Iowa Rental Laws Carpet Cleaning

Downtown 879 n w 2d 155 iowa 2016 explained what tenants can and cannot be charged for carpet cleaning.

Iowa rental laws carpet cleaning.

If the carpet cleaning does not exceed a professional cleaner s normal rate and the carpet doesn t have any actual damage landlords should not charge a tenant for dirty carpets. Previous to de stefano many iowa landlords automatically charged tenants security deposits for professional carpet cleaning either at the end of the lease or the end of the tenancy. A landlord cannot make you pay for carpet cleaning automatically. To apply for help from iowa legal aid.

Any carpet cleaning charges they collect in advance must be treated as part of a security deposit which must be subject to a refund. Iowa notice required to raise rent and other rent rules. T he iowa supreme court in destefano v. On the other hand the landlord needing to call in a professional cleaning crew because the tenant didn t clean and allowed bugs to take over the property would not be the landlord s responsibility.

Check your local and state laws to be sure that there are no additional requirements. If the tenant fails to pay the rent within three days then the landlord can file to evict the tenant. Iowans age 60 and over call 800 992 8161. With that said landlord tenant laws are always changing and may even vary from county to county.

The landlord must prove the carpet needs to be professionally cleaned to put the apartment in the condition in which you received it. This article summarizes some key iowa landlord tenant laws applicable to residential rental units. Iowa legal aid provides help to low income iowans. The official state statutes and other reputable municipal sources were used to research this information.

When landlords should charge a tenant for dirty carpets. All sources are cited appropriately. This means the landlord can make you pay to clean up stains from spilled drinks or pets but the landlord cannot force you to use a specific cleaning service or company. If a tenant has not paid their rent a landlord in iowa must send them a notice to pay rent or quit.

In other words landlords bear the cost of the routine carpet cleaning when a tenant moves out. Within three days of receiving this notice a tenant must pay the rent that is owed. If the carpet in a rental property is excessively dirty or damaged the landlord can deduct the cost from the security deposit. Deductions cannot include normal wear and tear essentially a landlord would have to sue a tenant as a separate matter if they did not pay for routine carpet cleaning required by the lease.