House File 547 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 547 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 2) (COMPANION TO SF 140 BY COURNOYER) (As Amended and Passed by the House March 21, 2023 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to rental agreements and early termination 1 rights of tenants who are victims of certain crimes. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 HF 547 (2) 90 cm/ns/md

H.F. 547 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 562A.9A Early rental agreement 1 termination by victim. 2 1. A tenant may terminate a rental agreement without penalty 3 or liability if the tenant provides written notification 4 to the landlord that the tenant or another resident of the 5 dwelling unit is a victim of an act that constitutes any of the 6 following: 7 a. Domestic abuse as defined in section 236.2. 8 b. Sexual abuse as defined in section 236A.2. 9 c. Stalking under section 708.11. 10 d. Elder abuse as defined in section 235F.1. 11 e. Crime as defined in section 915.80. 12 2. A written notice to terminate a rental agreement must 13 have one of the following documents attached: 14 a. A protective order issued by court order or 15 court-approved consent agreement entered pursuant to chapter 16 232, 235F, or 664A. 17 b. A court order or court-approved consent agreement entered 18 pursuant to chapter 236 or 236A, including a valid foreign 19 protective order under section 236.19, subsection 3, or section 20 236A.19, subsection 3. 21 c. A temporary or permanent protective order or order to 22 vacate the homestead under chapter 598. 23 d. An order that establishes conditions of release or is a 24 protective order or sentencing order in a criminal prosecution 25 arising from a domestic abuse assault under section 708.2A. 26 e. A civil injunction issued pursuant to section 915.22. 27 f. A copy of a written report by a peace officer employed by 28 a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency stating that 29 the tenant or resident of the dwelling unit is a victim of an 30 act or crime listed in subsection 1. 31 g. Documentation from a licensed health care services 32 provider, licensed mental health care provider, or a victim 33 counselor as defined in section 915.20A, subsection 1, based 34 on information that such person received while working in the 35 -1- HF 547 (2) 90 cm/ns/md 1/ 4

H.F. 547 person’s professional capacity, to indicate that a tenant or 1 resident of the dwelling unit is seeking assistance for abuse 2 or physical or mental injuries resulting from an act or crime 3 listed in subsection 1. The documentation must be signed, 4 dated, and attested to by the tenant and the licensed health 5 care services provider, licensed mental health care provider, 6 or victim counselor, and must contain, in substantially the 7 same form, all of the following: 8 (1) Name of any tenant and residents of the dwelling unit 9 whose tenancy shall terminate. 10 (2) Name of the victim of the act or crime listed in 11 subsection 1. 12 (3) Address of the dwelling unit. 13 (4) Name of accused perpetrator, if known and if such name 14 may be safely disclosed. 15 (5) Date and time of incident, if known. 16 (6) Brief description of the incident or a statement as to 17 why the tenant requests early rental agreement termination to 18 support health and safety. 19 h. Any other form of documentation that reasonably certifies 20 that the act or crime listed in subsection 1 occurred. 21 3. Written notice to terminate a rental agreement provided 22 to the landlord must include all of the following: 23 a. The date the rental agreement will terminate. Such 24 date shall be at least fourteen days after the date the tenant 25 provides the notification with confirmation document and no 26 more than thirty days after such date. 27 b. The names of the residents of the dwelling unit in 28 addition to the tenant. 29 c. The names of the residents of the dwelling unit to which 30 the termination of the rental agreement will apply in addition 31 to the tenant, if any. 32 4. A tenant who terminates a rental agreement pursuant 33 to this section shall remain liable for rent for the month 34 in which the tenant terminated the rental agreement and any 35 -2- HF 547 (2) 90 cm/ns/md 2/ 4

H.F. 547 prorated days of rent through the date of termination stated 1 in the notice. A tenant may notify the landlord of plans 2 to vacate the dwelling unit prior to the rental agreement 3 termination date. If the dwelling unit is rented to another 4 party prior to the end of the obligation to pay rent, the rent 5 owed under this section shall be prorated. 6 5. The tenant and any resident of the dwelling unit who 7 terminates a rental agreement pursuant to this section is all 8 of the following: 9 a. Not liable for rent or damages to the premises incurred 10 after the lease termination date. 11 b. Not subject to a negative credit reference, a negative 12 character reference, or any fee or penalty solely because of 13 termination of the rental agreement. 14 c. Not required to forfeit any rental deposit or advance 15 rent paid due to the termination. A tenant who terminates 16 a rental agreement pursuant to this section shall not be 17 considered for any purpose, by reason of the termination, to 18 have breached the rental agreement. Any retention of the 19 rental deposit or portion thereof shall only be pursuant to 20 section 562A.12. 21 6. a. A landlord shall not disclose to a third party 22 or enter into a shared database any information provided to 23 the landlord by a tenant under this section, the address or 24 location to which the tenant has relocated, or the status 25 of the tenant as a victim of violence unless the disclosure 26 satisfies any of the following: 27 (1) The tenant consents in writing. 28 (2) The disclosure is required by law or order of the court. 29 b. A landlord’s communication to a licensed health care 30 services provider, licensed mental health care provider, or 31 victim counselor who provides documentation to verify the 32 contents of that documentation is not disclosure for purposes 33 of this subsection. 34 7. A landlord, owner, or owner’s agent shall not refuse 35 -3- HF 547 (2) 90 cm/ns/md 3/ 4

H.F. 547 to rent a dwelling unit to an otherwise qualified prospective 1 tenant or refuse to continue to rent to an existing tenant 2 solely on the basis that the tenant has previously exercised 3 the tenant’s rights under this section or has previously 4 terminated a tenancy because of the circumstances described in 5 this section. 6 8. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 7 contrary, only the leasehold interest of the tenant requesting 8 the termination pursuant to subsection 1 who provides the 9 documentation required by subsections 2 and 3 shall be 10 terminated. 11 -4- HF 547 (2) 90 cm/ns/md 4/ 4