Breaking a Lease Early in Iowa: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you abandon (leave for good) your home, your landlord must make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental. If your landlord rents it for a term that starts before your lease ends, your lease ends on the day the new term begins. It also ends on the day your landlord learns you left. This is if they make no such efforts or accept your leaving as a surrender (giving up the home).

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.29(3), Iowa Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

When you can leave early

2. 2

   Your landlord may seriously break the lease. Or your landlord may break the repair law in a way that seriously affects health and safety. Then you may end your lease. Send a written notice that says what is wrong. It must name an end date at least 7 days after your landlord gets it, if it is not fixed in 7 days. If your landlord fixes it before that date, your lease does not end.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.21(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   From Iowa Legal Aid.
   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

3. 3

   If substantially the same problem comes back within 6 months after you gave notice of it, you may end your lease again. Send a written notice at least 7 days before the date you want your lease to end. It must say what is wrong and that date. Your landlord can stop this by showing due diligence (steady, careful effort) to fix the problem.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.21(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.
4. 4

   You cannot end your lease over a problem caused on purpose or by carelessness. This covers you, your family, and anyone on the property with your consent.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.21(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.

How to leave

5. 5

   You can send your written notice in several ways. Hand it to your landlord or their agent. Get an acknowledgment (a receipt) they sign and date. Or mail it by regular and certified mail together, to the landlord's business office or the address they named for mail. Mail counts as delivered 4 days after it is mailed and stamped by the post office, whether or not your landlord signs for it.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.8(1)(b), (2), Iowa Legislature. Law.

After you move out

6. 6

   The law gives your landlord 30 days to return your deposit or send a written statement of why they kept any part. The 30 days start after your tenancy (your time renting the home) ends and your landlord has your mailing address or delivery instructions. Your landlord can keep only what is reasonably needed. That means unpaid rent or other money you owe, damage beyond normal wear, or certain costs of getting the home back.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.12(3), Iowa Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

7. 7

   If your landlord does not send the written statement within the 30 days, they lose the right to keep any part of your deposit. But you must give your landlord a mailing address or instructions within 1 year after your tenancy (time renting the home) ends. If you do not, your deposit goes to your landlord and the law treats you as giving up all rights to it.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.12(4), Iowa Legislature. Law.
8. 8

   If you end your lease because your landlord broke it, your landlord must return all prepaid rent. Your landlord must also return the security deposit you can recover under the deposit law.

   Source:

   1. Iowa Code § 562A.21(4), Iowa Legislature. Law.
9. 9

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
10. 10

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.