USA - IOWA Law and Practice Contributed by: David M Erickson, Robert J Douglas, Jr, Christopher S Talcott and Amy S Montgomery, Dentons Davis Brown
lation of any federal, state, or local law, including criminal laws. 6.13 Tenant’s Ability to Alter and Improve Real Estate In most commercial leases, a landlord will restrict the manner or type of alterations to the real estate. Frequently, the landlord will define a category of “major alterations”, usually deline - ated by the cost of the improvements, which can be completed only upon prior written consent of the landlord. For all other alterations, consent is not required. However, in any event the landlord will require that the premises be returned to the same state they were in at the commencement of the ten - ancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted. The land - lord may also set forth that any tenant improve - ments become the property of the landlord at the expiration of the lease upon the landlord’s election. 6.14 Specific Regulations See 6.3 Regulation of Rents or Lease Terms . 6.15 Effect of the Tenant’s Insolvency In almost all commercial leases, one of the events of default under the lease terms will be the tenant’s insolvency, bankruptcy or the like. Thus, if the tenant is deemed to be insolvent under the terms of the lease, the landlord would be entitled to pursue its default remedies under the lease. 6.16 Forms of Security to Protect Against a Failure of the Tenant to Meet Its Obligations The primary form of security which will be required of a landlord to secure a tenant’s per - formance of its lease obligations is a security deposit. In the commercial lease context, there
are few restrictions when it comes to requiring and retaining a security deposit. In the residential context, however, landlords are limited in how much they can require for a security deposit. Further, in the residential setting, use and reten - tion of the security deposit is governed by stat - ute. The statutory provisions are the subject of a fairly large body of case law, which has grown significantly within the last decade. Finally, in non-residential settings, the Iowa Code provides several statutory liens to landlords depending upon the nature of the tenancy. Iowa Code Section 570.1 does provide for a landlord’s lien upon all crops grown on the leased prem - ises, together with other personal property of the tenant used by or kept upon the leased prem - ises. Additionally, Iowa Code Chapters 578A and 579 provide for lien rights to property owners who rent space to individuals for self-storage and for storage of motor vehicles, respectively. 6.17 Right to Occupy After Termination or Expiry of a Lease A tenant’s right to occupy the premises rented ceases upon expiration of the lease term. A tenant who holds over after the expiration of the lease term can be evicted by summary proceedings. As a general rule, the commercial lease should provide for the scenario in which the tenant holds over with the permission of the landlord since the statute in question does not directly provide for this situation. Thus, for exam - ple, it is advisable to include lease language which creates a month-to-month tenancy. In the context of the agricultural lease, a tenant who holds over and who has not been provid - ed a notice of termination is entitled to remain in possession of the property for an additional
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