How Can a Rental Agreement Be Ended?
Either a landlord or a tenant can end an agreement in one of these five ways.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Move Out in Three Days? Are They Serious? The Meaning of Eviction Notices
What would you do if your landlord told you to move out in three days? Would you really have to pack up and be out in three days? What would happen if you were not out by then? This review of the eviction process focuses on the notices that are given to tenants, and what they really mean
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Does Iowa's Landlord-Tenant Act Cover You and Your Landlord?
Iowa's landlord-tenant law, the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law, applies to the usual situation where a person or household of people rent a house or apartment to live in. But a few situations are not covered by this law.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Rental Deposits
Disputes over deposits are a frequent problem between landlords and tenants. Tenants need to take steps to be sure landlords return deposits after they move out.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Housing: How My Landlord Learned to Make Repairs
Iowa law gives tenants clear and effective rights to take action when repairs are needed to keep the property safe and livable. The Iowa law provides at least four things a tenant may do when repairs are needed but the landlord fails to do what is required to make the repairs. This article will tell you the four methods.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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How Can I Make Sure of Getting My Rental Deposit Back When I Move Out?
When a house or apartment is rented, a landlord usually collects a rental deposit, also called a security deposit, in advance to pay for any damage the tenants might do, to make up for unpaid rent, or to cover certain other expenses. Here are some tips for making sure you get your rental deposit back when you move out.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Tenants: Protect Yourself in Rental Agreements
Treat every landlord-tenant arrangement as if you will one day have to explain the whole situation to a judge. It is up to you to protect yourself by keeping detailed records of your tenancy. Here is an overview of what this means.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Common Legal Terms
(Separate Website)
An online glossary of legal terms from A to W
By: Iowa Judicial Branch
Evictions 101
Many people don’t know what to do when their landlords threaten to evict them. The law protects rights of tenants. It also protects rights of landlords. Like other legal topics, issues in landlord-tenant law can be complicated. Still, most of the basic rules and steps parties must follow are fairly simple.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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Fair Housing–Making New Apartments Accessible to Persons with Disabilities
The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 made a lot of changes in fair housing law. One of the changes dealt with making apartments accessible. When does an apartment have to meet the fair housing accessibility requirements?
By: Iowa Legal Aid
Mobile Homes in Iowa
This resource concerns the rental of lot space for a mobile home or modular home. If the mobile home itself is rented, a different law, Iowa's regular landlord/tenant act, applies to the rental of the mobile home.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
New Requirements for Landlord Notices of Clear and Present Danger
In Iowa, a landlord can evict a tenant if the landlord feels the tenant is creating a situation which places others in danger. This article explains Iowa’s “clear and present danger” law.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
Tenant Rights When Landlords Check Credit Histories
When you find a house or apartment that you would like to rent, the landlord or public housing authority will want to know if you will pay the rent. A landlord may refuse to rent to you if you have a poor credit history. The Fair Credit Reporting Act says a landlord must give you some details if he or she won’t rent to you or charges you a higher deposit based on a credit report.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
Tenants and Utility Service Fees
A recent Iowa Utilities Board ruling concerns who should pay any additional charges to monitor the costs of natural gas when tenants do not have individual meters.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
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The Fair Housing Act and Iowa Civil Rights Act Protect the Housing Rights of Persons with a Mental D
Discrimination against a person with a mental disability is illegal. The federal Fair Housing Act and the Iowa Civil Rights Act require landlords to make exceptions, called “reasonable accommodations,” in rules, policies, practices or services.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
What Duty Does a Landlord Have to Accommodate a Tenant’s Disability?
Anyone may have a hard time finding a rental unit he or she can afford. There is not enough low- and moderate-income housing to meet the need. Persons with disabilities may have even fewer housing choices. Some rental units could become suitable with a few changes. The landlord’s rules or policies might need to change before the tenant could live there. What are a tenant’s rights in such cases?
By: Iowa Legal Aid
What Is Discrimination in Housing?
A landlord may consider a number of different things in choosing tenants or in deciding how to treat a particular tenant. Some of the things a landlord considers are legal and proper, while others are illegal, improper, and may not be considered.
By: Iowa Legal Aid
The Iowa Legal Aid Website is a project of Iowa Legal Aid, the Volunteer Lawyer Projects of the Iowa State Bar and Polk County Bar Associations, and HELP Legal Assistance
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