Free Iowa Lease Agreement Form

Iowa Laws and Lease Requirements

This Iowa lease agreement is governed by Chapter 562A of the Iowa Code, the state’s main law for landlords and tenants. It sets rules for the security deposit and for ending a periodic tenancy.

The deposit rules cover the amount, how it is held, and when it must be returned. The notice rules cover how much warning either side must give before ending the lease. Both sets of rules are explained below.

About This Iowa Lease Agreement

An Iowa lease agreement is a written contract between a landlord and a tenant for renting a home in Iowa. It sets the rent, the length of the stay, and the security deposit terms. Iowa Code Chapter 562A governs the tenancy it creates. Landlords and tenants use it so both sides have the same written record of what they agreed to.

Security Deposit

Iowa law limits and regulates the security deposit a landlord can collect for this lease. A landlord cannot charge more than two months’ rent as a deposit. The landlord must hold it in an insured account separate from personal funds, and must return it or account for it within thirty days after the tenancy ends.

• The deposit cannot exceed two months’ rent.
• The landlord must hold the deposit in a bank, savings and loan association, or credit union insured by a federal agency, and cannot commingle it with personal funds.
• Interest earned on the deposit during the first five years of the tenancy belongs to the landlord.
• The landlord has thirty days after the tenancy ends and after getting the tenant’s mailing address to act. In that time, the landlord must return the deposit, or send the tenant a written statement that explains why part of it is being withheld.
• A landlord who misses that thirty-day written-statement deadline forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit.
• If the tenant does not provide a mailing address or delivery instructions within one year of the tenancy ending, the deposit reverts to the landlord.
• A landlord who keeps the deposit in bad faith can be ordered to pay actual damages, plus a penalty of up to twice the monthly rent.
• If the landlord sells the property or otherwise gives up their interest in it, the deposit must go to the new owner, or back to the tenant. The tenant must get notice of this. The tenant then has twenty days to object to the stated amount. After that, the new owner only owes the amount stated in the notice.
• In a court action on the rental agreement, the court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.

These deposit rules come from Iowa Code Section 562A.12.^[1]

Notice to End a Tenancy

Iowa law requires written notice before either side ends a periodic tenancy, and how much notice depends on how the tenancy is structured. The party who wants to end it must give the other party written notice by the deadline the law sets for that type of tenancy.

• Month-to-month tenancy. At least thirty days before the periodic rental date named in the notice.
• Week-to-week tenancy. At least ten days before the termination date named in the notice.
• A tenancy longer than month-to-month (for example, year-to-year). At least thirty days before the end of the current term named in the notice.

These notice periods come from Iowa Code Section 562A.34, part of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law.^[2]

Iowa Rental Lease Agreement Form Details

The table below summarizes this Iowa lease agreement template: what it is called, the law that applies to it, and the security deposit rules explained above.

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Other Iowa Forms
We provide a wide range of important Iowa documents to anyone in quest of convenience when handling various agreements, contracts, and other paperwork in the state.

Iowa Living Will Iowa Last Will Iowa Bill of Sale Iowa Power of Attorney Iowa Non-compete Agreement Iowa Prenuptial Agreement Iowa LLC Operating Agreement

Frequently Asked Questions

This section answers the question people ask most about this Iowa lease agreement: what a landlord must do with the tenant’s security deposit. The answer is drawn directly from Iowa Code Chapter 562A and cited below.

What Are An Iowa Landlord’s Security Deposit Obligations?

Iowa limits a residential security deposit to two months’ rent, held in an insured account and kept separate from the landlord’s own funds. Interest earned in the first five years belongs to the landlord.

When the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the deposit within thirty days of receiving the tenant’s mailing address. If the landlord misses that deadline, the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any part of it. Bad-faith retention can also bring punitive damages of up to twice the monthly rent.^[1]

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources

Every security deposit rule and every notice period on this page comes from the Iowa Code sections listed below. None of it comes from general knowledge or other websites. Each numbered citation mark in the text above links to the matching source here, so you can read the exact statute yourself.

1. Iowa Code § 562A.12.
2. Iowa Code § 562A.34.

Mara Erlach

Writer & Attorney

Mara has been practicing estate planning and trust law in California since 2003, taking pride in helping clients of all backgrounds and asset profiles form a complete and customized estate plan. Her specialties are: estate planning, wills and trusts, trust and probate administration.