Salt Lake City and Ogden are both looking to unravel long‑standing rules that cap how many unrelated people can share a home, a shift planners say could open up more room for roommates and help knock down monthly costs for renters. Ogden is spelling out specific headcounts by type of dwelling, while Salt Lake City wants to scrap the unrelated‑resident cap entirely and lean on noise, trash and safety rules instead.
Ogden Would Allow Larger Households
Ogden’s draft unified development code defines a “household” as a single housekeeping unit that shares common rooms and responsibilities, and it lays out new occupancy limits by unit type. Under the proposal, up to 10 adults could share a detached single‑household home and up to eight adults could live in a secondary or other dwelling unit, with additional minor children allowed under an overall cap, according to the city's proposed UDC. The overhaul is part of the Zone Ogden update that staff says is intended to modernize and clarify rules for both residents and developers.
Salt Lake City Would Drop The Cap
Salt Lake City’s planning staff wants to walk away from the long‑criticized three‑unrelated‑residents rule and instead define a household by how people live together, not whether they share a last name. Nick Norris, the city’s planning director, told KUER that the current limit is basically unenforceable in practice and that enforcement should instead focus on nuisances like noise and overflowing trash cans. City officials say the draft will head into a 45‑day public comment period before it lands at a planning commission hearing.
State Law And Building Rules Still Apply
Even if cities loosen local roommate caps, they still have to play within state law and building codes. Utah law sets a baseline for single‑family occupancy limits, and a municipal “single‑family limit” may not fall below the state’s minimum for unrelated occupants, so any city regulations have to fit inside that frame. Model building codes also dictate minimum sizes for habitable rooms (Section R304 requires at least 70 square feet for a habitable room), and Salt Lake City's municipal code increases the required floor area when more than two people share a bedroom to reduce the risk of overcrowding, per the city's code.
Could This Actually Lower Rents?
Supporters argue that letting more adults legally share a place could make a dent in housing costs by spreading rent and utilities over more people. "Lifting limits could help housing become more affordable," Howard Husock of the American Enterprise Institute told KUER, while adding that real‑world market pressures and personal preferences will still keep the most extreme crowding in check. Local research cited by planners notes tight prices and shrinking household sizes as part of the case for rethinking occupancy rules.
What Happens Next
Ogden’s Planning Commission is set to take up the unified development code at a public meeting on March 11. The agenda, posted on the city's site, lists the UDC as the lead item and, if the commission recommends adoption, the rewrite will move on to the city council. Ogden City's meeting notice highlights the code update. Salt Lake City, meanwhile, will open a 45‑day public comment window on its draft before the planning commission holds a hearing, according to the city's public‑notice postings.
Legal Questions Remain
Even if cities relax unrelated‑resident rules, they still have to steer around federal fair‑housing requirements and court precedent. HUD's implementing guidance and Supreme Court rulings say that reasonable occupancy limits aimed at preventing overcrowding can be lawful, but ordinances that single out group homes or people with disabilities are likely to draw legal fire. Courts and federal enforcement agencies have repeatedly said that local rules must be neutral, applied consistently and tied to genuine public‑safety or health concerns to stay out of trouble.
