Relating to real property, including the removal of unauthorized persons and trespass, and providing penalties

Description

House File 2629 establishes the criminal offense of squatting. Under the Bill, a person commits squatting if a person knowingly takes up a residence at a property not open to the public without lawful authority and all of the following circumstances apply:

• The person is not a current tenant at the property.
• The person does not have a valid agreement to occupy the property.
• The person is not an immediate family member of the owner of the property.
• The person acts without lawful authority in entering and residing on the property. The Bill provides that squatting is a serious misdemeanor. A second offense of squatting is an aggravated misdemeanor. A third or subsequent offense of squatting is a Class D felony. A person who provides a false document in response to a request to produce a document proving lawful authority is, in addition to any other criminal offense, guilty of a fraudulent practice under Iowa Code section 714.8.

Background

Iowa Code section 716.7 establishes the crime of trespass and Iowa Code section 716.8 establishes the penalties for the crime of trespass. In FY 2025, there were 3,750 convictions involving 2,592 unique individuals for trespass under Iowa Code sections 716.7 and 716.8. In FY 2025, 23 individuals were admitted to probation for their most serious offense under Iowa Code section 716.8(2).

Penalties for fraudulent practice under Iowa Code chapter 714 range from a simple misdemeanor to a Class C felony. In FY 2025, there were no prison admits under Iowa Code section 714.8.

Currently, a serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to one year or a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to two years and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. A Class D felony is punishable by confinement for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. A Class C felony is punishable by confinement for up to 10 years and a fine of at least $1,370 but not more than $13,660.

Assumptions

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• County jail data is unavailable. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
• Conviction data reflects the total number of convictions in adult court, which may include multiple convictions per individual. Not all convictions lead to incarceration, and there may be a delay between conviction and prison admission, which can contribute to differences in totals.
• A six-month delay is assumed from the effective date of the Bill to the date the first offender will enter the correctional system.
• Offender-based convictions are a count of individuals convicted of the same offense. Each offender is counted only once per Iowa Code section, regardless of the number of individual convictions.
• Admissions are a count of individuals newly admitted to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for supervision during a selected time period, based on the most serious offense committed.

Correctional Impact

The correctional impact of the Bill cannot be determined because the number of new convictions cannot be estimated. Figure 1 shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS in months under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for a serious misdemeanor, aggravated misdemeanor, and Class D felony.

Figure 1 — Sentencing Estimates and Length of Stay (LOS) in Months

Conviction Offense Class

Percent

Ordered to

State

Prison

FY 2025 Avg

LOS in

Prison (All Releases)

Marginal

Cost Per

Day

Prison

Percent

Ordered to

Probation

FY 2025

Field Avg

LOS on

Probation

Avg Cost

Per Day

Probation

Marginal

Cost Per

Day CBC

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Jail

FY 2025

Field Avg

LOS on

Parole

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Parole

Serious Misdemeanor 2.3% 7.3 $23.07 44.8% 21.0 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 N/A $8.00 Aggravated Misdemeanor Non-Persons 31.1% 9.3 $23.07 37.1% 28.4 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 11.2 $8.00 D Felony Non-Persons 84.2% 12.5 $23.07 69.4% 41.4 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 15.5 $8.00 Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to the correctional system.

Minority Impact

The minority impact cannot be determined since it is not known how many new convictions would result from the changes under the Bill. However, the Bill may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant. Of the 2,592 individuals convicted under Iowa Code section 716.7 and 716.8 for criminal trespass in FY 2025, 70.3% of offenders were White, 19.9% were Black, and 9.8% were other races. Iowa’s population is 83.2% White, 4.2% Black, and 12.6% other races. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

The fiscal impact of the Bill cannot be determined because the number of new convictions cannot be estimated. Figure 2 shows the average State cost per relevant offense. The estimated impact to the General Fund includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the DOC. The costs would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.

Figure 2 — Average State Cost Per Offense

Offense Class Average Cost

Serious Misdemeanor $350 to $6,200 Aggravated Misdemeanor $8,300 to $12,200 Class D Felony $13,000 to $18,100

Sources

• Department of Corrections
• Division of Data, Planning, and Improvement (DPI), Department of Management (DOM)