Housing (Landlords)

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.