Property Maintenance in Iowa (2026)

In the City of Ames, Iowa, the Building Official can declare any building, shed, fence or structure a dangerous…

Ankeny's Housing Code treats any rental structure found substandard as excluded from the general rule letting existing…

In unincorporated Black Hawk County, the Health Officer can designate a defective or hazardous building unfit for human…

Cedar Rapids tracks every chronically vacant, code-violating building through a dedicated Vacant and Neglected…

Council Bluffs adopted the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings under CBMC 13.03.010, letting the…

Des Moines can declare any unsafe, dangerous, or unfit structure a public nuisance, order it vacated immediately, and…

In the City of Dubuque, any building endangering public life, health or safety is a declared public nuisance under City…

Iowa City requires owners of any vacant or abandoned building to register it with the City within 30 days, pay an…

Johnson County placards and can order the immediate vacation of any rental dwelling so damaged, decayed, dilapidated…

Polk County bans storing junk outside an enclosed building on any unincorporated property. Section 2-5(d) of the Health…

Sioux City can post, order repaired, or demolish any dangerous or dilapidated building, fence, or structure that…

A building that has become dangerous for further occupancy from structural, sanitary, or other defects is a public…

Waterloo, Iowa's building official can inspect, order boarded up, and abate unsafe, vacant or abandoned buildings under…

A West Des Moines building that is unfit for human habitation, kept in an unsanitary condition that endangers…

Unincorporated Linn County adopted the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, requiring structures and premises…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Municipal Code Sec. 30.5(14) makes it a public nuisance to leave an excavation, hole, or…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, City Code section 167.02 limits grass, weeds and volunteer trees on any land, including…

Unincorporated Black Hawk County bars accumulating garbage, refuse, or yard waste on any premises, improved OR vacant…

Cedar Rapids declares putrid, filthy, or offensive materials left on any vacant or occupied lot a public nuisance…

Des Moines lets weeds on a vacant lot grow past ten inches only if it sits 100+ feet from a street, public property, or…

Iowa City bans refuse, junk and salvage material from accumulating on any lot, whether vacant or occupied. City Code…

Unmaintained vacant lots and abandoned or unsafe buildings in unincorporated Polk County are health nuisances. An…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, an unimproved lot that has never been developed and sits more than three hundred feet…

In the City of West Des Moines, weeds or vegetation allowed to grow past ten inches, or any accumulation of dead weeds…

In the City of Council Bluffs, the citywide 18-inch weed nuisance limit does not automatically apply to a truly vacant…

Iowa Code section 364.12 universally authorizes cities to require abutting property owners to remove snow, ice, and…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, property owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk abutting their property within ten…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, abutting property owners must clear snow, ice, and accumulations from public sidewalks…

Cedar Rapids property owners must clear sidewalk snow and ice within 24 hours of a snowfall or ice formation, or face a…

In the City of Council Bluffs, the occupant or owner of a building or lot must clear the abutting sidewalk of snow and…

Davenport requires owners and occupants to clear the entire sidewalk of snow and ice. If it stays more than 10 hours…

Des Moines property owners, tenants, and lessees must clear snow and ice from abutting public sidewalks within 48 hours…

In the City of Dubuque, the owner of any lot abutting a public sidewalk must promptly clear away snow, ice and slush…

Owners, tenants and anyone in possession of an Iowa City property have 24 hours to clear snow and ice off the abutting…

Sioux City, Iowa property owners have twelve hours after snow or ice stops falling to clear it from abutting public…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, abutting property owners must clear 2 inches or more of snow and ice from sidewalks…

West Des Moines requires the owner of any property abutting a public sidewalk to clear snow and ice within 24 hours…