CHAPTER 135O
BOARDING HOMES

Referred to in §10A.104, 16.49

  
     
135O.1  Definitions.
  For the purposes of this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:
  1.  “Boarding home” means a premises used by its owner or lessee for the purpose of letting rooms for rental to three or more persons not related within the third degree of consanguinity to the owner or lessee where supervision or assistance with activities of daily living is provided to such persons. A boarding home does not include a facility, home, or program otherwise subject to licensure or regulation by the department of health and human services or the department.
  2.  “Department” means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing.
  3.  “Premises” means the same as defined in section 562A.6.
2009 Acts, ch 136, §3; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1901
Subsections 1 and 2 amended

  
     
135O.2  Required registration and reporting — rules — penalty.
  1.  The owner or lessee of a boarding home in this state shall register with and submit occupancy reports to the department. The content of the required occupancy reports shall include but is not limited to the number of individuals living in the boarding home and the supervision or assistance with activities of daily living being provided to the individuals.
  2.  The department shall adopt rules to administer this chapter in consultation with the departments of health and human services and public safety.
  3.  a.  The owner or lessee of a boarding home who fails to register with the department or to timely submit occupancy reports required by this section and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars.
  b.  The department may reduce, alter, or waive a penalty under paragraph “a” upon the owner’s or lessee’s showing of good faith compliance with the department’s request to immediately cease and desist from conduct in violation of this chapter.
2009 Acts, ch 136, §4; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1358, 1902
Subsection 2 amended

  
     
135O.3  Response to allegations.
  1.  If the department or other state agency receives an allegation of a violation of this chapter by a boarding home or an allegation regarding the care or safety of an individual living in a boarding home, a coordinated, interagency approach shall be used to respond to the allegation.
  2.  a.  The interagency approach may involve a multidisciplinary team consisting of employees of the department, the department of health and human services, and the division of criminal investigation of the department of public safety, or other local, state, and federal agencies.
  b.  The multidisciplinary team may consult with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, first responders, health and human services professionals, and governmental and nongovernmental advocacy organizations, and other appropriate persons.
  3.  The name of a person who files an allegation shall be kept confidential and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for its release to a person other than department employees or the members of a multidisciplinary team involved in the investigation of the allegation.
  4.  If the department or a multidisciplinary team has probable cause to believe that a boarding home is in violation of this chapter or licensing or other regulatory requirements of the department of health and human services or the department, or that dependent adult abuse of any individual living in a boarding home has occurred, and upon producing proper identification, is denied entry to the boarding home or access to any individual living in the boarding home for the purpose of making an inspection or conducting an investigation, the department or multidisciplinary team may, with the assistance of the county attorney of the county in which the boarding home is located, apply to the district court for an order requiring the owner or lessee to permit entry to the boarding home and access to the individuals living in the boarding home.
2009 Acts, ch 136, §5; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1358, 1903, 1904
Subsection 2, paragraph a amended
Subsection 4 amended

     
135O.4  Public disclosure of findings.
  Following an inspection or investigation of a boarding home under this chapter by the department or a multidisciplinary team, the final findings with respect to compliance by the boarding home shall be made available to the public. Other information relating to a boarding home obtained by the department or a multidisciplinary team which does not constitute the findings from an inspection or investigation of the boarding home shall not be made available to the public except in proceedings involving the denial, suspension, or revocation of a boarding home registration under this chapter. The information made available to the public pursuant to this section shall not include information which is kept confidential under section 22.7.
2009 Acts, ch 136, §6