Rent control rules in Des Moines, IA — also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances — limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Iowa law preempts most municipal rent regulation. Des Moines cannot cap rent increases on private market-rate housing, and tenants rely on lease terms and the Iowa URLTA in Iowa Code Ch. 562A for protections.
Although Iowa Code Ch. 17A and broader state policy do not impose a single explicit rent control preemption like Illinois 50 ILCS 825, the Iowa Legislature has consistently rejected and blocked municipal rent-control efforts and treats landlord-tenant rules as a matter of statewide uniformity through the Iowa Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Iowa Code Ch. 562A. Des Moines therefore cannot enact a binding cap on rent increases for private housing. Renters are protected mainly by their lease, fair-housing law, and Iowa URLTA habitability and notice rules. Income-restricted units under federal LIHTC or HUD programs follow their own caps, separate from any local rule.
A local Des Moines ordinance attempting to cap private-market rent could be struck down as ultra vires under Iowa preemption doctrine, and landlords would not be required to comply.
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