558.5 Contract for deed — presumption of abandonment. 1. When the record shows that a contract or bond for a deed was executed more than ten years earlier, the contract or bond shall be deemed abandoned by the vendee and void andthe land shall be freed from any lien or defect on account of the contract or bond in any ofthe following situations: a. The record does not indicate the contract or bond has been performed and more than ten years have elapsed since the contract or bond by its terms was to be performed. b. A performance date for the contract or bond is not stated in the contract or bond or any extensions thereof and more than twenty years have elapsed from the date the contractor bond was executed. 2. This section shall apply to a contract or bond described in this section if the contract or bond is not filed of record but is referred to in another instrument which is filed of record.The contract or bond shall be deemed abandoned by the vendee ten years from the date thatthe contract or bond is to be performed according to the recorded instrument. However, ifthe recorded instrument does not refer to a performance date for the contract or bond, thecontract or bond shall be ontract or bond is to be performed according to the recorded instrument. However, ifthe recorded instrument does not refer to a performance date for the contract or bond, thecontract or bond shall be deemed abandoned twenty years after the date that the instrumentcontaining the reference is recorded. 3. This section shall not apply to a vendee or a vendee’s successor in interest if the vendee or the vendee’s successor in interest is in possession of the property or has beencontinuously paying the total amount due, as defined in section 445.1, of the taxes leviedagainst the property for the preceding five years. [S13, §2963-j; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §10070; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §558.5] 91 Acts, ch 183, §8; 2013 Acts, ch 83, §1 Sat Dec 23 11:05:26 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 558.5 (20, 0)
Iowa Legal Code