, the existing work, safety items, and your rental plan — an estimate should be built on those, not a generic average.

Start My Feasibility + Cost Check →

Who should inspect or do the work?

Legalization can involve zoning review, permits, inspections, drawings, and licensed trades — the mix depends on your correction scope. You can gather the facts and records yourself; the city (not us, and not a contractor) issues the approvals; and construction work may require properly licensed professionals depending on the job and your jurisdiction.

A homeowner can collect records, take photos, and complete a feasibility review to see the likely blockers.
Permits and inspections run through your local jurisdiction — there's no way around that.
Legal, tax, and tenant questions should go to qualified professionals, not a blog post.

On licensing — a warning if you plan to rent: Utah lets an owner pull their own building permit on their primary residence for personal, non-commercial work (the "owner-builder" certification). But that generally does not cover a unit you intend to rent. Salt Lake City states that for a rental property a licensed contractor is generally required to obtain the permit and do the work, with only narrow exceptions (very small jobs — roughly under $7,000 — that involve no mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work, or a change of use with no construction); this is grounded in Utah's contractor-licensing law (Utah Code §§58-55-301 and 58-55-305) . Rules and thresholds vary by city, so confirm what applies to your project and your rental plan before you start.

The Utah Basement Apartment Legalization Scorecard

This is the practical heart of the page. Run your unit through the five categories below. If most answers are "yes," you're probably looking at a documentation-and-inspection project. A cluster of "no" answers in any single category — especially eligibility or safety — means you likely need a review before spending on corrections, and possibly before renting at all.

1Property eligibility

Do you know your city/county and zoning?
Is this an owner-occupied, detached single-family home?
Do you (the owner) live on site, or plan to?
Do you know your lot size — and is it likely above your city's minimum?
Is your parcel in an area where internal ADUs are allowed (check the city map if there is one)?
Have you searched for existing permit records?

2Rental plan

Long-term (30+ day) rental only — no Airbnb/Vrbo?
No current tenant relying on the space while status is unresolved?
Do you know whether a rental/business license is required?

3Layout / dwelling-unit features

Kitchen or cooking facilities?
Full bathroom?
Sleeping room(s) with a compliant egress window?
Separate or lockable entrance?
An interior connection to the main home where your city requires one?

4Safety / code

Smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide alarms in the right places?
GFCI protection near sinks/wet areas?
Safe stairs and handrails?
A permanent heat source and adequate ventilation?
Ceiling height that likely meets minimums?

5Utilities and records

Utilities configured as your city requires (often no separate meter for an internal ADU)?
Any required recorded covenant, affidavit, or deed restriction identified?
A plan to keep final inspection records and your license?

Check ADU feasibility with your scorecard answers

Bring these answers into the review so you don't pay for corrections before you know whether the unit is likely eligible.

Start My ADU Feasibility Check →

FAQ: legalizing an unpermitted basement apartment in Utah

Start where it's cheapest to be wrong: feasibility

Before you spend on corrections or put the unit on the market, find out whether your basement apartment is likely a candidate for legalization in your city.

Request a Utah ADU Feasibility Review →

Radon in a Utah Basement Apartment Renting an Unpermitted Basement Apartment in Utah ADU Permits Utah: Rules & Process Utah ADU Permit Fees by City Utah HOA ADU Rules Utah HB 82 / SB 284: The Internal ADU Law Detached ADU Builders Utah

How we verified this page

Built from Utah state law and official state and local sources. Homeowner discussions were used only to understand common questions and language — never as proof for legal, cost, permitting, or code claims. Rules change and vary by address, so confirm specifics for your property.

• Utah Office of Property Rights Ombudsman — Accessory Dwelling Units (also summarizes relevant Utah case law on nonconforming ADU use)
• Utah Code §10-21-303 (municipalities)
• Utah Code §17-80-303 (counties)
• Utah Impact Fees Act — Utah Code Title 11, Chapter 36A
• Utah contractor-licensing law — Utah Code §§58-55-301 and 58-55-305
• Salt Lake City Code 21A.40.200 (Accessory Dwelling Units)
• Salt Lake City ADU Handbook
• Salt Lake City Building Services — permit FAQ (contractor requirement for rental property / owner-builder)
• Salt Lake County — Accessory Dwelling Units
• Provo City — Accessory Dwelling Units
• Provo City Code 14.30.030 (ADU development standards)
• Draper City — Accessory Dwelling Unit Permits
• Draper City Code 9-31-045 (I-ADU development standards)
• Saratoga Springs — FAQs for Accessory Units and Renting

Utah ADU Builders is a Utah-focused ADU planning, feasibility, and builder-matching resource. We may receive compensation when homeowners request a feasibility review or are connected with local professionals. Compensation does not control how we explain Utah ADU rules, cost drivers, feasibility factors, or local permitting risks. This page is general information, not legal, tax, financial, engineering, or construction advice.