Iowa's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act

Welcome to the Lombardi Law Firm website. Being prepared isn’t the same as being able to litigate a lawsuit. Don’t be foolish, be prepared and seek good legal advice from a seasoned personal injury lawyer. Know your rights, protect yourself and be alert to risks that can cause injury or death. Visit the Lombardi Law Firm’s website. Steve Lombardi writes for each and explores the how's and why’s people are injured. He also provides commentary and insight on his blog at The Verdict and on the Des Moines Register. We try to make our website an interesting source of information for all people who seek information concerning injury or death. We attempt to provide information that makes you more aware of how to avoid injury and death.  We are here to assist you to stay safe. Call us if you have legal or safety questions. (515-222-1110) We are willing to assist you in finding answers to your questions and regularly write about safety that readers bring to our attention about the workplace and on the highway. Good luck on the road and job site and be safe. sdlombardi@aol.com
 

If you or your spouse is involved in any kind of accident contact the Lombardi Law Firm. We will assist you with your claim. Steve Lombardi has more than 30 years in civil litigation including death and injury cases for workers and their spouses from many types of accidents and injuries. We don't charge you to talk with Mr. Lombardi to find out if you have a case. Don't delay call him today. Attorney Lombardi writes for blogs at The Verdict on Lombardi Law Firm, the Iowa Edict and on occasion on the Des Moines Register web site. Steve Lombardi is a personal injury lawyer, husband, father and grandfather who pride’s himself on doing more than just practicing law. Join us in making the world a safer place.

Know your rights, act proactively and protect yourself.

Frequent Questions for Tenant-Landlord Relations:

• Who is liable for medical expenses of someone shot in a home? Someone was shot in one of my rental properties. The tenants say they know nothing about it. The father of the victim (who doesn't live on property) has an attorney and is seeking damages. He claims his son was enticed into the property by assailants.
• Does the apartment complex have to pay me for my knee injury? I fell down cement steps at a apartment complex. I landed hard on both knees and hands on cement walk below. I had to be helped up. I fell on 10/18/11, but one knee is swollen but ok, the right knee is not. Does the apartment complex have to pay for me to see a doctor about the knee I fell on their cement steps?
• Who is liable if someone falls outside the building I run my business in? If I have a business, but rent the building my business is in, and someone falls outside, who is liable if they file suit? Me as the business owner, or the person that owns the building and property?
• Can I be accountable for a tenant injury before I own the property? I recently purchased a rental property and the previous tenant (under the old property owner) is suing me for an injury which occurred to him. The injury occurred before I was the owner. The plaintiffs lawyer claims that I can still be held accountable. Is this true?
• My daughter is divorced and living in my home. Her ex Has joint custody of their two girls who reside here. Does he have the right to tell her that her older son 16 cant have people he doesn't approve of stay at our house if we give permission. He comes in and states he doesn't think it is right for his best friend to be here all the time and says he will take the girls away if she doen't stop these visits.
• I live in an apartment building and the tenant above my unit's toilet backed up and leaked all over my bathroom, hallway, and bed room, destroying carpet, electronics, and some clothes. our landlord instructed me to open a renters insurance policy and wait two months to file a claim and when i did he would back me up on it. Is this illegal?
• My husband and I are living in a house,we where going to buy from a friend of his.But we never signed a contract,because they were always acting funny about things.So we have been ppaying rent for the last 8 months.Only to get papers from the sherrifs dept. say the house was being forclosed on. And the people we were paying rent to are trying to come take things out of the house.Do we allow them. They told us we could have all appliances when we moved in.What can we do.
  
  Thanks, Teresa
• On Jan. 6, 2010 I was checking my mail and then went to walk down the front steps leading to the sidewalk to get into my vehicle. My landlord had not shoveled snow or ice off the sidewalks or walkways all year. I fell going down the steps and broke my arm. The landlord said I need not pay Jan. rent for pain and suffering. I received a bill from the ambulance service and the landlord said I didn't need to pay this months rent(March. I told him I needed the name of his insurance company and he said he does not have insurance. He has stated to me that the next tenant that tries to sue him will be evicted. What should I do. I am on disability and would like some answers. It appears that I may need physical therapy. Any assistance you can provide will be appreciated.
• Must we return a rental deposit if the property burned to the ground?
• Since I have been a tenant, I have had the following issues with the unit:
  -The refrigerator in my unit has never worked since I have moved in. I have not received a replacement fridge and it has been 4 months.
  -I have had to purchase fuses for the fuse box
  -The window in the kitchen and the window in the living room do not close and lock properly so therefore my electric bill has been expensive for the past month.
  -The front door is not well insulated so the door leaks in cold air
  -I have had to purchase my own door knob for the front door, because the old lock on the door was not working properly
  -I have also had to scoop the units step, sidewalk, and portion of the driveway
  -I am not even quite sure that the furnace has been through a recent inspection, along with a filter change
  -I have had no hot water for the past 2 days
  The landlord is aware of these items but have not done anything to fix the situation.
  What would you reccommend doing about the situation?
• I rent an apartment and last week on saturday I came home at night to discover my entire apartment was covered in two inches of water, there is water coming down the walls, out of sprinklers all over my apartment. I am unable to live in my apartment as the above apartment sprung a water leak and totally damaged my aparment and belongings. I can't live there and haven't and had the electricty taken out of my name today. The landlord is offering to let me out of my lease and/or offering me another apartment, but after speaking to others in my building and seeing hte mold in teh walls I can't stay here. Will I loose my deposit? Do i have to give him written notice? can I charge him for moving expenses, damages to my property? This is the third time with in the past two years that the same plumpbing people have been to this property to repair broken pipes adn I can't afford to get ...
• My wife wants a seperation, i told her thats fine but im not leaving the house who has to leave?

Lombardi Law Firm
1300 37th Street, Suite 6
West Des Moines, IA 50266
Phone: 515-222-1110
Toll Free: 800-383-0331
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