Major Change To Iowa’s Eviction Policy Cuts Time From 30 Days To 3

Some news for renters in Iowa.

Dealing with a landlord or landlady can be either chill and non-problematic or it can be no chill and highly problematic. It's either one of the two.

The Iowa Supreme Court has decided to rescind the CARES Act, a COVID-era legislation that required landlords to extend eviction notices from 3 days to 30 days.

I have to give my landlord a 30-day notice if I'm planning to move anyway, but landlords in Iowa can serve an eviction notice for the same timeframe in a month-to-month tenancy situation or when there's no fixed-term lease.

Why You Could Get Kicked Out In 3 Days

Now, if you don't pay rent in Iowa or if you engage in some shady stuff in the apartment, your landlord can legally serve you an eviction notice to get out in 3 days.

Kelle Larned, Program and Operations Director for The Salvation Army of the Quad Cities, is concerned about the turnaround time The Salvation Army will have to help people move out. They are working on a pilot program with Iowa Legal Aid to give financial incentives to landlords to extend eviction notices to give low-income families more time to pay rent. She told WHBF:

We have different fundings from grants that pay for people’s rent. So it depends on what guidelines each grant has, to see who qualifies and what grant (applies.) So it does take a little bit. And (applicants have) tons of paperwork they have to fill out, a lot of documents they have to bring in, and that takes time. It cannot happen in three days.

If you did get an eviction notice prior to the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling, you're not guaranteed the 30 days anymore.

Besides the 3 days and 30 days, landlords in Iowa can give you a 7-day eviction notice. This comes into play if you've done something like get a dog when there is a no pets policy on the rental property.