As discussed in our January blog post, Congress extended the September 4 CDC Order, which temporarily halts certain residential nonpayment evictions, through March 31, 2021.

As anticipated, on March 11 the Iowa Supreme Court issued a Supervisory Order regarding the Iowa implementation of the extended CDC Order. The Supervisory Order makes no changes to the Court’s prior October 2 Supervisory Order other than extending the effective date of such order through the eventual expiration date of the CDC Order, which is currently March 31.  

The Iowa Supreme Court’s supervisory orders generally prevail over the CDC’s non-binding guidance in the state of Iowa.

Finally, the March 11 Supervisory Order (at paragraph 2) expressly confirms that the Iowa Supreme Court’s prior requirement, mandating the filing of a CARES Act Landlord Verification in all nonpayment of rent evictions, is still in effect.

In recent months, some counties have gone away from this requirement. However, presumably based upon this Order, all counties will again require CARES Act Landlord Verification to be filed in all nonpayment evictions.

As a reminder, paragraph 38 of the May 22 Order mandating the CARES Act Verification provides as follows:

“CARES Act verification. Any plaintiff bringing an FED action under chapter 648 for nonpayment of rent after the date of this order shall submit a CARES Act verification in a form approved by this court . . . .”

Landlords with questions about nonpaying renters or how to proceed in the midst of the various orders should contact an experienced landlord/tenant attorney to discuss their specific situation.