Landlord FAQs
Nuisance activities are reviewed that occur on the property and within 1000 feet of the property.
When a property is deemed a Nuisance Property, the property owner may seek administrative appeal within 10 days of receiving the Notice of Violation.
Are there reasons other than a police report to cause a property to be cited as a nuisance property?
Refer to 22A.03 for the separate tiers and offenses that could cause a property to be classified a nuisance.
SAFE-CR has a Nuisance Property Abatement Program Manager and a Nuisance Property Abatement Coordinator that review the activities that occur on properties.
The property owner will be notified in writing when there is a Founded Call for Service. The property owner will be notified in writing when the property becomes a Nuisance Property with a Notice of Violation. After the property is designated a Nuisance Property, future Founded Calls for Service will be charged and invoiced to the property owner.
Segments of a person's criminal history is public information. For Iowa Court Records, please visit Iowa Courts Online. More information about the background checks offered by the City of Cedar Rapids, please visit the Background Checks page.
Police Calls for Service are reviewed daily. If any City Department is called out to a property and determines that no nuisance activity has occurred, the call will not be founded, so it will not be considered nuisance activity.
Once a property is designated a nuisance property, it remains a nuisance property for a rolling twelve months. If there are subsequent Calls for Service from City Departments, the twelve months will start over.
Once a property has been designated a nuisance property, the property owner has 15 days to abate the nuisance before they will be charged for subsequent Founded Calls for Service. However, if the property owner submits a Nuisance Property Abatement Plan, then the Nuisance Property Abatement Program Manager or Coordinator may postpone by 15 days the date that Founded Calls for Service will be billed to the property owner.
No, the Nuisance Property Abatement Coordinator makes no recommendations to the property owner as to what steps the property owner takes; we simply provide oversight to ensure that the nuisance condition is corrected. Failure of a property owner to abate the nuisance will result in service delivery fees and could include restrictions from registering and renting property.
Once a property owner receives a notice of violation they have 15 days to complete a Nuisance Property Abatement Plan. Once they have completed the plan they will gain an additional 30 days to abate the nuisance. If the property owner has already abated the nuisance, they can indicate that on their Nuisance Property Abatement Plan if they choose to submit one.
In cases where the property owner is a victim and they have called in a crime, the call for service will not be considered nuisance activity. The goals of the ordinance include more active property management as well as recovery of some of the costs incurred by taxpayers when a given property requires excessive Calls for Service. Working toward these goals, the City is open to considering various factors prior to declaring a property a Nuisance Property. Certainly, the fact that a Property Owner self-reports is taken into consideration, but other factors must also be taken into account.
EnerGov information is public information. The City of Cedar Rapids is working toward making EnerGov more accessible to community members.
Calls for service relating to nuisance activity can be found in Chapter 22A.03. A medical call or a call about searching for a missing child does not constitute nuisance activity.
The property owner will be charged all costs associated with Founded Calls for Service to the property.
The City’s intent is to notify the property owner of founded nuisance activity by sending them a Notice of Violation. In an attempt to help with that notification process, landlords are asked to provide an e-mail address at the time they register the property. Chapter 29 requires landlords to update the information as it changes. The Notice of Violation will be delivered in person or sent by USPS Certified Mail and will include a brief outline as to what occurred at the property.
You may search on the Police Call Log for activity that has occurred at your rental property. If you would like more information than what is provided on this website, you must request a copy of the Call for Service or Report from the Police Records Department.
The Nuisance Property Abatement Coordinator makes no recommendations to the property owner as to what steps the property owner takes; we simply provide oversight to ensure that the nuisance condition is corrected. Failure of a property owner to abate the nuisance will result in service delivery fees and could include restrictions from registering and renting property.
