Arkansas eviction law

Arkansas has two routes when rent is unpaid. Under the unlawful detainer law, a tenant who willfully fails to pay rent when due and then refuses to leave after three days' written notice to quit and demand for possession is guilty of unlawful detainer. Under the landlord-tenant act, if rent is not paid within five days from the due date, you may terminate the rental agreement, and that unpaid rent is itself legal notice that you may start an eviction.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-304(3) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(b) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-901(b)

• The three-day notice is a written notice to quit and demand for possession, given by the person entitled to possession or that person's agent or attorney. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-304(3)
• Periods in the landlord-tenant act are counted under the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, which this page did not read. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-303(d)
• A separate criminal law applies to a tenant who does not pay and refuses to leave after ten days' written notice to vacate. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-101 See Failure to vacate offense on the Arkansas page
• If the tenant's nonpayment is not in good faith, you are entitled to reasonable attorney's fees when an attorney represents you. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(c)(3)

For a lease violation, you may give the tenant written notice describing it and stating that the rental agreement will end on a date at least 14 days after the tenant receives the notice unless it is remedied within 14 days. The agreement ends on that date unless the violation can be remedied by repairs or otherwise and the tenant adequately remedies it before then.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(a)

• If the tenant's violation of the tenant duties materially affects health and safety and can be fixed by repair, replacement or cleaning, and the tenant does not fix it within 14 days after your written notice (or as promptly as an emergency requires), you may enter, have the work done in a workmanlike manner and charge the tenant for it. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-702(a)
• For another violation of the act that materially affects health and safety, you may terminate if the tenant does not comply within 14 days after written notice, or as promptly as an emergency requires. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-702(b)
• A notice reaches the tenant when it comes to the tenant's attention, is delivered in hand, or is mailed by registered or certified mail to the address the tenant gave for notices or, if none, the tenant's last known residence; proof of mailing is notice without proof of receipt. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-303(b)(2)
• If the violation is willful and is not nonpayment of rent, you may recover reasonable attorney's fees when an attorney represents you. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(c)(2)

Arkansas has two court routes. An unlawful detainer action is heard in circuit court, or in district court where a Supreme Court rule or order permits it. An eviction under the landlord-tenant act may be commenced in a district court having jurisdiction, by a complaint and a supporting affidavit from someone with personal knowledge of the grounds, and the act also refers to evictions in circuit court or district court.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-306 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-901(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-902(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(c)(1)

• In an unlawful detainer action, the clerk issues a summons and a notice of intention to issue a writ of possession, and the sheriff or a process server serves them on the tenant with the complaint. If the tenant files no written objection within five days after service, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, the clerk issues the writ on the court's order. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-307(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-307(b)
• Besides unpaid rent after a three-day notice, a person who willfully and without right holds over after the lease term ends, holds possession after a written demand for it, fails to maintain the premises in a safe, healthy or habitable condition, or causes or permits a common nuisance is also guilty of unlawful detainer. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-304
• If the tenant objects, you set a hearing and notify the tenant by certified mail; you must present a prima facie case, the tenant may rebut it, and the writ issues if the court decides on all the evidence that you are likely to succeed at a full hearing. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-307(c), (d)
• After a writ issues, the court may, on motion and good cause, let the tenant keep possession only if the tenant provides, within five days of the writ's issuance, security the court sets of at least the delinquent rent and the rent that will accrue. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-307(e)
• In an eviction under the act, the court orders the tenant to vacate or show cause within ten calendar days after service; if the tenant does not appear, the court enters judgment and a writ follows, and after a judgment for you the court issues a writ of eviction within three days. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-902(b) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-904 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-907
• The order may be served like a district court summons; if that fails and no one is in possession, it may be posted on the most conspicuous part of the premises. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-903
• Rent keeps accruing while the tenant stays, and accepting rent after the order does not waive your right to the eviction. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-911
• The sheriff executes the writ and removes the occupants if necessary. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-310(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-913
• In an eviction under the act in which the tenant raises defenses or counterclaims, the tenant must pay you the rent that comes due after the order to vacate or show cause, and the rent you claim was owed before it unless the tenant shows a receipt or canceled check for it; if the tenant does not, the court puts you in full possession. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-706 (Act 311 of 2009) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-706 (Act 482 of 2009)

The landlord-tenant act does not mention lockouts or utility shutoffs, but for a lease made or renewed after November 1, 2021 the home must have an available source of hot and cold running water and of electricity throughout the term, so a shutoff you cause leaves it short of those standards. The older forcible entry and detainer sections that may apply were not read. Recovering possession through the court process avoids the question.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(a)

• Arkansas's court routes to possession are an unlawful detainer action and an eviction under the landlord-tenant act. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-60-304 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-902 See Eviction process on the Arkansas page

The Code section on property left behind after a tenancy ends is published only through the LexisNexis site the Legislature links to and was not read. A 1987 Act says property left on the premises when a lease ends is treated as abandoned and may be disposed of by the landlord, with a lien for sums owed, but it names no Code section and this page could not confirm its current wording.

Act 577 of 1987, § 2

The landlord-tenant act has no general rule against retaliation. The one statutory protection read: you must not end or refuse to renew a tenancy, refuse to rent, or otherwise retaliate in leasing because a tenant, an applicant or a household member is a victim of domestic abuse shown in a court order.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112(b)(1)

• A documented incident is evidence of domestic abuse in a court order, and the protection covers a person identified in one within the preceding 60 days or within 60 days of a tenancy ending because of the abuse. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112(a)
• A tenant may not waive the right to call law enforcement or other emergency help. Arkansas Legislature Code access: 18-16-112(f)
• Fair housing protections are separate from the landlord-tenant act’s general retaliation coverage. The Fair Housing Commission says it is illegal to threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with someone exercising a fair housing right or helping another person exercise it. Do not use a rent change to punish protected fair housing activity; confirm the applicable claim and facts rather than assuming every complaint falls under the same statute. Arkansas Fair Housing Commission: fair housing noninterference