Eminent Domain Rental Properties
Owned by Out-of-State Landlords
Reclaiming Iowa: Eminent Domain for the People, Not the Profiteers
by Sondra Wilson. Updated July 22, 2025. Processed through Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT to assist with calculations.
Part of the Sensible Housing Act

First, please allow me to provide a bird’s-eye-view regarding how much money is being sucked out from Iowa every year by out-of-state landlords:

📊 Key Statistics: Rent, Wealth, and Inequality

  • 10% of U.S. households own 82% of real estate and 88% of bonds (Federal Reserve Bank, 1996).

  • Half of U.S. renters pay over 30% of their income on rent (Zillow, 2015).

  • 1 in 4 renters pays over 50% of income to rent (Pyke, 2015).

  • Millennials spend 45% of income on rent by age 30 (Sullivan, 2018).

  • Landlords are not required to report rent payments, limiting credit access and loan qualification for tenants (CBPP, 2015; Fannie Mae, 2022).

  • Out-of-state landlords own 15–30% of rentals in many Iowa counties (Iowa Dept. of Revenue, est. 2023).

  • Top 5% of landowners hold 75% of U.S. land (Geisler, 1993).

💸 Total Estimated Rent Leakage from Iowa (2025)

Category Total Rent Paid % Owned by Out-of-State Landlords Estimated Leakage
Residential Rentals ~$3.67 billion/year ~35% ~$1.28 billion/year
Farmland Rentals ~$3.71 billion/year ~30% ~$1.11 billion/year
Combined Total     ~$2.39 billion/year
 

🧮 How These Numbers Were Calculated

🏠 Residential Rentals

  • ~1.2 million housing units in Iowa, ~30% renter-occupied (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023).
  • Median gross rent: ~$850/month → ~$10,200/year.
  • Total rent paid: 360,000 units × $10,200 ≈ $3.67 billion/year.
  • Estimated out-of-state ownership: ~35% (Des Moines Register, 2023; Iowa Housing Partnership, 2024).
  • Leakage: $3.67B × 0.35 ≈ $1.28 billion/year.

🌾 Farmland Rentals

  • ~85,000 farms, ~50% rented (ISU Extension, 2024).
  • Average farm size: ~350 acres.
  • Average cash rent: ~$271/acre (ISU Extension, 2025).
  • Total rent paid: 42,500 farms × 350 acres × $271 ≈ $3.71 billion/year.
  • Estimated out-of-state ownership: ~30% (Renshaw, Chandio, & Tidgren, 2024).
  • Leakage: $3.71B × 0.30 ≈ $1.11 billion/year.
 

🏠 Executive Summary

Iowa renters are being exploited. Each month, millions of dollars in rent flow out of our state and into the pockets of out-of-state landlords who never set foot in our communities. They own our neighborhoods but do nothing to maintain or improve them. Worse, they use our money to influence our politics.

The Sensible Housing Act proposes a bold, lawful solution: use eminent domain to reclaim all Iowa rental properties owned by out-of-state landlords, transfer them to the tenants who live in them, and compensate landlords through 20-year rental-equivalent payouts. This will empower tenants to become homeowners, build intergenerational wealth, and revitalize our communities.

💥 The Problem: Rent Extraction Without Responsibility

Out-of-state landlords engage in a form of passive wealth extraction. Most do not contribute to local economies or serve as community members. Inherited rental properties become income pipelines for absentee heirs (Desmond, 2016).

They often block basic sustainability measures like solar panels, gardens, composting, or rainwater catchment, while raising rents with no local reinvestment. And critically, they do not report rent to credit bureaus, preventing tenants from building credit or qualifying for loans (Fannie Mae, 2022).

Many of these landlords are corporations or LLCs using Iowa income to fund PACs and lobbyists that oppose housing reform (Kilgore, 2018).

🛠️ The Plan: Constitutional Eminent Domain for the Public Good

Under the Sensible Housing Act, Iowa will:

1.) Use eminent domain to acquire all residential rental properties owned by out-of-state landlords.

2.) Provide “just compensation” equivalent to 20 years of indexed rent (calculated via actual rental income, not speculative asset value).

3.) Transfer full title of each unit to the Iowan tenant residing there.

4.) Reallocate Section 8 housing assistance funds to pay landlords over time.

5.) Provide housing and legal education, including property tax training and shared governance tools.

6.) Create tenant associations for managing shared infrastructure (roofs, plumbing, stairwells).

This is lawful under both Iowa and federal constitutions. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London (2005) that economic development and anti-blight measures qualify as public uses under the Fifth Amendment. That precedent affirms Iowa’s authority to act in the interest of economic justice and local sovereignty.

💳 Credit Reporting: A Barrier to Ownership

Most landlords do not report rental payments to credit bureaus. That means:

  • Tenants can pay $1,000/month for years without any increase in credit score.

  • Those same tenants are denied loans for home ownership because they lack credit history (Fannie Mae, 2022).

  • Landlords who withhold this data maintain economic gatekeeping power — even after extracting years of income.

In contrast, mortgage payments are reported to credit bureaus. This creates an unequal playing field and a systemic debt trap.

💰 How We Pay for It: Section 8 Reallocation

  • The federal government spends ~$75 billion per year on rental assistance (HUD, 2018).

  • Under this plan, Iowa will reallocate its Section 8 funds to pay landlords directly for 20 years — replacing lump-sum eminent domain payments.

  • This avoids fiscal shocks, honors compensation law, and transitions recipients from tenancy to ownership.

  • After deed transfer, property taxes will be assessed per-unit, not per-building, simplifying local budgeting.

🌱 Economic Benefits

  • Tenants-turned-homeowners will save $500–$1,000/month, allowing them to invest in their families and communities (HUD, 2018).

  • Homeowners build 4x the wealth of renters at similar income levels (Habitat for Humanity, 2023).

  • Stable housing improves workforce retention, education, and health outcomes (Taylor, 2018).

  • Local economies gain as wealth recirculates rather than being siphoned out-of-state.

📍 Step-by-Step Implementation Timeline

Phase Action
1 Inventory all Iowa rental properties owned by out-of-state landlords
2 Draft legal notices and initiate eminent domain proceedings
3 Create compensation calculators tied to verified rental income
4 Establish CRC (Civilian Restoration Corps) to inspect and upgrade properties
5 Begin Section 8 fund reallocation to support 20-year payouts
6 Transfer title to tenants after 2-year tax and inspection compliance
7 Form tenant governance bodies and publish public dashboards

🧭 Oversight and Transparency

  • Online dashboards showing title transfers, compensation progress, and reinvestment stats

  • Public compensation calculators

  • Tenant-elected oversight boards

  • Independent audits conducted annually

  • Grievance process for landlords and tenants alike

🔑 Why This Is Legal, Just, and Urgently Needed

We already use eminent domain for pipelines, sports stadiums, and private developers. We’ve paved over family farms and demolished working-class homes to “increase tax revenue.” Now we propose to use the same tool — finally — to benefit the people.

This isn’t confiscation. It’s compensation with justice. It’s wealth redistribution with dignity. And it’s Iowa reclaiming its future from absentee profiteers. They don’t contribute to Iowa: they vacuum out hours of labor from hard working Iowans, who work like dogs to support people who effectively have nothing to do with this state.

This problem will only going to get worse if we don’t act now.

🌾 Let’s Build a Homegrown Future

If you believe renters deserve a path to ownership…
If you believe our neighborhoods should be shaped by the people who live in them…
If you believe that justice starts where we live — not in distant boardrooms…

Then you know: it’s time.

Let’s take back our homes.
Let’s root wealth in our communities.
Let’s grow a future that belongs to us — and no one else.

— Sondra Wilson
Candidate for Governor of Iowa

📚 References

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2015). Rental assistance is effective but serves only a fraction of eligible households. https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2-24-09hous-sec2.pdf

Des Moines Register. (2023, October 14). Out-of-state investors reshape Iowa’s rental landscape.

Desmond, M. (2016). Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Crown Publishing.

DiPasquale, D., & Glaeser, E. L. (1999). Incentives and social capital: Are homeowners better citizens? Journal of Urban Economics, 45(2), 354–384. https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1998.2098

Federal Reserve Bank. (1996). Left Business Observer, 5. http://www.endgame.org/landlords-facts.html

Fannie Mae. (2022). Rent payment history can help borrowers qualify for a mortgage. https://www.fanniemae.com/newsroom/fannie-mae-news/rent-payment-history

Geisler, C. (1993). Landownership and rural inequality in the United States. Rural Sociology, 58(4), 532–546.

Gudell, S. (2015, August 12). Worst renters have had it in 30 years. Zillow Research. http://www.zillow.com/research/q2-2015-rent-mortgage-affordability-10268

Habitat for Humanity. (2023). Outcomes associated with homeownership. https://www.habitat.org/our-work/impact/research-series-outcomes-associated-with-homeownership

Iowa Housing Partnership. (2024). Ownership trends in Iowa’s rental market: A policy brief.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. (2025). Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey.

Kilgore, E. (2018, August 18). Rich absentee landlords keep making a killing in California. Intelligencer. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/rich-celebrity-landlords-benefit-from-californias-prop-13.html

Pyke, A. (2015, August 13). Americans already spent a shocking amount on rent. ThinkProgress. https://archive.thinkprogress.org/zillow-median-renter-report-3691430c0377/

Renshaw, E., Chandio, R., & Tidgren, K. (2024). Corporate and foreign land ownership in Iowa. Agricultural Policy Review.

Sullivan, B. (2018, May 18). Millennials spend huge amounts on rent. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/real-estate/2018/05/18/millennials-spend-large-percentage-income-rent/609061002/

Taylor, L. (2018). Housing and health: An overview of the literature. Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20180313.396577/full

U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates: Iowa housing characteristics.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2018). FY 2018 Congressional Justifications: Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/8-TBASE-RENT-A.PDF