Central Iowa sellers now answer a question about lead water service lines on the state seller disclosure statement, and most owners have no idea what the honest answer is for their own address. The Iowa Legislature added lead service lines to the required disclosure content in Iowa Code section 558A.4, effective January 1, 2026, and the sample disclosure statement in the state's own rules was updated to match, effective April 22, 2026. It is question 13 on a twenty question form. Here is what it asks, what counts as a lead line under Iowa law, and how to get a real answer before you list.
The sample Residential Property Seller Disclosure Statement in Iowa Administrative Code 481, chapter 2014, now reads: "Are there currently, or have there ever been, any lead water service lines present? Yes / No / Unknown. If yes, please provide more information."
Three things in that wording matter. It reaches backward, not just to the present, so a line that was replaced still gets disclosed. It offers Unknown as a permitted answer. And it asks for detail when the answer is yes, which means a bare checkmark is not a complete disclosure.
The form applies to the same transfers chapter 558A has always covered: property with at least one and no more than four dwelling units. A duplex, a triplex and a fourplex are all in scope, which is why this question lands on house hackers as well as on owner occupants.
Iowa Code section 558A.1 defines the terms, and the definition is broader than most people assume. A service line is the pipe connecting the water main to the interior plumbing of a building, including the pipe from the main to the water meter but not the interior plumbing itself.
A lead service line is a service line made of lead. The statute then adds a rule that catches a lot of older homes: a galvanized service line is considered a lead service line if the line ever was, or currently is, downstream of any lead service line or any service line of unknown material. For that purpose, downstream means the section of line between a lead service line and the water meter.
Read that twice if you own an older home. A galvanized pipe can be a lead service line under Iowa law because of what sits upstream of it, including a stretch of pipe whose material nobody has ever documented.
The instructions printed on the disclosure form are explicit about effort. Sellers are told to provide information in good faith and to make a reasonable effort to ascertain the necessary information, and only then to mark it unknown if it is still unavailable. Unknown after a phone call is defensible. Unknown because nobody looked is a weaker position, and chapter 558A gives a buyer remedies when a disclosure was not made in good faith.
Two construction dates frame the risk. Des Moines Water Works states that homes constructed before 1940 may be served by a lead water service line, and that copper pipe installed before 1985 may have been installed using lead containing solder. If your home predates either of those, the question deserves a real answer rather than a shrug.
The service line record usually sits with your water utility, not with your county. Federal drinking water rules required community water systems to build an inventory of service line materials and make it publicly accessible, so in most of the corridor the answer already exists in a database somewhere.
Do this before the listing appointment, not after an inspection raises it. A seller who already holds a utility record and, where it applies, a lead test result controls the conversation. A seller who finds out during the inspection period is negotiating from behind.
If the box is checked yes, ask for the detail the form requests, then ask the utility who owns which half of the line. In most Iowa systems the portion on private property belongs to the property owner, which makes replacement an owner expense unless a utility program covers it. If the box is checked unknown, that is a legitimate answer and also an open item: put the material question on your inspection list and call the water utility yourself. The disclosure is a statement of what the seller knows, not a warranty, and the form says so.
None of this is a reason to walk away from an older home. It is a reason to know what you are buying, the same way you would read the radon results or the inspection report rather than skim it.
Iowa Code section 558A.1 lists transfers that are not covered, and the list is longer than most sellers expect. Among them: transfers by court order, including those under the probate code, foreclosure and forfeiture transfers, transfers by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust, transfers between joint tenants or tenants in common, transfers to a spouse or a relative within the third degree, transfers to or from a government body, transfers by quitclaim deed, and transfers by power of attorney.
One wrinkle is worth flagging, because it catches people. The fiduciary exemption does not apply when the fiduciary is a living natural person who occupied the property at any time within the twelve consecutive months before the transfer. If you are selling a relative's home as executor and you were living in it last year, you are back on the form, lead service line question included. The wider sequence for an estate sale is in my guide to selling an inherited Iowa home.
Small multifamily buildings in Central Iowa tend to be older than the detached housing around them, which means the lead service line question comes up more often on exactly the properties investors want. Treat it as a line item rather than a surprise. Ask the utility for the material record during due diligence, and if the answer is yes or unknown, get a replacement quote and carry it as a capital expense in your underwriting. Our deal calculator has a place for one time costs for a reason, and a known number beats an unpriced risk every time.
What this means for your strategy: If you are listing a Central Iowa home, call your water utility this week and get the service line material record for your address, then answer question 13 from the record instead of from memory. If the answer is yes or unknown, request the free lead test where it is offered and put the paperwork in the listing file. If you are buying, read the answer, and if it says unknown, make the utility call yourself before your inspection period closes.
My seller's guide walks through the full disclosure packet and the pre listing items worth handling early, and the home value tool gives you a starting figure for the same address. If you want a straightforward read on what this means for your specific property in Ankeny, Ames or anywhere in the corridor, reach out. Clear, relationship driven conversation with Jackson Krile and the Flanders Team at RE/MAX Real Estate Center, no pressure.
Sources: Iowa Code sections 558A.1 and 558A.4, Iowa Code 2026, including the note that the lead service line definitions and the amended disclosure content take effect January 1, 2026 (2025 Iowa Acts, chapter 144); Iowa Administrative Code 481, chapter 2014, Seller Property Condition Disclosure, sample disclosure statement question 13, as amended by ARC 0027D effective April 22, 2026; Des Moines Water Works, Lead Service Lines and Service Line Lookup pages; United States Environmental Protection Agency service line inventory requirements at 40 CFR 141.84. This is general information about Iowa disclosure law and not legal advice. Confirm your own situation with your water utility and, where the stakes warrant it, a real estate attorney.
Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com
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