Iowa's rules (Code §562A.12, in its URLTA) are compact: a firm cap, a standard clock, and a bad-faith penalty — with the forwarding address doing more work than most tenants realize.
How much can a landlord charge?
Two months' rent, maximum. The deposit must be held in a federally insured account separate from the landlord's own funds (interest, for ordinary tenancies, generally stays with the landlord for the first five years).
The 30-day clock
Within 30 days of termination and receipt of the tenant's mailing address in writing, the landlord must return the deposit or a written itemized statement of amounts withheld — for unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, or costs of recovering possession from a holdover. No written address, no running clock; and a deposit unclaimed for a year after notice may be forfeited.
The penalty
A landlord's bad-faith retention adds punitive damages of up to $200 on top of actual damages — modest by national standards, which makes Iowa disputes turn even more purely on who proves condition, since neither side is scared into settling by a multiplier.
Why Iowa deposit disputes are documentation disputes
A spare statute, a small penalty, and small-claims court: the entire outcome rides on the wear-and-tear line and the evidence brought to it.
SealMove is that evidence, sealed. Every photo and video is cryptographically locked the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and archived tamper-evident with Face ID. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.