Editorial: Renters rights ruling | Opinion – nwestiowa.com

Is your home your castle? Even as a renter, what right to privacy do you have?

We believe renters deserve the legal right to maintain a secure and safe home, even from a nosy government. Sioux County District Judge Jeffrey Neary made that clear by rejecting an Orange City rental property inspection ordinance.

Orange City thought it had the power to search rental residences for health and safety violations, and snoop for possible criminal violations as well, even without any probable cause. This flies in the tradition of a person being secure in their home.

The court finds here that there needs to be more safeguards or protective measures put in place as there are currently none in place in Iowa for the district court to use when considering a request or an application for an administrative search warrant, Neary said in his Aug. 31 ruling.

He said the city needs evidence there is a health or safety violation before intruding upon a rental property. It also is required to have the consent of the people living there.

The government cant just force its way into a home; we established that during the Revolutionary War, when Americans objected to being required to house British soldiers.

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution safeguards Americans from unreasonable search and seizure, and Article I, Section 8 of the Iowa Constitution ensures that precious protection exists in our state as well. Somehow, Orange City didnt grasp that.

We understand the desire to keep all homes safe and to protect the people living in them. But this was intrusive, not protective. The fact that home inspectors also were acting as agents and informants for the police department also is troubling. Thats not a proper role for these city employees.

The judge said the residents deserve advance notice and should have the right to reject such an inspection, or limit the areas being searched. They maintain the right to ask the city to inspect the property, in part to avoid landlords who are not providing proper living conditions.

This legal battle was started in May 2021. It took more than two years to establish that in Orange City, renters have rights.

Erika and Bryan Singer, their landlord, Joshua Dykstra, and another landowner, Bev Van Dam, brought the legal challenge. A third renter, Amanda Wink, originally was in the group but moved out of Orange City before a decision was reached.

John Wrench was their lawyer, and he rightfully noted the importance of this ruling.

It is a serious victory, really, for all Iowans right to be secure against nonconsensual, suspicionless searches of their homes, including renters, Wrench said.

Bryan Singer said its a simple matter of right and wrong. Why did the city think it could enter a rental property without permission? It boggles the mind, frankly.

I didnt ask for it. I didnt mandate it. So, I dont want them here, he said. At what point do you lose your rights? What rights do I even have? It shouldnt be just because Im renting that Im a second-class citizen.

Exactly. We applaud these residents for taking a legal stand, and Judge Nearly for correctly supporting it.

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Editorial: Renters rights ruling | Opinion - nwestiowa.com