Apartment Forced Move

Apartment
I received a letter on my door about needing to relocate to a new apartment on site due to construction. And that I need to be moved out in 9 days. My apartment complex is notoriously bad at communicating. Last week they sent an email out saying there would be construction happening but didn’t specify we would be relocating. They mentioned “for those that will need to move” but didn’t clarify fully relocating. Often time they ask us to move our cars and they do a bit of construction so I figured they just meant our cars. Once I read the notice and saw that I had to move out of my unit in 9 days I called and asked for clarification. They said it was actually 17 days. The property manager was very disorganized and clearly hadn’t thought this through. I was informed that they were being forced to do it by the city and that they’ve been planning this for months. I asked which unit exactly I would be moving into and she wasn’t sure. They also don’t send out notices when they say they do. I’m not sure what to do? Is this even legal?

Received an email on 05.06.2026

Email contents:

We will have some vendors doing construction on the decks. This is notice to all units of what will be taking place. For those that will need to move we will be giving individual notices by tomorrow. Construction hours: 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. If there are any weekends it will be 9am -12om on Saturdays. If there are any changes, we will let you know. Parking will be affected. There will be caution tape around the areas that you will be unable to park. Please utilize across the street or on (Street) if necessary. There will be a construction dumpster in the parking lot. This is only for construction materials. No household items to be placed in there for the duration of summer. If you have any questions, please come during office hours to field some of the questions. Tuesday 10am-12pm; Thursday: 5pm-6pm; and Friday from 1-2pm. Those times are available to speak on any specific questions. The leasing staff that answers the phones do not have all of the specifics. Thank you for your cooperation.

Received a paper taped to my front door on 05.10.2026

Paper contents:

Please read this notice to move. Construction in progress starting May 19th ending August 19th. Pending any weather delays.

Dear residents,
Subject: important notice - temporary relocation due to stair construction.

We are writing to inform you of an upcoming stair construction project that will temporarily impact access to certain apartments. Due to safety concerns, affected residents will not be able to enter or exit their apartments for more than one day during construction.

To ensure minimal disruption, we will be temporarily transferring affected residents to another apartment for approximately two weeks to 30 days. Our goal is to keep residents within the same general community whenever possible.

Location: Iowa, USA