§ 657a-1a

657A.1A Preliminary inspection of building. 1. No sooner than one hundred thirty-five days after a property has become vacant, a person, other than a governmental entity, may request that the responsible building officialinspect the property and certify that a property is both abandoned and in need of abatement.The responsible building official may also initiate an inspection on the official’s own initiativeat any time. 2. If the responsible building official finds from an exterior view of the property, in addition to any other credible information that the official may have, that there is reasonable cause tobelieve that the property is abandoned and in need of abatement, the official shall schedulea date and time for an inspection of the property by the official. The person requestingthe inspection shall provide written notice of the scheduled inspection by first class mailand certified mail to the owner and all interested persons at least twenty days before theinspection. The notice must state the date, time, and place of the inspection and state thatunless the owner appears at the inspection to allow the responsible building official accessto the interior of the property, the

e must state the date, time, and place of the inspection and state thatunless the owner appears at the inspection to allow the responsible building official accessto the interior of the property, the official, accompanied by the person serving notice andany interested persons appearing for the inspection, may enter the property to determinewhether the property is abandoned and in need of abatement and, if so, to estimate the costsof abatement. The official may enter the property for an inspection, along with the personserving notice and any interested persons, if the owner is not present for the inspection. Uponrequest, the inspection may be rescheduled as needed. The responsible building official mustobtain an administrative search warrant pursuant to section 808.14 to enter any building toconduct an inspection pursuant to this section. 3. The responsible building official’s findings shall be in writing with copies provided to the person requesting the inspection, the owner, and all interested parties. The governmentalentity employing the responsible building official may establish and charge a fee to coverthe reasonable costs of the inspection, which shall be added to costs in

interested parties. The governmentalentity employing the responsible building official may establish and charge a fee to coverthe reasonable costs of the inspection, which shall be added to costs in an action under thischapter. 4. Evidence that financial obligations in respect to a building, including but not limited to payments of a mortgage, bills, or property taxes, are currently met does not rebut a findingof abandonment if the property is substantially in need of abatement in an action filed undersection 657A.2. 2019 Acts, ch 105, §5Referred to in §631.1, 657A.2, 657A.8, 657A.10A, 657A.10B Sat Dec 23 12:22:48 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 657A.1A (5, 0)