An Iowa eviction notice form is a legal demand for a tenant to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or else move out of the premises. Iowa landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of Iowa Eviction Notice Forms
| Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
| 3 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
| 7 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate | Lease Violation | Yes |
| 3 Day Notice of Termination | Illegal Activity
(Clear & Present Danger) |
No |
| 7 Day Notice To Vacate | Repeat Lease Violation | No |
| 30 Day Notice To Vacate | Monthly / Longer Term Lease | No |
Iowa 3 Day Notice To Quit
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An Iowa 3 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In Iowa, a landlord can file this notice the day after rent is due, with no grace period for the tenant. The tenant must pay all past due rent or else move out within three (3) calendar days.
Iowa 7 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
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An Iowa 7 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant may get a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. A curable lease violation might include failure to maintain health and safety on the rental property, interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbors, or refusal to allow lawful entry by the landlord.
The tenant must take appropriate corrective action or else move out within seven (7) calendar days of receiving notice.
Iowa 3 Day Notice of Termination
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An Iowa 3 Day Notice of Termination evicts a tenant for an “incurable” lease violation, i.e., one which the tenant is not allowed to restore through corrective action. In particular, this notice evicts a tenant who is a clear and present danger to other persons on or within 1000 feet of the landlord’s property. The tenant is not given an opportunity for corrective action, and must move out within three (3) calendar days of receiving notice.
Iowa 7 Day Notice To Vacate
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An Iowa 7 Day Notice To Vacate evicts a tenant repeating a lease violation within a six (6) month period. Because it’s a repeat of the same violation, the tenant is not given an opportunity for corrective action, and must move out within seven (7) calendar days of receiving notice.
Iowa 30 Day Notice To Vacate
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An Iowa 30 Day Notice To Vacate terminates a month-to-month lease or a lease with a term longer than month-to-month, as well as an expired lease or a situation without a written lease. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least thirty (30) calendar days before the date of termination.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in Iowa
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the full name of the receiving parties, and address of record, if known
- Specify the basis upon which the tenancy will terminate and corrective action necessary, if applicable
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Calculate Expiration Date in Iowa
The “clock” for an eviction notice period starts “ticking” the day after the notice gets delivered (served). For example, to give at least 30 days of notice and begin court action as of June 30th, delivery of the eviction notice must be no later than May 31st.
In most jurisdictions, if the last day of a notice period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This is called the “next judicial day;” in other words, the next day a courthouse is open.
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in Iowa
Iowa landlords may deliver an eviction notice to a tenant by any of the following methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Hand delivery to the tenant’s spouse, if a reasonable person has cause to believe they live with the tenant
- Hand delivery to a person residing at the premises who is at least 18 years old (may be a roommate, family member, or manager/proprietor, if the residence is a rooming house, hotel, club or apartment building)
- Other form of delivery to the tenant, evidenced by an acknowledgment of delivery that is signed and dated by a resident of the dwelling unit who is at least 18 years of age
- Posting on the primary entrance door of the dwelling unit, PLUS mailing by both regular mail AND certified mail to the tenant’s dwelling or last known address
Mailed notice extends a notice period by four (4) calendar days, to account for variable delivery times.
Sources
- 1 In the Matter of Ongoing Provisions for Coronavirus / COVID-19 Impact On Court Services, Iowa. Supr. Ct., May 22, 2020 (order amended March 12, 2021)
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Any plaintiff bringing an FED action under chapter 648 for nonpayment of rent after the date of this order shall submit a CARES Act verification in a form approved by this court. This requirement shall continue in effect until further order of this court.
Source Link - 2 MIMG CLXXII Retreat on 6th, LLC v. Miller, No. 23-0670 at 11-12 (Iowa 2025)
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[S]ection 9058(c)(1), read in context, applies only to nonpayment defaults that occurred during the 120-day moratorium described in section 9058(b).
Source Link - 3 IA Code § 562A.27A
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Notwithstanding section 562A.27 or 648.3, if a tenant has created or maintained a threat constituting a clear and present danger to the health or safety of other tenants, the landlord, the landlord’s employee or agent, or other persons on or within one thousand feet of the landlord’s property, the landlord, after the service of a single three days’ written notice of termination and notice to quit stating the specific activity causing the clear and present danger, and setting forth the language of subsection 3 which includes certain exemption provisions available to the tenant, may file suit against the tenant for recovery of possession of the premises pursuant to chapter 648, except as otherwise provided in subsection 3. The petition shall state the incident or incidents giving rise to the notice of termination and notice to quit. The tenant shall be given the opportunity to contest the termination in the court proceedings by notice thereof at least three days prior to the hearing.
2. A clear and present danger to the health or safety of other tenants, the landlord, the landlord’s employees or agents, or other persons on or within one thousand feet of the landlord’s property includes, but is not limited to, any of the following activities of the tenant or of any person on the premises with the consent of the tenant:
a. Physical assault or the threat of physical assault.
b. Illegal use of a firearm or other weapon, the threat to use a firearm or other weapon illegally, or possession of an illegal firearm.
c. Possession of a controlled substance unless the controlled substance was obtained directly from or pursuant to a valid prescription or order by a licensed medical practitioner while acting in the course of the practitioner’s professional practice. This paragraph applies to any other person on the premises with the consent of the tenant, but only if the tenant knew of the possession by the other person of a controlled substance.
Source Link - 4 IA Code § 562A.34
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The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice.
The landlord or the tenant may terminate a tenancy having a term longer than month-to-month by a written notice given to the other at least thirty days prior to the end of the first or subsequent term of the tenancy specified in the notice.
Source Link - 5 Iowa Court Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 4.1
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Time—legal holidays. In computing time, the first day shall be excluded and the last Iowa Code 2022, Section 4.1 (17, 1) Mon Dec 06 18:08:43 20213 CONSTRUCTION OF STATUTES, §4.1 included, unless the last falls on Sunday, in which case the time prescribed shall be extended so as to include the whole of the following Monday. However, when by the provisions of a statute or rule prescribed under authority of a statute, the last day for the commencement of an action or proceedings, the filing of a pleading or motion in a pending action or proceedings, or the perfecting or filing of an appeal from the decision or award of a court, board, commission, or official falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, a day on which the office of the clerk of the district court is closed in whole or in part pursuant to the authority of the supreme court, the first day of January, the third Monday in January, the twelfth day of February, the third Monday in February, the last Monday in May, the fourth day of July, the first Monday in September, the eleventh day of November, the fourth Thursday in November, the twenty-fifth day of December, and the following Monday when any of the foregoing named legal holidays fall on a Sunday, and any day appointed or recommended by the governor of Iowa or the president of the United States as a day of fasting or thanksgiving, the time shall be extended to include the next day which the office of the clerk of the court or the office of the board, commission, or official is open to receive the filing of a commencement of an action, pleading or a motion in a pending action or proceeding, or the perfecting or filing of an appeal.
Source Link - 6 Iowa Code § 562A.29A(1)
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A written notice of termination required under section 562A.27, subsection 1, 2, or 5, a notice of termination and notice to quit required under section 562A.27A, a landlord’s written notice of termination to the tenant required under section 562A.34, subsection 1, 2, or 3, or a notice to quit required by section 648.3, shall be served upon the tenant by one or more of the following methods:
a. Delivery evidenced by an acknowledgment of delivery that is signed and dated by a resident of the dwelling unit who is at least eighteen years of age. Delivery under this paragraph shall be deemed to provide notice to all tenants of the dwelling unit.
b. Personal service pursuant to rule of civil procedure 1.305, Iowa court rules, for the personal service of original notice. [i.e., personal service; service to property resident at least 18 years old, incl. family, roommate, or manager/proprietor, if receiving party resides in a rooming house, hotel, club, or apartment building; or service to receiving party’s spouse, if there is a reasonable belief the spouse resides with the receiving party. See Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.305(1).]
c. Posting on the primary entrance door of the dwelling unit and mailing by both regular mail and certified mail, as defined in section 618.15, to the address of the dwelling unit or to the tenant’s last known address, if different from the address of the dwelling unit. A notice posted according to this paragraph shall be posted within the applicable time period for serving notice and shall include the date the notice was posted.
Source Link - 7 Iowa Code § 562A.8(2)
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Notice served by mail under this section is deemed completed four days after the notice is deposited in the mail and postmarked for delivery, whether or not the recipient signs a receipt for the notice.=====Mailed deliveries under more narrow notice requirements are held to the same standard. See Iowa Code § 562A.29A(2) (“Notice served by mail under this section is deemed completed four days after the notice is deposited in the mail and postmarked for delivery, whether or not the recipient signs a receipt for the notice.”)Source Link
