Iowa Tenant Information

Iowa Tenant Information – Renters Rights

 

Information about the eviction process.

Note:

If you cannot pay the rent within 3 days, you do not have to move out right away.  The landlord must first file an eviction action in court.  Only a judge can lawfully evict a tenant.

• Iowa Legal Aid provides help to low-income Iowans.
  • To apply for help from Iowa Legal Aid:call 800-532-1275.
  • Iowans age 60 and over, call 800-992-8161 or
  • apply online atiowalegalaid.org

Most people know if you are a tenant and don’t pay the rent, your landlord can evict you. But what can a tenant do if the landlord doesn’t make needed repairs? Some people think a tenant can legally withhold the rent whenever a landlord fails to make repairs. Not paying rent can create problems for a tenant in addition to needing repairs to the house or apartment.

 

You might be evicted if you don’t pay the rent even if your landlord failed to make repairs.  Withholding rent is always risky. You don’t know whether a judge will agree that the problem was so bad that you had the right to withhold the rent. At the same time, it is illegal for a landlord to refuse to make repairs or shut off utilities because a tenant is behind on the rent.

 

Under Iowa law tenants can do a number of things when repairs are needed to keep the property safe and livable.  Some of those remedies may not be an option for tenants who don’t have the money to do the repair or are not able to find other housing. Steps a tenant may take when a  landlord fails to make repairs include:

• You can make the repairs yourself and deduct them from your rent;
• You can end the lease and move out; or
• You can call the housing inspector.

 

I want to make the repairs myself.

This may be an option when:

1. The problem impacts the livability of the property as defined by Iowa law (Iowa Code Section 562A.15). Problems could include building code violations that are material to health and safety. It could include a mold problem, a bug problem, or problems with the plumbing system, the electrical system, heating and/or the air-conditioning system, a broken appliance, garbage pickup, window repair, or entrance door repair. This would not include things like painting or decorating.
2. The problem is not the fault of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or a guest of the tenant.
3. The cost of correcting the problem is not more than one month’s rent.

In order to make the repairs yourself, you need to go through the following steps:

1. Give your landlord written notice. The tenant first needs to give the landlord a notice. The notice must be in writing. Make sure the paper is dated and keep a copy to prove the landlord was notified about the repair. This notice needs to spell out the repairs needed. You should send the notice by regular and certified mail, unless you hand deliver the notice to the landlord and the landlord signs an acknowledgement that s/he received the notice. Keep a copy of the post office receipt to show that you sent it. The notice must be delivered to the landlord at least seven days before the next rental payment is due. However, the law says it takes four days for a notice sent by mail to be delivered. This means if you send it by mail you will actually need to mail it at least eleven days before the rent is due. The notice tells the landlord that the tenant will deduct the cost of the repair from the next month’s rent.
2. Make the Repairs. It may be best to have someone else do the work, even if you could do it yourself.  If you do the work yourself, you must be sure to keep careful records of the time put in and the materials bought.  Keep all receipts for anything you buy. Remember that if the repairs are made and you deduct them from the rent, the landlord still might file an eviction  against you for nonpayment of rent. A judge who determines the repairs were unnecessary or the cost of the repairs was unreasonable could still decide to evict you.
3. Deduct the cost from your next months’ rent. You will want to give the landlord a copy of your receipts but keep the originals for yourself.  The cost must be less than one month’s rent. The repair should be completed as soon as you can. The repair must be completed before you get a nonpayment notice from the landlord.
4. Special Rule For Landlord’s Failure to Provide Essential Services. If the problem has to do with an essential service like heat, hot water or water, you may immediately obtain repairs and deduct the cost from the next month’s rent payment. You still need to send the landlord a written notice describing the problem and what you are going to do to correct it. But you do not need to send the notice 7 days before the rent is due.

 

Again, you can only end your lease if the problem affects the livability of the property and if you are not at fault in causing the problem.

In order to end your lease, you need to go through the following steps:

1. Give your landlord written notice. The notice must say what repairs are needed.  In the notice, the tenant says unless the needed repairs are made within seven days, the tenant will end the lease and move.  For example, the notice could say:“My roof is leaking.  If you do not repair this problem in 7 days, the lease will end on October 1, 2012.”Again, be sure to send this notice by regular and certified mail, unless the landlord will sign an acknowledgement that s/he received the notice. The law says it takes four days for a notice sent by mail to be delivered. This means if you send it by mail you will actually need to mail it at least eleven days before the rent is due. Keep a copy in case you need to go to court.
2. Move out if the landlord doesn’t make the repairs. If the landlord does not make the needed repairs within the seven days, the tenant must move out by the date specified in the notice.  Remember if you are not out by the date specified on the notice, the landlord could start eviction procedures against you. If you choose this method, it is important to have somewhere to go if the landlord does not make the necessary repairs. If the landlord does make the repairs within the 7 days, the lease continues and you cannot move.

 

Some repairs are too big for a tenant to handle.  For example, if the home has no heat in the winter because the heating system needs to be replaced, most tenants cannot afford to pay for such a repair.  Some repair persons may not want to get involved with big repairs without the permission of the owner.  The cost to fix some major problems would be more than one month’s rent. What can you do?

If none of these will work for you, there may be other things you can try but you will probably need the help of a lawyer. It may be possible to force your landlord to make repairs by filing a law suit. If the judge decides the landlord has not lived up to the duty to provide essential services or to keep the apartment in a livable condition and the tenants are hurt by it, the judge may order the landlord to make the repairs.

Under all these methods of repair, the landlord may not retaliate or try to get back at the tenant by raising the rent, trying to evict the tenant, or reducing services.  If the landlord tries anything like that within one year of when the tenant made a complaint about repairs, the law assumes the landlord is trying to get back at the tenant.  Then the landlord would have to show some other reason for taking the action.  However, if a tenant has not paid the rent, the law doesn’t assume the landlord is retaliating if he or she tries to evict the tenant.

 

 

(Section 562A.34, Code of Iowa)

Either a landlord or a tenant can end a rental agreement as follows:

• If the arrangement is month-to-month, the person wanting to end the arrangement must give the other a written notice at least 30 days in advance of the intended ending date. The notice should actually say what the ending date will be, and the ending date must be a date when rent would normally be due.
• If the arrangement is week-to-week, a written notice must be given at least 10 days before the termination date.
• If the arrangement is for some exact period of time, such as 1 year, the arrangement will end automatically on the last day of the agreed period, unless the agreement also sets out some special procedures for renewal of the arrangement.
• If a tenant moves out without giving proper advance notice, that tenant may be responsible for paying rent to the landlord for the rest of the agreed rental period. But a landlord in this situation has a duty to try to rent the place to a new tenant a soon as possible. If the landlord doesn’t try reasonably hard to rerent the place, that landlord can’t go after the old tenant for the rent the landlord supposedly lost due to the tenant’s leaving. Also, if the landlord ends the lease before the lease is up, the tenant may not be responsible for the rent for the rest of the lease term.
• A landlord or tenant may sometimes want to put an end to a rental agreement right away, without giving a 30 or 10 day notice, due to the other person’s failure to live up to the agreement. Such situations are described in other articles posted on this website and in the Iowa Legal Aid Publication “A GUIDE TO LANDLORD TENANT LAW IN IOWA,” especially the parts on eviction and on the duties of landlord and tenant.

 

(Section 562A.12(3) and (4), Code of Iowa)

Here are some tips on protecting your rental deposit:

• Get a receipt when the deposit is delivered to the landlord. The receipt should say it is for a rental deposit, and should say the amount and the date received.
• Make a list of any damages already there when you move in. This list should be made right when you first move in, or before. The landlord should help you make the list if possible, and it is a good idea to have a friend of yours there, too, as a witness for later. It’s best if the landlord and tenant sign the list, and each keep a copy.
• Tell the landlord about damages which occur while you’re renting there. The landlord should be informed right away, in writing if possible. The cause of the damages should be explained. Remember that the tenant is responsible only if the tenant is somehow at fault.
• Give the proper notice when you want to move out, and keep a copy of it for your records.

 

 

Give the landlord a mailing address at the time you move out, or before. This can be your new address, or the address of a friend — wherever you want your deposit sent.
Give the address to the landlord in writing, and keep a dated copy of the paper you give the landlord, for your own records. If no mailing address is given to the landlord within one year, the tenant loses the right to get any of the deposit back. (A TIP: If you’re moving a long ways away, you may want to give the landlord the address of a trusted local friend to send the deposit to. Some landlords might be tempted to keep the deposit unfairly if they think it is going to be too inconvenient for you to take them to small claims court.)

Put the place back in shape when you move out. This means removing the trash and leaving the house or apartment in the same condition it was in when you moved in or better. Of course, normal wear and tear is permitted, and need not be fixed or restored.

Arrange a meeting with the landlord at the time you move out. Go through the checklist you made when you moved into the apartment. Try to get your landlord to say whether you are going to be charged for any damages, cleaning, or whatever. That way you may be able to fix whatever problem there is while you’re still in a good position to do so. If the landlord can state no reason for keeping part or all of the deposit, try to get the deposit back at this meeting.

Take pictures of the home right before you leave. A picture is really worth 1,000 words in most cases.

 

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/iowa/renting/tenantrights

 

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