Iowa Code ch. 562A § 562A.23
Wrongful failure to supply heat, water, hot water or essential services
Operative Text
1. If contrary to the rental agreement or section 562A.15 the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply running water, hot water, or heat, or essential services, the tenant may give written notice to the landlord specifying the breach and may: a. Procure reasonable amounts of hot water, running water, heat and essential services during the period of the landlord’s noncompliance and deduct their actual and reasonable cost from the rent; b. Recover damages based upon the diminution in the fair rental value of the dwelling unit; or c. Recover any rent already paid for the period of the landlord’s noncompliance which shall be reimbursed on a pro rata basis. 2. If the tenant proceeds under this section, the tenant may not proceed under section 562A.21 as to that breach. 3. The rights under this section do not arise until the tenant has given notice to the landlord or if the condition was caused by the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other person on the premises with the consent of the tenant.
Iowa Code § 562A.23 addresses situations where a landlord deliberately or negligently fails to provide running water, hot water, heat, or other essential services in violation of the rental agreement or the landlord's statutory duties. When this occurs, the law gives tenants several potential remedies: arranging and paying for those services themselves and deducting the cost from rent, seeking compensation for the reduced rental value of the unit, or recovering a pro-rated refund of rent already paid during the period of noncompliance. These remedies are triggered only after the tenant provides written notice to the landlord describing the problem, and they are not available if the tenant or someone in the tenant's household caused the condition.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Iowa Code § 562A.23, property owners and managers are expected to maintain continuous access to running water, hot water, heat, and other essential services as required by the rental agreement and Iowa Code § 562A.15. Compliant operators typically have maintenance protocols in place to respond promptly to service failures, since a deliberate or negligent lapse can expose them to tenant-initiated cost deductions, diminished-value claims, or pro-rated rent refunds. Keeping records of maintenance requests, repair timelines, and communications with tenants is a practice commonly associated with operators who manage these obligations effectively.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Iowa Code § 562A.23 outlines specific remedies available to tenants when a landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply essential services such as heat, hot water, or running water. Before any of these remedies become available, a tenant must deliver written notice to the landlord identifying the specific breach — that written notice is a prerequisite under this section. Tenants who believe their landlord has violated § 562A.23 may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid provider to understand which of the available remedies — self-help cost deduction, diminished-value damages, or pro-rated rent recovery — may be relevant to their circumstances, and to understand how choosing this section affects options under other parts of Iowa's landlord-tenant law.
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 In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation