Landlord Atlas

What late fees can a landlord charge in Iowa?

Verified July 10, 2026 All Iowa topics →

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.

The caps are written as limits on what a rental agreement may provide, so a late fee must be agreed to in the rental agreement — a landlord cannot invent one after the fact. Iowa mandates no grace period: rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place the parties agreed, so a lease-based late fee can begin accruing the day after rent is due. Older guides still quoting a $10-per-day, $40-per-month cap are citing the pre-2013 statute, and a 2026 bill that would have added a percentage-based third tier for rents of $1,400 and up (2% per day, 10% per month) died when the legislature adjourned in May 2026 — the $700 threshold and two-tier caps remain the law.

Iowa late fees at a glance

Statutory cap Tiered by monthly rent (562A.9(4)): rent of $700/month or less — late fee may not exceed $12 per day or $60 total per month; rent greater than $700/month — late fee may not exceed $20 per day or $100 total per month.
Mandatory grace period None mandated statewide
Must be in the lease Yes
Daily fees Yes — the statutory caps are themselves expressed per day with monthly totals: up to $12/day capped at $60/month (rent ≤ $700), or up to $20/day capped at $100/month (rent > $700) (562A.9(4)).
Reasonableness standard Not addressed by statute

Notes and caveats

Load-bearing figures double-read and confirmed current through the 2026 session: the two tiers and the $700 threshold date to 2013 Acts ch 97 §3 and have not been amended since (Iowa Code 2026 history; FindLaw current-as-of 2026-01-01; no 2025 or 2026 enactment touched 562A.9). Traps: (1) stale '$10/day, $40/month' figures from pre-2013 sources still circulate; (2) SF 2225 (2026, died in Senate Judiciary at sine die 2026-05-03) would have added a third tier — rent ≥ $1,400/month capped at 2% of rent/day and 10% of rent/month — and its text is sometimes summarized as if enacted; it was not. must_be_in_lease encoded true because 562A.9(4) frames the caps as limits on what 'a rental agreement shall not provide for,' making the late fee a rental-agreement term — but note Iowa's rental agreement definition includes oral agreements, so 'in the lease' means agreed, not necessarily written. grace_period_days is null: no Iowa statute mandates a rent grace period (562A.9(3) makes rent payable without demand or notice as agreed); the 3-day nonpayment cure notice before eviction (562A.27(2)) delays only termination, not fee accrual. reasonableness_standard is null because Iowa uses hard dollar caps instead. Identical tier text appears in 562B.10(4) for mobile home parks.

Statute citations

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.