The Iowa Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and Other Law
The rental process can be affected by federal law, state law, and local law. For example, there are federal laws on discrimination in rental housing, state laws on how much of a security deposit a landlord can require, and local laws on standards for rental properties.
Our section on landlord/tenant law focuses on residential rental situations (meaning leasing a place to live), versus commercial rentals (leasing a space for your business).
An important state law related to renting a place to live is the Iowa Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which is located at Iowa Code chapter 562A. The Act covers topics like landlord and tenant responsibilities, terms that cannot be included in leases, and security deposits, among other things.
There are certain residential rental situations that are not covered by the law. These include:
- College dorms
- Prisons
- Non-profit transitional housing
- Rent-to-own home purchases
- Leasing a farm
You can find a full list of exceptions in Iowa Code section 562A.5.
For more information on landlord and tenant law in Iowa, visit Iowa Legal Aid’s Summary of Landlord and Tenant Law.