Iowa Code ch. 555B § 555B.9
Disposal — proceeds
Operative Text
1. Pursuant to an order for disposal under section 555B.8, subsection 3, the real property owner shall dispose of the mobile home and personal property by public or private sale in a commercially reasonable manner. If the personal property owner, lienholder, or other claimant has asserted a claim to the mobile home or personal property within the judicial proceedings, that person shall be notified of the sale by restricted certified mail not less than five days before the sale. The notice is deemed given upon the mailing. The real property owner may buy at any public sale, and if the mobile home or personal property is of a type customarily sold in a recognized market or is the subject of widely distributed standard price quotations, the real property owner may buy at a private sale. 2. A sale pursuant to subsection 1 transfers to the purchaser for value, all of the mobile home owner’s rights in the mobile home and personal property, and discharges the real property owner’s interest in the mobile home and personal property, any tax lien, and any other lien. The purchaser takes free of all rights and interests even though the real property owner fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter or of any judicial proceedings, if the purchaser acts in good faith. 3. The proceeds of the sale of mobile home and personal property shall be distributed as follows: a. First, to satisfy the real property owner’s judgment obtained under section 555B.8. b. Second, to satisfy any tax lien for which a claim was asserted pursuant to section 555B.4, subsection 3. c. Third, to satisfy any other lien for which a claim was asserted pursuant to section 555B.4, subsection 4. d. Any surplus remaining after the proceeds are distributed shall be held by the real property owner for six months. If the mobile home owner fails to claim the surplus in that time, the surplus may be retained by the real property owner. If a deficiency remains after distribution of the proceeds, the mobile home owner is liable for the amount of the deficiency. 4. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 3, the real property owner may propose to retain the mobile home and personal property in satisfaction of the judgment obtained pursuant to section 555B.8. Written notice of the proposal shall be sent to the mobile home owner, lienholder, or other claimant, if that person has asserted a claim to the mobile home or personal property in the judicial proceedings. If the real property owner receives objection in writing from the mobile home owner, lienholder, or other claimant within twenty-one days after the notice was sent, the real property owner shall dispose of the mobile home and personal property pursuant to subsection 1. If no written objection is received by the real property owner within twenty-one days after the notice was sent, the mobile home and personal property may be retained. Retention of the mobile home and personal property discharges the judgment of the real property owner, any tax lien, and any other lien. 5. If the real property owner has made a good faith attempt to sell the mobile home and personal property pursuant to subsection 1 but is unsuccessful and elects not to retain the mobile home and personal property pursuant to subsection 4, the real property owner may dispose of the mobile home and personal property to a demolisher or junkyard. Proceeds from the disposition shall be distributed pursuant to subsection 3. If the personal property is a motor vehicle to which section 321.90 applies, the real property owner shall present the order for disposal obtained pursuant to section 555B.8, subsection 3, to the police authority to obtain a certificate of authority to dispose of the motor vehicle pursuant to section 321.90, subsection 2.
Iowa Code ch. 555B § 555B.9 governs what happens after a court orders disposal of an abandoned mobile home and associated personal property from a real property owner's land. The property must be sold in a commercially reasonable manner—publicly or privately—with sale proceeds distributed in a set priority order: first to satisfy the real property owner's court judgment, then to cover tax liens, then other liens, with any surplus held for six months before the real property owner may keep it. Alternatively, the real property owner may propose to retain the property outright in satisfaction of the judgment, unless a claimant objects in writing within twenty-one days. If a sale cannot be completed and the owner declines to retain the property, disposal to a demolisher or junkyard is permitted as a last resort.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Iowa Code ch. 555B § 555B.9, real property owners who have obtained a court disposal order are expected to conduct any sale in a commercially reasonable way and to notify known claimants—such as lienholders or personal property owners who appeared in the judicial proceedings—by restricted certified mail at least five days before the sale. Compliant operators keep careful records of how sale proceeds are distributed according to the statutory priority order and hold any surplus funds for the required six-month period before treating them as retained. Owners who wish to keep the mobile home and personal property instead of selling must send written notice to known claimants and wait the full twenty-one-day objection window before doing so.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Iowa Code ch. 555B § 555B.9 provides that a mobile home owner retains certain financial interests even after a court-ordered disposal: any surplus from the sale must be held for six months and can be claimed during that window, and a good-faith purchaser at the sale receives clear title regardless of procedural errors by the real property owner. If you or another claimant asserted a claim during the judicial proceedings, you are entitled to advance notice of the sale by restricted certified mail, and you have the right to object in writing within twenty-one days if the real property owner proposes to retain the property instead of selling it. Tenants or mobile home owners who believe their rights under § 555B.9 have not been honored may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid office familiar with Iowa manufactured housing law to understand available options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 18, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
Rules and statutes cited by this regulation
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation