Housing

HF 1037 modifies economic development and urban renewal provisions to encourage housing development, affecting municipalities and housing developers. The bill expands the definition of "economic development" to include the provision of workforce housing and requires public bodies to consider workforce housing development policies. For housing projects in certain urban renewal areas, it caps the required amount of low and moderate-income housing at 20% of the original project cost. Additionally, the bill extends the period for collecting tax increment financing revenue for these specific projects to 20 fiscal years.

HF 975 amends multiple economic development and community programs in Iowa, affecting local governments, businesses, and residents participating in initiatives like brownfield redevelopment, historic preservation, tourism marketing, and homelessness services. It modifies tax credit programs for brownfields, grayfields, and historic preservation, adjusts funding for tourism and community attraction, and updates the Iowa Reinvestment Act. The bill also clarifies applicability and retroactive provisions for these programs. Signed into law by the Governor on June 6, 2025, it updates existing frameworks rather than creating new programs.

HF 1040 allocates $12.9 million for Iowa's Economic Development Authority (EDA) and related agencies for fiscal year 2025-2026 to support statewide economic growth. It directs funds toward workforce recruitment, business development (including grants for women-owned startups), tourism marketing, and community economic programs, while requiring recipient businesses to hire U.S. citizens or authorized workers. The bill also eliminates the repeal of Iowa's housing renewal pilot program and appropriates additional funds for the World Food Prize ($650,000) and tourism advertising ($1.02 million). These provisions directly affect state agencies, local communities, and businesses receiving EDA financial assistance.

This bill, HSB 117, changes how court records are handled in residential eviction cases (forcible entry and detainer actions) in Iowa. It requires courts to seal (make private) records within three days if the tenant wins, the case is dismissed, the landlord fails to appear, or the court finds no real dispute between parties. For tenants found guilty of nonpayment, records can be sealed after seven years if they’ve paid all costs, had no recent evictions, and haven’t previously had records sealed. Once sealed, records are removed from public view but can be accessed by tenants for their own case, for scholarly purposes with redacted names, or through anonymized public reports about eviction trends.

This bill requires Iowa counties and cities to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per single-family residential lot. It prohibits local governments from imposing restrictions that are more stringent than those for primary homes, such as size limits below 1,000 sq. ft (except capping ADU size relative to the main house), extra parking requirements, or discriminatory occupancy rules. Counties and cities must approve ADU permit applications meeting state standards within 30 days, or the application is deemed approved. The bill directly affects local governments (through regulatory changes) and homeowners seeking to build or rent ADUs on their property.