2023 Iowa Code › Title IX - LOCAL GOVERNMENT › Chapter 364 - POWERS AND DUTIES OF CITIES › Section 364.17 - City housing codes.

364.17 City housing codes.
1. A city with a population of fifteen thousand or more may adopt by ordinance the latest version of one of the following housing codes before January 1, 1981:
a. The uniform housing code promulgated by the international conference of building officials.
b. The housing code promulgated by the American public health association.
c. The basic housing code promulgated by the building officials conference of America.
d. The standard housing code promulgated by the southern building code congress international.
e. Housing quality standards promulgated by the United States department of housing and urban development for use in assisted housing programs.
2. Every city with a population of fifteen thousand or more which has not adopted another housing code under this section by January 1, 1981, is subject to and shall be considered to have adopted the uniform housing code promulgated by the international conference of building officials, as amended to January 1, 1980. A city which reaches a population of fifteen thousand, as determined after July 1, 1980, has six months after such determination to comply with this section.
3. a. A city which adopts or is subject to a housing code under this section shall adopt enforcement procedures, which shall include a program for regular rental inspections, rental inspections upon receipt of complaints, and certification of inspected rental housing, and may include but are not limited to the following:
(1) A schedule of civil penalties or criminal fines for violations. A city may charge the owner of housing a late payment fee of twenty-five dollars and may add interest of up to one and one-half percent per month if a penalty or fine imposed under this subparagraph is not paid within thirty days of the date that the penalty or fine is due. The city shall send a notice of the late payment fee to such owner by first class mail to the owner’s personal or business mailing address. The late payment fee and the interest shall not accrue if such owner files an appeal with either the city, if the city has established an appeals procedure, or the district court. Any unpaid penalty, fine, fee, or interest shall constitute a lien on the real property and may be collected in the same manner as a property tax. However, before a lien is filed, the city shall send a notice of intent to file a lien to the owner of the housing by first class mail to such owner’s personal or business mailing address.
(2) Authority for the issuance of orders requiring violations to be corrected within a reasonable time.
(3) Authority for the issuance of citations pursuant to sections 805.1 through 805.5 upon a failure to satisfactorily remedy a violation.
(4) Authority, if other methods have failed, for an officer to contract to have work done as necessary to remedy a violation, the cost of which shall be assessed to the violator and constitute a lien on the property until paid.
(5) An escrow system for the deposit of rent which will be applied to the costs of correcting violations.
(6) Mediation of disputes based upon alleged violations.
(7) Injunctive procedures.
(8) Authority by ordinance to provide that no rent shall be recoverable by the owner or lessee of any dwelling which does not comply with the housing code adopted by the city until such time as the dwelling does comply with the housing code adopted by the city.
b. The enforcement procedures shall be designed to improve housing conditions rather than to displace persons from their homes.
4. A city which is subject to the uniform housing code or which adopts another housing code under this section may provide reasonable variances for existing structures which cannot practicably meet the standards in the code but are not unsafe for habitation.
5. Cities may establish reasonable fees for inspection and enforcement procedures. A city may charge the owner of housing a late payment penalty of twenty-five dollars and may add interest of up to one and one-half percent per month if a fee imposed under this subsection is not paid within thirty days of the date that the fee is due. The city shall send a notice of the late payment penalty to such owner by first class mail to the owner’s personal or business mailing address. The late payment penalty and the interest shall not accrue if such owner files an appeal with either the city, if the city has established an appeals procedure, or the district court. Any unpaid fee, penalty, or interest shall constitute a lien on the real property and may be collected in the same manner as a property tax. However, before a lien is filed, the city shall send a notice of intent to file a lien to the owner of the housing by first class mail to such owner’s personal or business mailing address.
6. Cities with populations of less than fifteen thousand may comply with this section.
7. A city may adopt housing code provisions which are more stringent than those in the model housing code it adopts or to which it is subject under this section.
[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §6327 – 6451; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §413.1 – 413.125; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §413.1 – 413.11, 413.13 – 413.125; C81, §364.17]
83 Acts, ch 101, §81; 2005 Acts, ch 179, §60, 61; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §130; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §235