House File 866 - Reprinted
HOUSE FILE 866
BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 843)
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 253)
(As Amended and Passed by the House April 15, 2021)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to landlords and tenants, including service
2 animal requirements, rent late fees, forcible entry and
3 detainer court records and property disposal, and peaceable
4 possession, and including applicability provisions.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
HF 866 (2) 89
cm/jh/md
H.F. 866
1 Section 1. Section 216.8C, Code 2021, is amended by adding
2 the following new subsection:
3 NEW SUBSECTION. 7. A request for accommodation made by
4 a person under this section must be reasonable under the
5 circumstances. A landlord may make other accommodations to the
6 person making the request including but not limited to offering
7 to relocate the person to another housing unit managed by the
8 landlord.
9 Sec. 2. Section 562A.9, subsection 4, Code 2021, is amended
10 to read as follows:
11 4. For rental agreements in which the rent does not exceed
12 seven hundred dollars per month, a rental agreement shall not
13 provide for a late fee that exceeds twelve dollars per day or a
14 total amount of sixty dollars per month. For rental agreements
15 in which the rent is greater than seven hundred dollars per
16 month but less than one thousand four hundred dollars per
17 month, a rental agreement shall not provide for a late fee
18 that exceeds twenty dollars per day or a total amount of one
19 hundred dollars per month. For rental agreements in which the
20 rent is at least one thousand four hundred dollars per month, a
21 rental agreement shall not provide for a late fee that exceeds
22 two percent of the rent per day or ten percent of the rent per
23 month.
24 Sec. 3. Section 562A.11, subsection 2, Code 2021, is amended
25 to read as follows:
26 2. A provision prohibited by subsection 1 included in a
27 rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord willfully
28 uses enforces provisions in a rental agreement containing
29 provisions known by the landlord to be prohibited, a tenant may
30 recover actual damages sustained by the tenant and not more
31 than three months’ periodic rent and reasonable attorney fees.
32 Sec. 4. Section 648.18, Code 2021, is amended to read as
33 follows:
34 648.18 Possession —— bar.
35 Thirty days’ peaceable possession with the knowledge of the
HF 866 (2) 89
-1- cm/jh/md 1/4
H.F. 866
1 plaintiff after the cause of action accrues is a bar to this
2 proceeding. However, this section does not apply to a landlord
3 that notifies a tenant in a writing of a breach of a financial
4 obligation under a rental agreement entered into under chapter
5 562A and the landlord’s intent to enforce such provision.
6 Sec. 5. Section 648.22, Code 2021, is amended to read as
7 follows:
8 648.22 Judgment —— execution —— costs —— disposal of personal
9 property —— sealing of court records.
10 1. If the defendant is found guilty, judgment shall be
11 entered that the defendant be removed from the premises, and
12 that the plaintiff be put in possession of the premises, and an
13 execution for the defendant’s removal within three days from
14 the judgment shall issue accordingly to which judgment for
15 costs shall be entered in the judgment docket and lien index,
16 and to which shall be added a clause commanding the officer to
17 collect the costs as in ordinary cases.
18 2. Any personal property of the defendant remaining on the
19 plaintiff’s real property after the defendant’s removal under
20 this section may be disposed of by the plaintiff.
21 3. In a residential forcible entry and detainer action the
22 court shall enter an order sealing the court records of the
23 action not later than three days from the date of the hearing,
24 or from the date the hearing would have been held as provided
25 by law, if any of the following occurs:
26 a. The defendant is found not guilty.
27 b. By motion or upon the court’s own determination, the
28 court finds there is no genuine issue of material fact between
29 the parties.
30 c. The case is dismissed.
31 d. The plaintiff does not appear for the hearing.
32 4. Upon application of a defendant found guilty in a
33 residential forcible entry and detainer action for nonpayment
34 of rent, the court shall enter an order sealing the record of
35 the action, the existence of the petition, all filings and
HF 866 (2) 89
-2- cm/jh/md 2/4
H.F. 866
1 documentation within the case file, and any associated writs of
2 execution, if all of the following conditions are met:
3 a. More than five years have passed since the date of the
4 finding of guilt.
5 b. The applicant has not been found guilty in a subsequent
6 forcible entry and detainer action in the five-year period
7 directly preceding the application.
8 c. The applicant has not previously been granted a sealing
9 of a finding of guilt under this chapter within ten years prior
10 to the application.
11 d. The applicant has paid all court costs, fees, fines, and
12 any other financial obligation ordered by the court or assessed
13 by the clerk of the district court in the case.
14 5. The application to seal the record of the action shall be
15 included in the record the defendant wishes to seal, using a
16 form prescribed by the supreme court.
17 6. Upon sealing, the existence of the petition, all filings
18 and documentation within the case file, and any associated
19 writs of execution shall be removed from any publicly
20 accessible location under the direction of the judicial branch
21 or county, as applicable. Notwithstanding chapter 22, records
22 sealed upon satisfaction of the requirements specified in this
23 section shall not be available for public inspection except in
24 one of the following manners:
25 a. Upon request by the defendant or the attorney for the
26 defendant by filing a motion in the sealed case.
27 b. Upon application to the judicial branch using a form
28 prescribed by the supreme court for scholarly, educational,
29 journalistic, or governmental purposes only, provided that in
30 all cases, the names of minor children shall remain sealed
31 at all times, and that the names and personally identifiable
32 information of all persons named as defendants or included in
33 the plaintiff’s petition shall be redacted and remain sealed
34 unless the court determines that release of such information is
35 necessary to fulfill the scholarly, educational, journalistic,
HF 866 (2) 89
-3- cm/jh/md 3/4
H.F. 866
1 or governmental purpose of the request.
2 c. The clerk of court in the county in which an action is
3 originated shall maintain a record in the aggregate of all
4 filings and the final disposition of any such actions, to
5 include dismissal, default judgment, and writs associated with
6 disposition. The clerk of court shall make available to the
7 public and report annually such aggregate information in such
8 a manner prescribed by the supreme court as to protect the
9 identity of the parties while still providing the public with
10 information regarding eviction proceedings in the county.
11 7. Upon sealing, a consumer reporting agency shall
12 not disclose the existence of, or information regarding,
13 an eviction action or other civil action sealed or made
14 confidential under this section or use such action as a factor
15 to determine any score or recommendation to be included in a
16 consumer report regarding any person named in such case.
17 8. Subsections 3 through 7 shall not apply to a money
18 judgment awarded for an action that was filed with a forcible
19 entry and detainer action or arising from the same set of facts
20 and circumstances.
21 Sec. 6. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to rental
22 agreements whose lease terms begin on or after January 1, 2022:
23 The section of this Act amending section 562A.9.
HF 866 (2) 89
-4- cm/jh/md 4/4
Statutes affected: Introduced: 216.8C, 562A.9, 562A.11, 648.18, 648.22
Reprinted: 216.8C, 562A.9, 562A.11, 648.18, 648.22