Iowa Supreme Court Overturns Lower Court Ruling Protecting Renters from Unconstitutional Searches

DES MOINES, Iowa—Today, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s holding that Orange City, Iowa’s mandatory rental inspection law violated Article 1, Section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. The law was challenged by a coalition of tenants and their landlords, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ).  

In today’s opinion, which did not address the underlying constitutional argument, the Iowa Supreme Court wrote that, “[b]ecause there are situations where the City’s inspection requirement can operate constitutionally, the citizens’ facial challenge fails.” As an example of the program operating in a “constitutional” manner, the court pointed out that the law does not require the inspections to be conducted by a government official, speculating that the government can constitutionally force someone to open their doors for inspection by a “certified third-party” inspector. 

“Today’s ruling is incredibly disappointing and threatens the privacy rights of all Iowans,” said IJ Attorney John Wrench. “Orange City insists that it has the authority to forcefully search the homes of our clients and all renters using warrants that are not based on any evidence of a violation. By refusing to address the constitutionality of those searches, today’s decision leaves Iowans without a clear path for challenging the government’s forceful entry of their homes.” 

Orange City’s rental inspection law permits government officials to obtain an “administrative warrant” to enter and search any rental property in the city when the tenant refuses entry. Unlike a traditional warrant, which requires probable cause that a violation has occurred, administrative warrants require no proof that any violations or wrongdoing have occurred. 

“My husband and I are private people, and we don’t want to be forced to let people we don’t know into our home to go searching around, when we’ve done nothing wrong,” said Erika Nordyke, one of the tenants in the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit was first filed in May 2021. In August 2023, the Iowa District Court for Sioux County ruled that Orange City’s rental inspection ordinance violated Article 1, Section 8 of the Iowa Constitution, which protects Iowans against unreasonable searches and seizures.