Iowa security deposit law: the 30-day deadline and your rights
Within 30 days from termination of the tenancy AND receipt of the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions (§ 562A.12(3)(a)) — the clock does not start until the address is provided.
What Iowa law says
- Return deadline
- 30 days
- Statute
- Iowa Code § 562A.12
Bad-faith retention subjects the landlord to punitive damages of up to two months' rent IN ADDITION to actual damages (§ 562A.12(7)). A merely late return without bad faith yields forfeiture of the right to withhold, not punitives. Our calculator approximates the rent-based cap as one deposit on top of the refund.
Verification pending. Our attorney-reviewed deep-dive for Iowa — with the full case builder, damages calculator, and demand letter generator — isn't live yet. The summary above is drawn from the statute but hasn't completed our legal review; always confirm against the current text of Iowa Code § 562A.12.
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