USA - IOWA Law and Practice Contributed by: David M Erickson, Robert J Douglas, Jr, Christopher S Talcott and Amy S Montgomery, Dentons Davis Brown
year upon the same terms and conditions as the original lease. In the residential setting, a tenant who holds over with permission of the landlord has created a month-to-month tenancy. 6.18 Right to Assign a Leasehold Interest A tenant is freely permitted to sublet or assign a lease unless prohibited by the terms of the lease. Where landlord consent is required, the law may impose a requirement that the land - lord’s consent not be unreasonably withheld. Typical conditions include the financial viability of the tenant, compatibility of the proposed use, and the original tenant remaining jointly liable with the assignee for performance of the tenant’s lease obligations. 6.19 Right to Terminate a Lease Commonly, the events of default which trigger the landlord’s right to terminate the lease will be numerous. Essentially, the failure of the tenant to comply with any obligation under the lease may give rise to termination. Importantly, however, the type of default will likely determine how the landlord is required to proceed. In a residential lease, the statute dictates what notices must be provided, how they must be provided, when they must be provided, and how long the tenant has to cure a breach. Even in the commercial lease setting, there will most likely be different cure periods depending upon the breach. For example, it is fairly common for a default in the payment of rent to contain a ten- day cure period, while the breach of any other obligation will afford the tenant 30 days to cure the default. 6.20 Registration Requirements Any lease for a term of one year or more must be memorialised in writing signed by landlord
and tenant. Leases of Iowa real estate are not required to be notarised or recorded, and bona fide purchasers are placed on inquiry notice of the rights of any tenant in possession of the real estate. However, it is common in long-term leas - es or leases containing an option to purchase the leased premises to record a memorandum of the lease to ensure third parties are bound by constructive notice of the lease. Nominal record - ing fees are charged for recording the memo - randum, and are typically charged to the tenant. 6.21 Forced Eviction Tenants in any type of lease may be forcefully evicted if they default in the performance of their lease obligations. For commercial leases, the procedure, types of notices, and timing are governed almost exclusively by the lease terms. In the residential lease context, there is a very precise set of notices, with specific language, and for which care must be given to the timing and method of service. In either the commercial or residential lease con - text, the procedure will involve a notice served or sent to the tenant apprising them of the breach and providing a set period during which the ten - ant may cure the breach. If the breach is not cured, the landlord may file a civil action for eviction under an Iowa statute which provides for expedited proceedings for evictions. In an ordinary eviction of a residential lessee for non- payment of rent, the tenant may be evicted from the property in as little as two weeks. It is important to note that a landlord may be divested of its right to avail itself of these expe - dited proceedings, if it fails to act within 30 days of the date the cause of action accrued. The exact steps which must be taken in either a com - mercial lease or a residential lease are beyond the scope of this document, and practitioners
1197 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook