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Practice area

Landlord-tenant.

Eviction notices, security-deposit disputes, habitability problems, illegal lockouts — landlord-tenant cases run on summary procedure, which means hearings within 7 to 14 days. We match you to a Utah, Idaho, or Wyoming attorney whose case history fits your specific issue, and we move at the speed the deadlines demand.

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What we cover

Sub-specialties within this area.

Tenant eviction defense

You've received a 3-day pay-or-quit, a 5-day cure, or a 30-day no-cause notice — or you've already been served with an unlawful-detainer lawsuit. Summary procedure means a hearing within days, not weeks. Defenses include retaliation, habitability, fair-housing, and improper notice.

Habitability, repairs, security deposit

No heat, no water, mold, pests, structural issues that the landlord won't fix — or a security deposit kept without proper itemization. Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming each have specific notice and timeline rules for repair-and-deduct and for deposit return.

Illegal lockout & utility shutoff

Your landlord changed the locks, removed your possessions, or shut off utilities to force you out. This is illegal in all three states and usually entitles you to immediate possession plus statutory damages and attorneys' fees — but you have to move fast.

Fair housing & discrimination

Denial or harassment based on a protected class (race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, national origin, plus state-specific classes like source-of-income in Utah). Includes service-animal and emotional-support-animal accommodation refusals.

Landlord-side eviction & lease enforcement

If you're a landlord — unlawful-detainer prosecution, lease enforcement, damages, prior-eviction proof. The procedural rules favor moving quickly and correctly; an attorney-fees clause in the lease usually shifts costs.

What to expect

Three steps to the right specialist.

  1. Tell us what happened

    A careful AI conversation walks through the facts. Are you tenant or landlord, state and city, type of property, the specific issue (notice received, lockout, deposit, repairs, harassment), what's been documented, and any deadline already running.

  2. We identify the sub-specialty

    Not just "landlord-tenant" — eviction defense, habitability, fair-housing, lockout, deposit, landlord-side. Each is a different procedural posture and a different attorney fit.

  3. Warm introduction to the right firm

    We match you to the firm on our bench whose case history fits your sub-type. You're introduced, not handed off — and we move at the speed summary procedure demands.

What matters in your story

What we'll ask about.

  • Your role — tenant or landlord. The procedural posture and remedies are different.
  • The specific issue — eviction notice, lawsuit filed, lockout, deposit dispute, habitability, harassment, holdover. Different issues run on different clocks.
  • Any notice already posted — 3-day pay-or-quit, 5-day cure, 30-day, 60-day — and the exact date you received it. The wording on the notice often determines whether it's defective.
  • Whether a lawsuit has been filed or a hearing scheduled. Summary procedure runs fast — hearings can be 7 days from filing in Utah, 5 to 12 days in Idaho.
  • The lease — written, oral, month-to-month, fixed-term, expired. Plus any attorney-fees clause, jury waiver, or arbitration clause.
  • Documentation — photos, repair requests, written complaints, code-enforcement reports, deposit demand letters, communications with the other side. Habitability and retaliation cases live or die on what was put in writing and when.
When time matters

Deadlines to know.

Landlord-tenant cases move faster than almost any other civil matter. A 3-day pay-or-quit notice means three days, not three business days. Once an unlawful-detainer lawsuit is filed in Utah, the hearing can be set as soon as seven days out; Idaho hearings often run five to twelve days from summons; Wyoming uses a similar summary docket. A lockout or utility shutoff entitles you to an emergency motion for immediate possession, with statutory damages and attorneys' fees — but only if you file before too much time passes. Security-deposit deadlines are tight too: Utah landlords have 30 days to return or itemize after vacate; Idaho is 21 days for refund or 30 days if disputed; Wyoming is 30 days, or 60 if there's substantial damage. If your landlord retaliated within roughly 90 to 180 days of a complaint or repair request, that timing alone often raises a presumption of retaliation. Don't wait to call.

Common questions

What people ask.

  • Fee structures vary. Eviction defense and short-deadline matters are often flat fee ($500–$2,000 per stage). Habitability, deposit, illegal-lockout, and fair-housing cases often run on contingency or with statutory fee-shifting under state law and the FHA. Many leases also have attorney-fees clauses that shift costs to the loser. There's no fee for talking to us or for the introduction.

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