Iowa Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, capped late fees, the 24-hour entry rule, three-day rent notices and the chapter 648 eviction timeline in Iowa, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Iowa runs one rulebook statewide. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law sits at Iowa Code chapter 562A and covers nearly every residential rental in the state. Evictions run under chapter 648, forcible entry and detainer.

Two points catch small landlords out. Late fees are capped by statute, and the deposit clock has teeth. Here is what you have to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Security deposits

The cap is two months' rent. A landlord cannot demand or receive a deposit worth more than two months' rent (Iowa Code § 562A.12(1)).

Keep it in a separate account. Deposits go into a federally insured bank or credit union and cannot be mixed with your own money. Interest earned in the first five years is yours (§ 562A.12(2)).

You have 30 days to return it. The clock runs from the date the tenancy ends. Inside that window you send the deposit back or send a written statement giving the reason for every dollar you keep. The tenant has to give you a mailing address first (§ 562A.12(3)).

You can deduct three things. Unpaid rent and fees, the cost of restoring the unit to its move-in condition with ordinary wear excepted, and what you spent getting possession back from a tenant who broke the agreement. Proving the reason is your job, by a preponderance of the evidence (§ 562A.12(3)).

Miss the 30 days and you keep nothing. No written statement inside 30 days and you forfeit all rights to withhold any part of the deposit (§ 562A.12(4)).

Bad faith costs more. Keeping a deposit in bad faith exposes you to punitive damages of up to twice the monthly rent, on top of actual damages (§ 562A.12(7)). The court can award attorney fees to whoever wins (§ 562A.12(8)).

The tenant has one year to claim it. A deposit reverts to you if the tenant never gives a mailing address within a year of the tenancy ending (§ 562A.12(4)).

Late fees

Iowa caps them, and the cap turns on the rent.

Rent of $700 a month or less, the fee cannot exceed $12 per day or $60 per month
Rent above $700 a month, the fee cannot exceed $20 per day or $100 per month

Both limits sit in § 562A.9(4). Check your lease template against them. Iowa sets no statutory grace period, so write one in if you want one.

Rent increases and rent control

No cap on the amount. Iowa sets no limit on how much you raise rent.

30 days' written notice. Tell the tenant in writing at least 30 days before an increase takes effect, and the increase cannot land sooner than the end of the current agreement (§ 562A.13(5)).

Cities cannot pass rent control. An Iowa city cannot adopt or enforce an ordinance limiting what can be charged to lease private residential or commercial property (§ 364.3(9)).

Entering the unit

24 hours' notice. Outside an emergency, give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice of your intent to enter, and enter at reasonable times only. Entry is for inspections, repairs, services, or showings. The tenant cannot unreasonably refuse, and you cannot use access to harass (§ 562A.19).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

30 days' written notice from either side, given at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice (§ 562A.34(2)). A week-to-week takes 10 days (§ 562A.34(1)).

A holdover that is willful and not in good faith exposes the tenant to your actual damages and attorney fees (§ 562A.34).

When rent isn't paid

Three days. Deliver written notice that rent is unpaid and that you intend to end the rental agreement if it is not paid. The tenant has three days from that notice to pay. Pay inside the window and the tenancy continues (§ 562A.27(2)).

For a breach that is not about money, the tenant gets seven days to fix the problem. The same breach again inside six months lets you end the tenancy on seven days' written notice with no second chance to cure (§ 562A.27(1)).

For violence, threats, illegal firearm use or controlled substances on the property, Iowa gives a single three days' written notice of termination and notice to quit, with statutory exemption language that has to appear in the notice (§ 562A.27A).

One defense to watch for. A tenant who gave you written notice at least seven days before the rent due date, then fixed a habitability breach in good faith, can offset the repair cost against the rent you claim, up to one month's rent (§ 562A.27(4)).

The eviction timeline

Iowa calls it forcible entry and detainer, chapter 648.

Serve the notice to quit. Three days' written notice to quit before you file (§ 648.3). Serve it by signed acknowledgment from a resident 18 or older, by personal service, or by posting on the main entrance plus regular and certified mail. The mailed version counts four days after the postmark.
File where the property sits. The case is tried as an equitable action (§ 648.5).
Hearing inside eight days. The court sets the hearing no later than eight days from filing, stretching to 15 days if you ask for it or agree, and the original notice is served at least three days before the hearing (§ 648.5).
Judgment and removal. Judgment enters that the tenant be removed, and execution for removal issues within three days of the judgment (§ 648.22). Removal happens in the daytime only (§ 648.20).

One trap. Thirty days of peaceable possession with your knowledge, after the cause of action accrues, bars the action (§ 648.18). Do not let a case drift.

Never do it yourself. Locking a tenant out or cutting the electric, gas or water lets the tenant recover possession or end the lease, and collect actual damages, punitive damages up to twice the monthly rent, and attorney fees (§ 562A.26).

Retaliation carries a presumption. Raise rent, cut services or threaten eviction within a year of a tenant's good-faith code complaint, habitability complaint or tenant-union activity, and the law presumes retaliation (§ 562A.36). Unpaid rent and tenant-caused damage remain fair grounds.

Repairs and habitability

You have to meet building and housing codes affecting health and safety, keep the unit fit and habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, keep electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning in good working order, arrange waste removal, and supply running water, hot water and reasonable heat (§ 562A.15). In a single-family home you can agree in writing, in good faith, to move some of that onto the tenant.

The tenant's lever is a written notice specifying the breach, giving you no less than seven days to fix it before the agreement ends (§ 562A.21). Cut off water, hot water, heat or services deliberately or by neglect, and the tenant can buy the service and deduct the cost, sue for the drop in rental value, or recover rent already paid on a pro rata basis (§ 562A.23).

The short version

Deposit cap of two months, held in a separate insured account
30 days to return it with a written statement, or you forfeit every deduction
Late fees capped at $12 a day and $60 a month, or $20 and $100 above $700 rent
30 days' written notice before a rent increase, no cap on the amount
24 hours' notice to enter
30 days to end a month-to-month, 10 days for week-to-week
Three days' notice for unpaid rent, seven days to cure other breaches
Hearing within eight days of filing, removal within three days of judgment

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks the 30-day deposit deadline, keeps late fees inside Iowa's caps, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records an Iowa judge would ask for, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to an Iowa attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.