Most owners get a deposit in their bank account every month and call that a report. It isn’t one. Whether you own a single house or a few rentals along the Wasatch Front, you need to see where the money went, what got fixed, and what’s about to happen. That’s a big piece of tracking your rental’s financial performance. A good monthly report answers all three without making you chase anyone.
This post is for owners who already have a manager, or are shopping for one, and want to know what a solid report looks like. We’ll cover what belongs in it, what Utah does and doesn’t require, and how to read yours fast.
In This Guide
Utah Doesn’t Tell Your Manager What to Send You
Let’s get the legal part out of the way. No Utah rule says a property manager must send owners a monthly report, or what that report must contain. Your management agreement sets it. That’s it.
What Utah does have are trust-account and record-keeping rules for licensed brokers who manage property. Every month the broker has to reconcile the trust account two ways: once against the bank’s records and once against each client’s account. Records, including those reconciliations, must be kept for at least three calendar years after the year the lease ends. A good monthly report is built from that work.
So the practical move is simple. Before you sign, read the reporting section of the contract. Ask for a sample report. If the contract says nothing about reports, ask them to add it.
Separate from reporting, Salt Lake City requires a business license for every residential rental property, and the details are worth confirming. The city’s landlord tenant pages on slc.gov are the place to check the current rules.
Income: Every Dollar In, With a Date
Start with money in. This section should be boring and exact.
- Rent collected: The amount and the date it landed.
- Other charges collected: Late fees, pet rent, or anything else billed to the tenant.
- Rent still owed: How much, and how many days late.
- Deposits received: Shown separately, since they aren’t your income.
That “still owed” line matters more than owners think. A tenant who is three days behind is a conversation. A tenant who is 25 days behind is a problem. Tenants who fall behind often look into emergency rent assistance or other rental assistance in Salt Lake City, and an early flag gives them time to find it before things turn ugly.
Also check the receipt dates. Under Utah’s rules, money received in a management deal goes into the broker’s trust account, or into an account the owner keeps, within three business days, so a rent payment sitting for two weeks before it shows up deserves a question.
Expenses and Fees: Itemized, Not Lumped
Your payout should be simple math: rent collected, minus expenses, minus the management fee, equals what you got. If you can’t trace it, the report is weak.
Expect to see these lines:
- Management fee: Its own line, never buried in another one.
- Repair invoices: Vendor, date, amount and what the work was.
- Routine items: Filters, lawn, snow removal and anything else recurring.
- Utilities or HOA: Only if you’re covering them through the manager.
Fees vary. Percentage plans often run in the 5% to 10% range. Say your rent is $1,800 and the fee is 8%. That’s $144 a month. A flat plan, like our Silver plan at $99 a month, is a different shape. Both are fine. The report should just show which one you’re paying.
“Say your rent is $1,800 and the fee is 8%.”
Here’s one more thing worth knowing. Utah’s rules don’t let a manager pay itself straight out of the trust account, so fees move through the manager’s operating account. You shouldn’t have to decode any of that. You should simply see the fee as one clean line.
The Maintenance Log: Where Money Quietly Leaks
If you read only one section closely, make it this one. Every repair request should show when it came in, what the tenant reported, which vendor handled it, what it cost, and when it closed.
Why? Patterns. Picture an owner whose manager uses separate vendors for plumbing, HVAC and landscaping. Without a log, nobody notices the same plumber visiting three months in a row for the same slow leak. That can mean $500 to $2,000 in repeat charges before anyone catches it.
Skim past repeat charges for the same problem and you may pay for a fix that never happened. If a line item looks familiar, ask what was done and why it came back.
The log also builds a paper trail. Utah has habitability rules for rentals, and a dated record of requests and completions shows that issues got handled.
A Rhino owner, Michelene, gives a useful example. She lives halfway across the country and gets her updates by email, so written detail is her whole view of the house. She wrote, “I expected over $30,000 in repairs and was prepared for that.” The quotes came in well under that, and she had room in the budget to replace the air-conditioning system too. She also told us the property was listed before she’d seen the repair status, and that we fixed it quickly once she said something. That’s exactly why listing status and repair status belong in the same report.
Occupancy and Vacancy: Count the Empty Days
Vacancy is the biggest silent cost in rental ownership. Your report should show the status of each unit, the lease end date, and how many days it has sat empty. If it’s being marketed, you want days on market, showings and applications received.
Do the math once. Say rent is $1,800 and the unit sits empty for six weeks. That’s about $2,500 gone. It’s not a disaster, but it’s real money, and it’s why vacancy days deserve a glance every month.
Season matters here. Vacancy tends to rise in late fall and winter and tighten in spring and summer in Salt Lake City. Students at the University of Utah and Westminster, plus young professionals, often push turnover around the academic calendar. So don’t judge a December number against a June one. Compare each month to the same month last year.
Market Rent and What’s Coming Next
Two sections separate a useful report from a receipt.
First, current rent against market. Rent decisions come down to what the market supports, so you need a comparison. Online threads, including plenty of landlord tips Salt Lake City UT owners swap on Reddit, are fine for ideas. They can’t tell you what your own unit would rent for.
Second, the forward look. Experienced managers argue this is the most important part of any report, and we agree. Last month’s numbers are history. Owners who only read history are always one step behind their own investment.
A good forward section lists:
- Leases ending in the next 60 to 90 days.
- Scheduled or pending maintenance.
- Any planned rent adjustment.
- Expected vacancies and the plan to fill them.
A report that only looks backward tells you what happened. A report that also looks ahead tells you what to decide this month.
Deposits and the Trust Account Side
Tenant deposits, rent and owner reserve funds sit in the trust account, and the manager can only pay money out as the contract, the lease or a written permission allows. You don’t need to audit it yourself. You do want a report that shows deposits held, owner reserves, and any recently vacated unit.
That last one matters because Utah sets a deadline for returning or accounting for a security deposit after a tenant moves out. Check the current statute for the exact timing. A report that flags move-outs gives you a heads-up that the clock is running.
It’s also fair to ask your manager how they handle the monthly reconciliation. They should be able to tell you they match the books to the bank and to each client’s account. If the answer is vague, that’s worth knowing.
How to Read Your Report in Ten Minutes
You don’t need a finance degree. You need a routine.
- Check the payout. Does rent collected minus expenses and fees equal what you received?
- Look at what’s owed. Any late rent? How many days?
- Scan the repair lines. Anything repeating? Anything over what you’d expect?
- Check vacancy days. Is any unit sitting longer than usual for the season?
- Read the forward look. Which leases end soon, and what’s the plan?
- Note one question. Send it before you close the tab.
Step six is the habit that pays off. One question a month keeps your manager honest and keeps you informed.
This checklist helps you go through your monthly owner statement line by line so you know exactly what to question.
Free checklist
Owner statement review checklist
Go through your monthly owner statement line by line and know what to question. Tick each item once you’ve checked it.
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Income
Expenses
Balances
The bigger picture
Your follow-up
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A Short Report Beats a Long One
Here’s a take that might sound odd coming from a company that sends reports. Most owners ask for more data than they use. A ten-page dump of raw numbers gives the feeling of information without any way to act on it. Three to five highlighted items with context, like change from last month and comparison to market, are worth more.
That’s how we think about it at Rhino. Owners get a portal and investor dashboard with real-time performance updates, so the numbers aren’t waiting on a monthly email. Reporting is bundled into our base Silver plan at $99 a month, which also covers showing and screening, rent collection and furnace filter service. We charge no hidden fees, and we offer both flat-rate and percentage packages.
Our approach comes from how the company started. The founder was left with a house after a divorce, hired a property manager, thought they were awful, and decided to start their own company. We still own rentals ourselves, so every process is built the way we’d want our own properties managed. After 16 years and 450 properties, that includes reports we’d actually want to read.
Clients notice it. One owner, Danna, said we “provided prompt follow-up whenever I had questions or needed an update.” That’s the whole job of a report, really.
If your monthly numbers feel harder to follow than they should, we’re open to a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Utah law require my property manager to send a monthly report?
No. No Utah rule sets a monthly owner report or its contents, so your management agreement controls. Utah does have trust-account and record-keeping rules for licensed brokers that many reports are built from.
What’s the minimum a monthly report should include?
At a minimum, it should show rent collected, rent still owed, itemized expenses, the management fee, your payout, and a maintenance summary. Vacancy days and upcoming lease dates round it out.
How long should my manager keep the records behind my report?
Under Utah’s rules, trust account records, including monthly reconciliations, must be kept for at least three calendar years after the year the lease ends. They can be kept on paper or electronically.
Should my report include security deposits?
Yes, shown separately from income. Deposits belong to the tenant until the lease ends, so they shouldn’t blend into your rent totals. It also helps if recent move-outs are flagged.
What if my report is confusing or missing items?
Ask for a sample of what’s included and request changes in writing. If the contract doesn’t cover reporting, ask to add it. A good manager will say yes.