Iowa Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: 365 days
• Governing authority: Iowa Code § 562A.36

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Iowa — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

Iowa Code § 562A.36 — 房东不得因租客 (1) 向政府机构投诉建筑/住房法规违规 (2) 向房东投诉违反 562A.15 (3) 组织/加入租客组织，而涨租、减服务或提起/威胁提起占有之诉。

⭐ 有 1 年推定（可反驳）。注意：562A（住宅）是 1 年推定，562B（mobile home park）才是 6 个月——二手站常混淆。

Iowa Code § 562A.36 ↗

The protection window

For 365 days after a protected act, certain landlord actions are presumed retaliatory.

善意投诉后 1 年内房东的报复行为**推定成立**（可反驳）。房东可举证「成本上涨与涨租相当」作抗辩。推定不适用于「租客收到涨租/减服务通知后才投诉」。

Iowa Code § 562A.36(2) ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

投诉后 1 年内推定报复；房东须举证非报复理由（成本上涨、正当商业判断等），举证责任最终在租客（preponderance）。

Iowa Code § 562A.36(2) ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

562A.36(3)：房东仍可提起占有之诉——法规违规主要因租客缺乏合理注意所致；租客欠租；合规需改建/拆迁。

Iowa Code § 562A.36(3) ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
Iowa Code § 562A.36	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(2)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(1)(a)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(1)(b)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(1)(c)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
Iowa Code § 562A.36(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Iowa guides

Iowa Security Deposit Return · Iowa Security Deposit Rules · Iowa Eviction Process · Iowa Rent Increase Rules · Iowa Repairs & Habitability

→ All Iowa tenant rights topics

Common questions