Reading a Utah Valley Listing: What 'Mother-in-Law', 'Approved Accessory Apartment' and 'Non-Conforming' Really Mean

Abigail Giordano Senior Writer, Provo.com How we make Provo.com

A Utah Valley listing is marketing written by someone paid to sell the house, built on top of data fields that the seller and agent fill in. Most of it is accurate. The problem words are the ones that sound like legal facts but describe a floor plan: "mother-in-law," "separate entrance," "income potential," "basement apartment." The words that are legal facts, "approved accessory apartment" and "non-conforming duplex," are the ones you should verify yourself.

This guide translates the vocabulary, with Provo's rules as the worked example because Provo's code is where these words cost buyers the most. It is general information, not legal advice. Other cities in the valley have their own rules; ask the city where the home sits.

The words that describe a floor plan, not a legal unit

Mother-in-law, MIL, in-law suite, mother-in-law with kitchen. A basement or wing with its own living space. "With kitchen" means someone installed a second kitchen. None of these phrases tells you whether a tenant can legally live there. Provo's chapter on second units is titled Accessory Dwelling Units, and it does not use the term "mother-in-law" or even "accessory apartment."

Separate entrance. A door to the lower level. Provo's ADU standards require outside entrances to an ADU to be on the side or rear of the building, with only one front entrance visible from the front yard. A separate entrance on the front of the house can be a sign the unit was never approved.

Basement apartment, income potential, rent the basement, great for a family with a student. Marketing phrases. Our house-hacking guide describes what a legal basement rental requires in Provo, and our BYU-area rental investment guide describes buyers who paid for basement kitchens and then had to remove them.

Second kitchen, kitchenette, wet bar. Equipment, not permission. A kitchen does not make a unit legal.

The useful habit: when a listing describes a space you would rent out, read every word as a description of the drywall, and look for the separate set of facts that says what the city has approved.

The words that are legal claims, and how to check them

"Approved accessory apartment" or "legal ADU"

This claims that the city has approved a second dwelling unit. In Provo, an approved ADU comes with conditions that bind every future owner. Under Provo City Code 14.30.030:

• Owner occupancy. "Either the main dwelling unit or the ADU must be occupied by an owner occupant." If that requirement is not met, no ADU is permitted. An investor who will not live there cannot keep the unit as an ADU.
• Occupancy limit. The ADU may not be occupied by more than three related or unrelated adults, plus their minor children.
• Parking. At least four off-street spaces; two tandem spaces are allowed.
• Entrances. Side or rear only for the ADU, one visible front door.
• Deed restriction. The owner must cooperate with Development Services in recording a deed restriction with the Utah County Recorder, which runs with the land as long as the property has an ADU.
• Rental license. Anyone operating an ADU must hold a rental dwelling license, renewed annually. The license expires one year after approval or upon transfer of the property, whichever comes first.

That last rule is the one buyers miss. "Approved" describes the property's status; it does not hand you a license. You apply as the new owner-occupant.

Where ADUs are allowed matters too. Provo City Code 14.30.020 prohibits ADUs in some residential areas, including Project Redevelopment Option zones, R2 zones with a Performance Development overlay, and areas designated RM, R16 through R19 and R110, except areas shown on a city map, while making ADUs a permitted use in all areas west of Interstate 15 except the SDP-5 overlay and R2PD zones. Our Provo zoning guide explains the zones.

How to check: search the county recorder for the deed restriction (our guide to property records in Utah County shows how), and ask the city to confirm the unit's status in writing.

Outside Provo, state law since October 2021 has treated an internal ADU as a permitted use in areas zoned primarily residential, with conditions cities may add and a larger carve-out allowed in cities with a big university; our guide to multigenerational living in Utah Valley covers the state rules, and our guide to detached ADUs covers the newer law on backyard units.

"Non-conforming," "legal non-conforming," "grandfathered duplex"

A nonconforming use is one that was lawful when it began but would not be allowed under current zoning: a duplex or triplex in a neighborhood since rezoned for one-family homes, for example. It can usually continue, under limits, but it is fragile.

Provo's Chapter 14.36, Nonconformities, sets the rules. Three sections matter most to a buyer:

• It can be lost by disuse. Under 14.36.090, abandonment may be presumed if a majority of the main structure is voluntarily demolished without a prior agreement with the city, if the use has been discontinued for at least one year, or if the building has been vacant for one year. The owner can rebut the presumption. A "non-conforming duplex" that has sat empty for a year, or been lived in as one home, may have lost its status.
• It has to be proven. Under 14.36.100, the owner or a designee applies for a Zone Verification with Development Services. Evidence can include the date the use began, the codes in effect then, building permits, letters, meeting minutes, inspection reports and affidavits from people with personal knowledge. The Zoning Administrator decides, and the decision can be appealed to the Board of Adjustment. If legal establishment cannot be shown, the use is deemed illegal and must generally be brought into conformance within 30 days, extendable to six months by agreement.
• Converted houses get extra scrutiny. Under 14.36.110, for a structure originally built as a one-family home, building permits for the extra units are prima facie evidence of nonconforming status. Without permits, the Chief Building Official inspects to see whether the unit substantially met the codes in force when it was created. An interior connection between the parts of the house creates a presumption that only one dwelling unit was originally authorized.

How to check: ask the seller for the Zone Verification determination if one exists, and make your offer contingent on one if it does not. A listing that says "legal non-conforming" with no paperwork behind it is a claim, not a fact.

"Legal duplex," "zoned for two"

A duplex in a zone that allows two-family dwellings is not an ADU, and Provo's owner-occupancy rule for ADUs does not apply to it as such. It still needs rental licensing, and the zone should be confirmed in writing. Our house-hacking guide compares duplexes with ADU homes.

Occupancy claims: "approved for six," "contracts available," "BYU-approved"

These are statements about who may live there and how many. In Provo they turn on the city's definition of family and on licensing, which our zoning guide explains in detail. Verify the number with the city, not the listing.

The water words

Utah listings often mention water, and the words are not interchangeable.

• Culinary water: drinking water, usually from the city.
• Secondary water, pressurized irrigation, PI: a separate system for outdoor watering. Our secondary water guide explains it.
• Water shares, water rights: ownership interests that may or may not transfer with the home.

The state purchase contract helps here. Section 1.4 of the REPC says the price includes all water rights or water shares that are the legal source of the seller's current culinary and irrigation service, unless they are excluded in the blank that follows. Read that blank. Our guide to the Utah REPC walks through the rest of the form.

The size words

Total square feet versus above-grade living area. Many Utah Valley homes have large basements, and listings commonly show total finished square footage. Appraisers may report something smaller. According to the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae has required appraisers since April 1, 2022 to measure gross living area under the ANSI standard on appraisals with interior and exterior inspections, and that standard does not count space that is partly or fully below grade, including a walk-out basement. A listing advertising 3,200 square feet may be a home an appraiser describes as 1,600 above grade plus a 1,600-square-foot basement. Neither number is wrong; they measure different things, and price-per-square-foot comparisons only work when you compare like with like.

"Basement 100% finished." Ask whether the finishing was permitted. Our guide to finishing a basement explains why egress windows and permits matter.

House styles. Common Utah Valley terms include rambler (a one-level home, often with a basement), two-story, split-entry (you enter between two half-levels), and tri-level or multi-level. The style tells you about stairs and layout, not size.

The money words

Taxes. The figure on a listing is usually the seller's most recent bill. Utah's residential exemption, Utah Code 59-2-103, reduces taxable value by 45% for residential property, limited to one acre of land per residential unit, and applies to an owner's primary residence and to a home that is a tenant's primary residence. Under 59-2-103.5, a county may require a new application for the exemption when ownership changes. A second home or a home used for short-term rentals generally does not get it, so an investor's bill can differ from the seller's. Our guide to property tax in Utah County explains assessment.

HOA. The dues line rarely tells you what they cover or what is coming. Our HOA guide lists what to request.

Seller concessions, "seller will help with closing costs." An offer term, not a fact about the house. On FHA or VA loans, the state's FHA/VA Loan Addendum has a line for the seller's contribution.

Subject to sale, contingent. If a buyer's offer depends on selling their own home, REPC Section 2.2 is checked and a separate addendum applies. Our guide to buying and selling at the same time explains how that works.

The "what's included" words

Listings often say "fridge stays" or "TV mounts included." The REPC decides this, not the listing. Section 1.1 lists items that stay unless excluded, including window coverings, installed TV mounting brackets, wall and ceiling speakers, water softeners, garage door openers with their remotes, the security system, fencing and landscaping. Section 1.2 has boxes for washers, dryers, refrigerators and microwaves. If the listing promises something the contract does not say, put it in the offer.

Possession

"Possession on recording" is one of three choices in the REPC. Section 3.3 offers possession upon recording, a number of hours after recording, or a number of calendar days after recording. A seller who needs time to move out after closing will ask for days; get any rent-back in a separate written agreement, as the form requires.

Who wrote the listing

Utah's advertising rule, R162-2f-401h, requires licensees to identify their brokerage clearly in advertising, and a licensee advertising a property they have an ownership interest in, without listing it through a brokerage, must identify themselves as "owner-agent" or "owner-broker." If you see either phrase, the seller is a licensed agent.

Under Utah Code 61-2f-401, making a substantial or intentional misrepresentation, or a false representation through advertising, is grounds for discipline against a licensee. That gives you recourse if a listing was false. It is better not to need it.

Photos

Listing photos are taken to sell. Wide-angle lenses make rooms look larger, and edited or virtually staged images can show furniture or finishes that are not there. Treat photos as a reason to visit, measure the rooms that matter to you, and look at the parts of the house the photos skip: the furnace, the water heater, the electrical panel, the basement egress windows and the backyard grade. Our guide to home inspections explains what an inspector looks at.

A listing-reading checklist

1. Highlight every phrase that describes a second unit or rental use.
2. For each one, find the matching record: a recorded deed restriction, a rental license history, a Zone Verification.
3. Read the REPC's water section and included-items section against the listing's promises.
4. Compare square footage above grade and below grade separately.
5. Ask whether the tax figure reflects the seller's use or yours.
6. Write every promise that matters to you into the offer as a condition.

Related Guides

• House-Hacking in Provo
• Provo Zoning, Explained
• Multigenerational Living in Utah Valley
• The Utah REPC, Explained
• Looking Up Property Records in Utah County

Abigail Giordano

Senior Writer

Abigail Giordano is a senior writer at Provo.com covering student life, family resources, and community events across Utah Valley. Her writing focuses on making Provo more accessible and navigable for newcomers, students, and families — the practical guides that help people feel at home faster.

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