What do the 2026 Iowa HOA law changes mean for volunteer boards?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 1, 2026

Iowa HOA law for boards: the 2026 dues certification and transfer fee schedule, 10-day records access under 499C, ADU rules and the 21-year covenant claim.

Part of the HOA board handbook: new state laws for boards.

The short answer

Iowa's statutes touch planned-community HOAs in a few targeted places rather than through one comprehensive act. For a board, the ones that matter most are Chapter 499C (records access, enacted in 2023), Chapter 504 (if the association is an Iowa nonprofit corporation) and Code section 614.24, which can make old use restrictions unenforceable. Two 2026 acts change your work, and both took effect July 1, 2026 under Iowa Code 3.7(1), since neither sets another date: - Senate File 2448, signed April 30, 2026, adds two items to the list an association must hand an owner within 10 business days: a certification of whether dues are paid or delinquent, and a schedule of every fee tied to a sale. It also lets the association charge a reasonable fee for preparing the certification. - Senate File 2369, signed April 9, 2026, adjusts the state's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mandate on cities and counties. A deed restriction or a rule of a common interest community can still limit or ban ADUs. Rules also depend on your declaration and bylaws, and courts read them together with these statutes. Treat this as education, not legal advice.

Who Chapter 499C covers

Section 499C.1 defines a common interest community as real estate under a declaration where owning a unit obligates you to pay a share of taxes, insurance, maintenance or other expenses for common elements or other property. It expressly includes planned communities, homeowner and property owner associations, horizontal property regimes under Chapter 499B (condominiums) and cooperatives under Chapter 499A. Three things fall outside it: - a covenant where neighbors only share a wall, driveway or well, unless every owner consents in writing to create a community - real estate where one owner holds every unit - real estate still managed by the original developer That last exclusion matters during turnover. Once owners take over management, the duties below apply to the association, its designee and any management company it hires.

The 10-business-day records list

Under 499C.2(1), the association must make these available to an owner or the owner's authorized agent, such as a title company or agent, within 10 business days of the request: 1. the organizational documents, with all amendments 2. the bylaws, with all amendments 3. the rules, with all amendments 4. minutes of the most recent owners meeting, including any financial reports 5. minutes of the most recent board meeting, including any financial reports 6. from July 1, 2026, a certification stating whether the owner's dues, fees or assessments are paid in full or delinquent, and listing any future dues, fees or assessments the association has formally approved 7. from July 1, 2026, a schedule and disclosure of all fees related to a transfer of ownership in the community Both sets of minutes must show the date, time and place of the meeting, the names of everyone present, each action taken and the result of each vote. If your secretary writes summary minutes without names or vote counts, change the template now. You may deliver by paper copy, by email to an address the owner gives you, or by posting to a website the owner can reasonably reach. A members-only portal with the documents and latest minutes loaded answers items 1 through 5 the same day. Count business days, not calendar days, and log the date each request lands. Our guide on how an HOA board should respond to a records request covers the reply letter and the log.

The new dues certification and transfer fee schedule

Items 6 and 7 are what SF 2448 adds, and they show up most often during a sale. Build both before the next closing rather than in the middle of one. The certification. The treasurer should be able to produce it from the ledger in a few minutes. Sample wording: "As of [date], the account for [address] is [paid in full / delinquent in the amount of $___]. The board has formally approved the following future dues, fees or assessments: [regular assessment of $___ per ___ effective ___; special assessment of $___ due ___]. If none, state: none." Only list future charges the board or owners actually adopted by vote. A reserve study projection or a budget draft does not belong on it. Have an officer sign and date it, and keep a copy with the request. The transfer fee schedule. List every fee anyone in the association's chain charges because a home changes hands: resale or document fees, rush fees, transfer fees, capital contribution or working capital fees from the declaration, and any management company charges. Give the amount and who collects it. Adopt the schedule by board motion so there is one approved version. Fees. Under the amended 499C.2(3), the association, its designee or its manager may charge a reasonable fee for the records and for developing the certification. The fee cannot exceed the estimated cost of producing or reproducing the records, or the reasonable cost of preparing the certification. On request, you must give the owner or agent reasonable documentation supporting the fee. Write down how you set the number, such as the treasurer's time at an hourly rate plus copying, and keep that worksheet in the file. Our guide on how to answer an HOA resale certificate or estoppel request covers the rest of the closing package.

Nonprofit records rights under Chapter 504

If your association is incorporated under the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act, members have a second, older route. Under 504.1602(1), a member who gives written notice at least five business days ahead may inspect and copy the records listed in 504.1601(5) at a reasonable time and place the corporation picks. Accounting records and the membership list take 10 business days' written notice, plus a demand made in good faith, for a proper purpose, describing the records with reasonable particularity. For a membership list demand, 504.1602(6) gives the corporation 10 business days to propose a reasonable alternative that meets the stated purpose without handing over the list. In practice, answer under whichever chapter gives the owner the document fastest. Fighting over which statute applies costs more board time than producing minutes.

ADUs after SF 2369

Iowa Code 331.301(29) for counties and 364.3(23) for cities require local governments to allow at least one ADU on a lot with a single-family home. SF 2369 narrows that to zoning districts where a single-family home is an allowed principal use. It also says the 1,000-square-foot or 50 percent size limit, whichever is larger, excludes unfinished basements, and defines a home's size as gross living area without garages, decks or unheated porches. What stayed the same matters more to a board. An ADU may still be prohibited or limited by a deed restriction or by a rule of a common interest community as defined in 499C.1. A city or county also cannot regulate ADUs more strictly inside a community than it does for other single-family homes. So the city will not stop an ADU in your neighborhood, but enforceable covenants still can. Before relying on them, check that your documents actually address ADUs or second dwellings and that the restriction has not passed the 21-year mark in the next section. Our guide on how to review an owner request to build an ADU or casita walks through the application review.

The 21-year covenant claim

Section 614.24 bars a lawsuit to enforce a use restriction more than 21 years after the deed or instrument creating it was recorded, unless someone files a verified claim with the county recorder within that 21-year window. Under 614.25, each filing extends enforceability for another 21 years, and you can keep filing. The statute lists the kinds of use restrictions it reaches: limits on commercial uses, rental use, RV parking and storage, pets, outdoor uses, accessory structures, building dimensions and colors, construction materials and landscaping. It excludes easements, agreements to share costs of taxes, insurance and maintenance, and joint use agreements for driveways, roads and common areas. Section 614.24(4) also protects declarations under the cooperative and horizontal property statutes, 499A.23 and 499B.21. Chapter 499C ties in. For a community with fewer than 1,000 units, a "rule" under 499C.1(8) does not include an expired restrictive covenant, so you cannot recast a lapsed covenant as a board rule. What to do: 1. Pull the recording date of the declaration and every amendment from the county recorder. 2. Calendar 21 years from each date, with a reminder at least a year ahead. 3. Ask counsel to prepare and file the verified claim stating the nature of the interest and when and how it was acquired, as 614.24(1) requires. 4. If a date has already passed, ask counsel which restrictions remain enforceable before you send another violation letter. Sample motion: "Move that the board engage counsel to prepare and record a verified claim under Iowa Code 614.24 preserving the use restrictions in the declaration recorded [date], before [21-year date]."

A checklist for the next board meeting

1. Adopt a dues certification template and a transfer fee schedule by motion. 2. Write down how each records and certification fee is calculated. 3. Update the minutes template to show attendees, actions and vote results. 4. Load the governing documents and the latest minutes onto the owner website. 5. Start a records request log that counts business days. 6. Find the recording dates of the declaration and amendments, and calendar each 21-year claim deadline. 7. Read what your documents say about ADUs and second dwellings before the first application arrives.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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