Iowa Landlord-Tenant Laws
Iowa Security deposits
Iowa caps security deposits at two months' rent and gives landlords 30 days to return the deposit or deliver a written statement of specific reasons for keeping any of it — but the 30-day clock runs from the later of the tenancy ending and the landlord receiving the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, so a tenant who never provides an address never starts the clock, and one who waits more than a year forfeits the deposit entirely.
Iowa Rent increase notice
Iowa landlords must give every tenant written notice of any rent increase at least 30 days before it takes effect — an express statutory requirement in Iowa Code 562A.13(5), not merely a convention derived from termination notice — and the increase cannot take effect before the tenant's current lease term or renewal expires.
Iowa Late fees
Iowa caps residential late fees with two hard statutory tiers: if rent is $700 a month or less, the fee cannot exceed $12 per day or $60 total per month; if rent is more than $700 a month, it cannot exceed $20 per day or $100 total per month.
Iowa Entry notice
Iowa landlords must give tenants at least 24 hours' notice before entering a rental and may enter only at reasonable times — with two statutory exceptions: emergencies, and situations where giving notice 'is impracticable.' Permitted purposes are inspections, necessary or agreed repairs and services, improvements, and showing the unit to prospective buyers, lenders, tenants, workers, or contractors; beyond those, the landlord's only access rights are by court order, entry to fix a hazardous condition the tenant was told to remedy and did not, entry during a tenant absence longer than 14 days, or after abandonment or surrender.
How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Iowa Legislature site (legis.iowa.gov), Iowa Code 2026 section PDFs: 562A.12, 562A.9, 562A.13, 562A.19, 562A.34, and 562A.35 each read twice — official PDF plus independent FindLaw mirror stated current as of 2026-01-01 — with every load-bearing figure matching verbatim (2-month deposit cap, 30-day return clock and its dual trigger of termination plus receipt of the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, first-5-years deposit interest to landlord, 1-year forwarding-address forfeiture, punitive damages capped at twice the monthly rental payment, $700 late-fee threshold with $12/day-$60/month and $20/day-$100/month tiers, 30-day written rent-increase notice, 24-hour entry notice, 30-day month-to-month termination notice, one-month's-rent damages floor for unlawful entry). Also read once (official): 562A.28 and 562A.29 (cross-referenced entry rights), 331.304 (county rent-control preemption), and chapter 562B sections 562B.10/562B.13/562B.14 for cross-chapter trap mapping. Rent-control preemption 364.3(9) verified against three official Code editions (2026, 2019, 2001) plus the 1999 edition negative check proving enactment by 2000 Acts ch 1083, not 2019. Pending-bill check 2026-07-10: 91st GA adjourned sine die 2026-05-03; SF 2225 (omnibus tenant bill: third late-fee tier at $1,400 rent, 180-day mobile-home rent notice) died in Senate Judiciary subcommittee; HF 481/482 (2025 mobile-home protections) also died; 2026 enacted housing bills (SF 2369 ADUs, SF 2448 HOA disclosure, SF 2472 FirstHome) touch none of the four topics.