Iowa · Rent Increases

Rent Increases in Iowa: What Are My Rights?

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Iowa.

Iowa law sets rules for when and how your landlord can raise your rent. This page covers the notice you must get and what happens if your landlord raises your rent to punish you. It also explains why no city in Iowa can set its own rent control rules.

How much notice you get

  1. Your landlord must tell you in writing before your rent goes up. This written notice must reach you at least 30 days before the increase is set to start. Count the 30 days from the day you actually get the notice, not from the date written on it.

    Source:
    1. §562A.13(5), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  2. If you have a lease for a set length of time, your new rent cannot take effect until that lease ends. This also applies to any renewal or extension of that lease.

    Source:
    1. §562A.13(5), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  3. When you get a rent increase notice, write down the date on it and the date you received it. Iowa law requires at least 30 days written notice before a rent increase starts. The higher rent cannot start before your current lease term ends.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Iowa Code §562A.13(5), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  4. If your landlord asks you to pay the higher rent before your 30-day notice period ends, that amount is not due yet. Write down what you were asked to pay and keep a copy of anything you send back.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. §562A.13(5), Iowa Legislature. Law.

Check the new rent

  1. Keep a copy of every rent increase notice your landlord gives you, along with the date you received it. If you write back to your landlord about it, keep a copy of that too.

    Source:
    1. Our editorial rules.

  2. No city in Iowa can pass a rule limiting how much your landlord can raise your rent. This does not apply to housing that the city itself owns.

    Source:
    1. §364.3(9), Iowa Legislature. Law.

If the increase is not allowed

  1. Iowa law says your landlord cannot raise your rent to punish you for telling a government office about a housing code problem. This only counts if the problem is a real risk to health and safety, not a small one.

    Source:
    1. §562A.36(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  2. Iowa law bans your landlord from raising your rent to punish you for telling your landlord about a legal problem with your home. It also bans a rent increase used to punish you for joining or starting a tenants' group.

    Source:
    1. §562A.36(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  3. A good-faith complaint is an honest complaint, not one made just to cause trouble. If you made one within the 12 months before your landlord raised the rent, a court will assume it did so to punish you. This assumption does not apply if you complained only after your landlord had already told you about a coming rent increase.

    Source:
    1. §562A.36(2), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  4. A court may assume your landlord raised your rent to punish you. The landlord can prove this wrong by showing the cost of owning or running the building has gone up. The landlord must also show the rent increase matches how much those costs increased.

    Source:
    1. §562A.36(2), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  5. If your landlord raises your rent to punish you, you have a defense against eviction. You can raise it if your landlord later takes you to court to try to evict you.

    Source:
    1. §562A.36(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.

  6. If your landlord raises your rent to punish you, you can recover the money you actually lost because of it. You can also get a reasonable payment toward your lawyer's fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. §562A.36(1), Iowa Legislature. Law.

Published by Nazanin, September 28, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.