Salt Lake City Basement Finishing does basement apartments, egress windows, basement bedrooms and basement bathrooms for South Salt Lake owners. The city lies roughly 8 miles from Salt Lake City by road; state code governs the building work and the city’s own ADU page governs units.
South Salt Lake has about 26,000 residents and is renter-heavy: 62 percent of units are rented, and about 41 percent are in buildings of five or more units. This page is for owners of single-family houses and of two-to-four-unit buildings who might finish a basement.
One new egress window and well for a teenager’s room
Example project
Home
1970s brick house in South Salt Lake
Original request
A bedroom downstairs for a teenager, with a proper way out
Wall
Poured concrete foundation wall under the brick
Window
A wide sliding window in a new opening
Well
A round corrugated steel well with a gravel floor, set in the lawn
Cost
$5,400
In this example, the owners of a 1970s brick house in South Salt Lake want a bedroom in the lower level for a teenager. The room has only a small window, and a sleeping room needs an opening that someone can climb out of.
South Salt Lake’s own ADU page is the main local rule here. It allows internal and external accessory dwelling units in the R1 and RM districts and sets conditions on rentals and on who lives on the lot, and the basement apartment page covers the state rules and the building items that come with a unit.
Egress window installation
Sleeping rooms added to an existing basement need an escape opening; sizes and wells are covered on the egress window page.
Basement bedroom
A bedroom here is held to the statewide rules. Start by measuring clear height under the ducts; the basement bedroom page explains why.
Basement bathroom
The basement bathroom page covers the state-code items for a bath: ceiling, fan, outlets.
Homes in South Salt Lake
South Salt Lake has about 11,900 housing units and a median build year of 1986. Pre-1980 units are about 44 percent and pre-1950 about 16 percent; about 39 percent date from 1950 to 1989. One-unit homes are roughly 42 percent of the stock, 33 percent detached, and 15 percent sit in two-to-four-unit buildings. Owner-occupancy is about 38 percent and the median home value $410,200.
Year built does not show which homes have a basement. If yours does, the questions are the ones in the service pages: the clear ceiling height, the windows and wells, and what the city allows in a unit.
Permits and rules to check in South Salt Lake
The city’s ADU page says that since February 7, 2024 South Salt Lake allows internal and external ADUs in the R1 and RM land use districts. Rentals must run 30 days or longer, and the page says a permit and an annual license are required if the ADU is rented. The owner or an immediate family member must live in either the main unit or the ADU, and the city names spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent and grandchild.
An ADU Predevelopment Application must be received and processed by the Planning Department before a building permit may be processed. Rules can change, so confirm them with the city.
Outside the ADU rules we have not read South Salt Lake’s permit process, and we do not state fees or timelines. The statewide code and the city’s plan review apply to the building work, and addresses in the unincorporated parts of the county go through the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District.
Can I build a basement apartment in South Salt Lake?
The city allows internal ADUs in the R1 and RM districts, with a rental of 30 days or longer, a permit and annual license for renting, and an owner or immediate family member living in either unit. A predevelopment application comes first, so check with the city for your lot.
Does the owner have to live on the property?
The city’s ADU page says the owner or an immediate family member must live in either the primary unit or the accessory unit.
Does a landlord of a small building need anything different?
The ADU rules above are written for accessory units. For a building with two to four units, ask the city what a basement finish needs, because we have not read rules for that case.
Send the South Salt Lake address, the number of units in the building and what you want in the basement, whether an apartment, a bedroom, a bathroom or an egress window. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
