Cedar Rapids, IA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

67) requires every rental property, rental unit, and its common areas to undergo a regular rental inspection on a cycle set by the code official: not more often than yearly, and not less often than every three years, as a condition of receiving a Certificate of Compliance. 67(b) authorizes more frequent, out-of-cycle inspections on eight separate triggers, including a code, police, or fire official's observation of a possible violation; a report that a unit is unoccupied and unsecured or fire- or water-damaged; a compliance check on an outstanding notice or order; a declared public health or safety emergency; a property declared a Nuisance Property under Chapter 22A; and a tenant's own written request, which the tenant must first deliver to the owner, after which the code official may inspect 14 days later.

68 issues a Certificate of Compliance valid three years from the initial inspection date, transferable between owners, but the certificate is not a guarantee of full code compliance and creates no city liability. Owner-occupied single-family homes, condominiums, or cooperatives with no more than two unrelated adult tenants are exempt from the certificate requirement. A certificate can be suspended if the owner does not correct a cited violation, and any vacant unit under suspension cannot be re-rented until the certificate is reinstated after a new regular inspection and payment of outstanding fees.

07, an owner cited for a violation gets 35 calendar days to correct it and a free initial re-inspection, then 14 more days, then a seven-day final notice before a violation penalty issues.