HF2359 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the responsibility and liability of property owners for public places in cities and including effective date provisions.(Formerly HF 192 .)

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Last action: 2026-04-01
Official status: Amendment H-8287 filed. H.J. 804 .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the responsibility and liability of property owners for public places in cities and including effective date provisions.(Formerly HF 192 .)

What This Bill Does

A bill for an act relating to the responsibility and liability of property owners for public places in cities and including effective date provisions.(Formerly HF 192 .)

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-04-01 Iowa Legislature
Amendment H-8287 filed. H.J. 804 .
2026-03-19 Iowa Legislature
Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 691 .
2026-02-09 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 234 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the responsibility and liability of property owners for public places in cities and including effective date provisions.(Formerly HF 192 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

House

File

2359

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2359

BY

COMMITTEE

ON

JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR

TO

HF

192)

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

responsibility

and

liability

of

property

1

owners

for

public

places

in

cities

and

including

effective

2

date

provisions.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

TLSB

1281HV

(1)

91

ms/js

H.F.

2359

Section

1.

Section

364.12,

subsection

2,

paragraph

c,

Code

1

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

c.

The

abutting

property

owner

may

be

required

by

ordinance

3

to

maintain

all

property

outside

the

lot

and

property

lines

and

4

inside

the

curb

lines

upon

the

public

streets,

except

that

the

5

property

owner

shall

not

be

required

to

remove

diseased

trees

6

or

dead

wood

on

the

publicly

owned

property

or

right-of-way.

7

The

abutting

property

owner

may

be

liable

for

damages

caused

by

8

the

failure

to

use

reasonable

care

in

maintaining

such

property

9

if

required

by

ordinance.

10

Sec.

2.

EFFECTIVE

DATE.

This

Act,

being

deemed

of

immediate

11

importance,

takes

effect

upon

enactment.

12

EXPLANATION

13

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

14

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

15

This

bill

relates

to

the

responsibility

and

liability

of

an

16

abutting

property

owner

for

public

places

in

a

city

such

as

17

sidewalks.

Under

current

law,

an

abutting

property

owner

may

18

be

required

by

a

city

ordinance

to

maintain

public

sidewalks

19

or

other

property

between

the

property

line

and

the

curb

line.

20

The

bill

adds

that

an

abutting

property

owner

may

be

liable

if

21

the

property

owner

fails

to

use

reasonable

care

in

maintaining

22

sidewalks

or

other

property

between

the

property

line

and

the

23

curb

line

if

required

by

a

city

ordinance.

The

bill

takes

24

effect

upon

enactment.

25

-1-

LSB

1281HV

(1)

91

ms/js

1/

1