Iowa’s Right to Homestead Act
A Right Guaranteed by the 9th Amendment
Addressing the Housing Crisis Other Politicians Don’t Talk About
by Sondra Wilson. Updated July 31, 2025.

Iowa’s Right to Homestead Act is one of six legislative acts that allocates funding, resources, and policy to successfully foster Civilian Restoration Corps (“CRC”). This Act is the first of the six, as it makes all other parts of the CRC possible.

This Act is based upon our right to homestead, a right guaranteed by the Ninth Amendment of the U.S Constitution. However, it is not like the old days: we cannot simply open up new lands for people to homestead on because everything was bought up before anyone in this generation was born. Therefore, this Act uses “what we have in place now” to make a practical homestead act for modern times.

Let’s begin with a history lesson about the “right to homestead”, then I’ll explain the plan.

 

I. History of the Right to Homestead

 

🏠 What “Homestead” Really Means

The right to homestead is not aspirational or ideological — but constitutional and historical. Though often misunderstood as frontier nostalgia, homestead is a powerful legal term. According to Black’s Law Dictionary (2nd ed.), it is, “An artificial estate in land, devised to protect the possession and enjoyment of the owner against the claims of his creditors, by withdrawing the property from execution and forced sale, so long as the land is occupied as a home.“

Declaring one’s primary residence as a homestead makes it a legally shielded space — immune from seizure, and rooted in natural law.

Historical Foundations of the Right to Homestead in Anglo-Saxon and American Law

The concept of homesteading — the protected right to occupy, cultivate, and inherit land — finds deep roots in Anglo-Saxon common law. American revolutionaries, steeped in English legal tradition, explicitly practiced and preserved Anglo-Saxon common law. The Founding Fathers drew heavily from William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, which codified centuries of Anglo-Saxon and medieval precedent. Concepts such as trial by jury, due process, and property rights were not innovations but reaffirmations of ancient legal norms (US Constitution.co, 2022). The Constitution itself reflects this lineage, embedding common law principles into its structure — including protections for life, liberty, and property, and the right to redress through courts.

Until the early 20th century, American courts widely acknowledged that common law derived its authority from Anglo-Saxon customs. These traditions formed the backbone of state legal systems and were instrumental in shaping federal doctrines, including the Homestead Act of 1862. Thus, the right to homestead is not merely statutory — it is a reaffirmation of centuries-old legal heritage rooted in community, labor, and justice.

 

📜 The Ninth Amendment Protects the Right to Homestead

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” — U.S. Const. amend. IX

The Ninth Amendment protects rights that existed before — and outside — the Constitution. This includes congressionally-created rights, such as the “right to access medically-necessary services“, as guaranteed under the Medicare and Medicaid Act, or court created rights, such as reproductive rights.  U.S. courts have upheld these rights and the rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and personal dignity under the Ninth Amendment (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965).

The right to homestead — the ability to occupy, restore, and cultivate land for survival — falls under this umbrella. It was carried over from Anglo-Saxon common law and remains valid today as a concurrent body of rights recognized by U.S. courts.

🧠 Labor Theory of Property: You Earn It, You Own It

Philosopher John Locke was the most quoted political author during the time of the American revolution. In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke argued that people gain rightful ownership of unclaimed resources by mixing their labor with them:

“Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided… he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property.”

This idea — known as the Labor Theory of Property — supports the fundamental premise of homesteading. If someone restores an abandoned property, cultivates unused land, and sustains themselves from it, they acquire a moral and natural right to possess it.

🔐 The Lockean Proviso: Justice Through Stewardship

Locke included a crucial caveat:

“…at least where there is enough, and as good, left in common for others.”

This Lockean Proviso ensures that appropriation is ethical only when it doesn’t deprive others. Iowa’s Right to Homestead Act reflects this by:

• Reclaiming vacant, neglected properties
• Empowering communities, not corporations
• Promoting regenerative land use that benefits everyone

This transforms homesteading from mere policy into moral economy — rights rooted in labor, care, and equity.

Learn About John Locke and the First U.S. Flag

 

Remembering the Free Soil Party

In the 1800s, the Free Soil Party fought for homesteading as an antidote to elite land control. Their motto:

“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men”

This led to the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160 acres to citizens who lived on and improved land. Over 270 million acres were redistributed — a seismic shift in American economic history. It was the first time in U.S. history women and African Americans were allowed to register as head of household.

The Right to Homestead Act honors and modernizes this legacy — applying it to vacant housing stock, unused lots, and land neglected by absentee landlords.

💥 The Forgotten Lesson: The 2008 Housing Collapse

Over 10 million Americans lost homes in 2008 — many unaware they could have declared their homes as homesteads and shielded them from forced sale.

Homestead protections, though underused and obscure, remain legal in all 50 states. This act ensures these rights are known, accessible, and empowering — not buried in footnotes or reserved for legal insiders.

Fast-Forward to Today

 

Out-of-State Landlords Are Buying Up Iowa
Iowans are Going Broke While $$$$ Gets Quietly Vacuumed Out “From Above”

Did you know that every year Iowans ship an estimated $2.4 B per year to out-of-state landlords? Out-of-state landlords own 15–30% of rentals in many Iowa counties, including Johnson, Polk, and Linn, based on 2023–2024 assessor records and local housing reports.

 

II. The Plan
Take Iowa Back
Empowering Iowans & Vastly Improving Our Economy

The Right to Homestead Act consists of four parts: two CRC initiatives (Gardens Across Iowa™ and Housing Helpers™), and two political initiatives. 

 

🌱 Gardens Across Iowa!™
How We Transform Cities from Scarcity to Abundance
Turning Urban Areas into Entrepreneur-Fostering, Production-Based Powerhouses

This CRC workforce development program hires people to build highly-productive, low-maintenance “model gardens” in every town and city across Iowa, first targeting residential areas consisting of large rental units, where access to soil is scarce or non-existent.

Gardens are made low-maintenance via automating the watering systems with timers and soaker hoses. Here are some examples of highly-efficient techniques.

Double-Planter Technique for Potatoes

A clean, simple, portable way to grow potatoes, allowing gardeners to simply lift the inner pot to pluck potatoes. A great way to maximize space within your garden. To grow potatoes earlier in the season while there is still danger of frost, put a tarp over the ground to enjoy an earlier harvest.

Above image from A Piece of Rainbow’s Facebook Page, used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Cucumber Tipi

Vine cucumbers love to hang, allowing them to grow larger and longer, with stronger vines, and without yellowing and flattening on the underside. The large leaves grow up the tipi and provide shade to retain water within. Cucumbers like a lot of water, so this creates a perfect environment for the fruits to thrive.

Above photo by Transjardins, used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Rain Gutter Hanging Strawberries

A semi-shady overhang to guard the plants beneath from direct sun doesn’t get more gorgeous than this:

Above photo by HouseOfJoyNoiseBlog, used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Edible Mushrooms

The hanging strawberries provide shade, and excess water drips onto the mushrooms, maximizing efficiency.

Above image from Grow Mushrooms Canada used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Cold Frames

Cold frames can be used to grow root vegetables, winter greens, and salad greens year round, with snow adding insulation and trapping heat from the sun inside:

Above image by  Niki Jabbour used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

Statewide In-School Gardening Program

Gardens Across Iowa! teams will also install gardens in schools to create a statewide in-school gardening program. Students will learn valuable, lifelong skills, and produce will be used to offset costs and improve school lunches. 

Above image by LiveKindly, posted on Facebook, used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

New Technology

One of my inventions, the Gardens Across Iowa App™, will help streamline Gardens Across Iowa!, making it feasible and efficient.

📊 Estimated GDP Impact Timeline for Gardens Across Iowa!

 

Click the image below to read the full Gardens Across Iowa plan, or scroll down to continue reading Iowa’s Right to Homestead Act.

 

 

🏠🤝Housing Helpers™
A Coalition of Iowa Businesses Rebuilding Iowa’s Housing
A CRC Initiative for Workforce Development, Sustainable Housing,
Rural Restoration, and Community Empowerment.

Housing Helpers will bring houses, apartments, and businesses up to code, and make improvements modeled by renown Environmental Studies Professor Frank Schiavo in order to reduce energy bills for all Iowans.

They will also be on-call to ensure every business and government building in Iowa is handicap accessible.

In collaboration with The SolarBerry Brigade™, Gardens Across Iowa!™, and commissioned experts, Housing Helpers will create cob and papercrete housing to build low-cost sustainable villages to help the homeless.

Instead of creating a new organization from scratch, CRC subsidizes Iowa developers, renovators, and property managers who become “CRC-certified” in order to up their hiring capacity. Once a business joins the Housing Helpers coalition, they gain access to CRC Vouchers to help pay for employee lunches and purchase top-of-the-line building materials, and they can select assignments based on high-priority residential projects across Iowa, mapped out by the CRC.

This allows CRC to build a coalition of businesses on a common mission: to restore and revitalize every town and farm in Iowa.

 

🏚️ Huusing Helpers’ First Activity
Reclaim Rural Buildings for Iowa Fryerforce™ & BioFuel Mechanics™

Housing Helpers’ first task will focus on reclaiming and renovating old buildings in rural Iowa to serve as regional hubs for:

• Iowa Fryerforce™: A grassroots network that collects used cooking oil from restaurants and households to convert into biodiesel.
• BioFuel Mechanics™: Local repair shops that retrofit vehicles and farm equipment to run on biodiesel, while upholding Iowa’s Right to Repair Act.

The reason is that these two CRC initiatives will be major drivers for Iowa’s economy. These hubs will:

• Provide accessible repair services for farmers and residents.
• Convert diesel engines to run on fryer grease.
• Purify fryer grease and sell it just as a gas station would.
• Create skilled jobs in mechanical repair, retrofitting, and biodiesel processing.

By renovating existing structures, CRC-Certified businesses will preserve rural heritage while launching a new era of regenerative infrastructure.

 

📈 Economic Projections for Housing Helpers

The integration of CRC apartment improvement teams with Iowa Fryerforce™ and BioFuel Mechanics™ is projected to generate substantial statewide economic growth through job creation, energy savings, and infrastructure reuse.

 

Read More About Housing Helpers™

 

An Unprecedent Housing Plan
Eminent Domain Rentals Owned by Out-of-State Landlords

My administration will use eminent domain in a way that actually helps the people, by taking rental properties owned by out-of-state landlords.

We will simultaneously work to ensure renters have all the information and resources they need to become responsible owners of those spaces. To assist them, Housing Helpers will be on-call to bring units up to code and make typical repairs.

Instead of property managers working for out-of-state landlords, they’ll be hired through the CRC.

Read this section of the Right to Homestead Act:
Eminent Domain Rentals Owned by Out-of-State Landlords

 

 

Sustainable Villages to Help the Homeless

Iowa is facing a record-breaking homelessness crisis. In Polk County alone, the 2025 Point-in-Time Count identified 779 individuals experiencing homelessness, including 206 unsheltered residents — the highest number ever recorded in the region (Institute for Community Alliances, 2025). Statewide, homelessness has surged by 56% since 2023, driven by rising rents, stagnant wages, and a lack of affordable housing (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2025).

Despite this, cities like Des Moines have begun bulldozing encampments and enforcing camping bans, even as shelters overflow and waitlists grow. Ordinances passed in 2024 shortened cleanup notices from 10 days to just 3, and allow fines or jail time for those who resist displacement (Iowa Finance Authority, 2024). As Iowa’s Governor, the abuse of Iowa’s homeless population will stop. We’ll offer a hand-up instead of kicking them down. Through Civilian Restoration Corps, Housing Helpers, Gardens Across Iowa, and The SolarBerry Brigade, in cooperation with ISU’s Master Gardener Program, Joppa, and other NGOs, the State of Iowa will ensure areas suffering from high levels of poverty and homelessness will have sustainable, eco-friendly villages installed. These are not internment camps — there’s no catch. For too long Iowans have been punished and abused by a state government that is in the pocket of corporate interests instead of in the interests of Iowans. That’s about to change.

Click the Image to Learn More About These Villages:

Above image by Joppa used for First Amendment purposes in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Office’s Fair Use Policy and the Fair Use Doctrine.

 

Impacts

The Right to Homestead Act will:

• Reduce reliance on public assistance
• Lower taxes used to fund welfare housing
• Redirect rent money into local economies
• Create small-scale entrepreneurs
• Boost local food production and trade
• Shift Iowa toward a production-based economy
• Reduce desperation-driven crime
• Fortify communities against future economic disruptions

Homesteading is not a cost — it’s an investment in human dignity and structural resilience.

Here’s a model that integrates all major components — CRC housing, Gardens Across Iowa™, Section 8/state subsidy reallocation, and the long-term impact of reclaiming rental properties from out-of-state landlords:

These projections assume full rollout of CRC-certified teams, statewide garden installations, and successful tenant-to-owner transitions via eminent domain. They reflect direct economic impact and do not yet include secondary benefits like reduced crime, improved health, or educational outcomes — which would push ROI even higher.

🔥 Why I’m Running for Governor — And Why This Matters

One of the primary reasons I decided to run for office is that for decades renters and homeless people have gotten little-to-no political advocacy regarding housing. Although we make up voting blocs politicians try to appeal to, they never seem to give any meaningful advocacy. I can tell you from firsthand experience based on the College of Business I attended: there was never any discussion about inequities or injustice toward the lower classes: renters were reduced to numbers on a spreadsheet — a means for wealth extraction and nothing more. “Political topics” were avoided, because when you can reduce people to mere numbers, then maximize profit by crunching those numbers down as tightly as possible, you can justify the most heinous acts against fellow humans, without a second thought toward morality.

I am speaking up because people are more than mere numbers. In a world that has popularized not caring, I urge Iowans to take a strong humanitarian political stance — especially when it comes to housing and living sustainably.

 

🏠Housing: The Topic Other Politicians Avoid

When asked about affordable housing and rising rents, politicians often provide meaningless rhetoric instead of actual plans, such as “Yes — I believe that Americans deserve affordable housing.” The crowd erupts and begins to clap as if the politician actually said something, when in fact they did not.

When “actual plans” do get discussed, we usually hear something like, “We need to build more housing in order to lower the cost of housing.”  While this sounds great to politicians and their financial backers, many Iowans hear, “Get ready to become buried deeper into the concrete jungle. Remember that small town you used to live in? Not anymore!”

For years we have watched politicians do this while friends, family, and community members scramble every month to make ends meet. Meanwhile, despite such promises, the “build more” argument doesn’t lower rents or help most Iowans in any meaningful way. “Build more” doesn’t fix the root cause — it expands urban sprawl and enriches developers, while families scramble to pay rent every month with nothing to show for it. The “build more” argument commodifies shelter — a basic human need — for profit-driven developers while working people scramble to survive. We can have a thriving economy and a thriving housing market, but not while Iowans are scrambling to afford rent, and being arrested for becoming homeless when they cannot. Homelessness isn’t a crime: it’s a symptom of a broken system.

If You Want a Strong, Compassionate Leader with Real Plans,
Please Support My Campaign for Iowa Governor

Thank you for reading. As you can see, decades of research has been put into this unprecedented campaign for Iowa Governor. I’m up against well-funded candidates who have no plans to advocate for meaningful platform positions like I’ve laid out here. It’s going to take a lot of money to rent billboards, make commercials, hold town halls, and more to get the word out, and I can’t do it without small contributions from my supporters. Please help get me onto that debate stage by showing some support today so that we can turn these plans into a reality. 

 

📚 References

Abogados Gold. (2025). Understanding Anglo-Saxon common law: Origins, principles, and impact. Retrieved from https://example.com/anglo-saxon-common-law

Axios Des Moines. (2023, May 25). Out-of-state investors reshape DSM rental market. Axios. https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2023/05/25/rental-investments-desmoines-metro-wallstreet-rent

Ballantine, J. A. (1994). Ballantine’s law dictionary (3rd ed., Legal Assistant Edition). Delmar Cengage Learning.

Barnett, R. E. (Ed.). (1989). The rights retained by the people: The history and meaning of the Ninth Amendment. Cato Institute.

Black, H. C., & Garner, B. A. (Eds.). (2014). Black’s law dictionary (10th ed.). Thomson Reuters.

Black, H. C. (1910). Black’s law dictionary (2nd ed.). West Publishing Co.

Federal Reserve History. (2025). The Great Recession and its aftermath. Retrieved from https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-recession-and-its-aftermath

Freund, J. (2024). The Homestead Act of 1862: The first entitlement program. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved from https://example.com/homestead-entitlement-program

Goldberg, J. (1965). Concurring opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479.

Institute for Community Alliances. (2025). 2025 Winter Point-in-Time Analysis – Polk County. https://icalliances.org/iowa-data-and-reports

Iowa Finance Authority. (2024). Iowa Homelessness Needs Assessment. https://opportunityiowa.gov/media/5390/download

LawShun. (2025). American Constitution: Saxon common law roots. Retrieved from https://example.com/saxon-common-law-roots

Locke, J. (1689). Second treatise of government. Retrieved from https://example.com/second-treatise-locke

National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2025). 2025 Homelessness Data Dashboards. https://endhomelessness.org/resources/toolkits-and-training-materials/2025-homelessness-data-dashboards

National Archives, Founders Online, “Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824”: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-4313

OfferMarket. (2022, July 18). Buying rental property out-of-state: A guide for remote investors. OfferMarket. https://www.offermarket.us/blog/buying-rental-property-out-of-state

PBS NewsHour. (2022, November 10). Rents spike as large corporate investors buy mobile home parks. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/rents-spike-as-large-corporate-investors-buy-mobile-home-parks

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. (2024). Private equity manufactured housing tracker. https://pestakeholder.org/pesp-private-equity-manufactured-housing-tracker/

Supermode.io. . (2023). Top cities for out-of-state real estate investing. Supermode.io. . https://www.supermode.io/blog/out-of-state-real-estate-investing

US Constitution.co. . (2022). Common law’s influence on founders. Retrieved from https://example.com/common-law-founders

“Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth.” — Epicurus QuoteFancy Visual