Arkansas residential lease agreement

No section read limits what a landlord may charge for an application or screening. State law bars cities, counties and other local governments from controlling the amount of rental application fees.

Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(b)

• The ban on local control applies to landlords, property owners, property managers, tenants, prospective tenants and real estate companies doing business in Arkansas. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(b)(2)

The Arkansas Fair Housing Commission’s guidance says covered housing may not be denied or offered on different terms because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. Apply that review to rent changes as well as applications. The full Arkansas fair housing statute has not been independently read for this page; coverage and exemptions still need to be checked.

42 U.S.C. § 3604 Arkansas Fair Housing Commission: prohibited conduct

• State law read here bars refusing, ending or not renewing a tenancy because a tenant, applicant or household member is a victim of domestic abuse shown in a court order. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112(b)(1) See Retaliation on the Arkansas page
• For covered housing, review necessary reasonable disability accommodations during applications as well as tenancy. This can include changing an application procedure or a parking rule. Reasonable modifications to the home or common areas are generally at the resident's expense; a reasonable interior-restoration agreement must except reasonable wear and tear. Check coverage and the particular request rather than applying a blanket refusal. Arkansas Commission, disability rights in housing 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)
• Review an animal-related housing request under the current reasonable-accommodation rules. The federal regulation gives a guide dog under a no-pets policy as an example of a required accommodation. Federal rules also restrict inquiries about an applicant's disability or its nature or severity, with specified uniform-inquiry exceptions. HUD withdrew FHEO 2013-01 and FHEO 2020-01 effective September 17, 2025; use the Act and current regulations rather than those withdrawn notices. 24 CFR 100.202(c) and 100.204 HUD withdrawal notice, 91 FR 17291
• Arkansas Act 819 of 2025 permits some private-property emotional-support-animal bans, but expressly makes that permission subject to the federal Fair Housing Act as it existed January 1, 2025 and other existing federal law. It does not replace a covered housing accommodation review. Act 819 of 2025, section 1 (20-14-1005)

No section read requires an Arkansas-specific disclosure in a residential lease, but this page could not read every older Code section, so it does not say there are none. Federal law requires the lead-based paint disclosure for most homes built before 1978.

42 U.S.C. § 4852d

• Giving the tenant the move-in defect form is optional but protects you on the quality standards. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c)(1) See Move-in condition on the Arkansas page

No section read requires a flood disclosure in an Arkansas lease; this page did not search every Arkansas statute.

Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-17-101 to 18-17-913

The landlord-tenant act has no section requiring you to disclose the owner's or manager's name and address. A tenant's notice reaches you when it comes to your attention or is delivered at the place of business through which the rental agreement was made or at any place you held out for receiving notices.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-303(b)(2)

The Arkansas Attorney General's published guidance describes a two-month-rent maximum security deposit for covered rentals and says the deposit law applies to landlords renting six or more dwellings. This page has not read the current Code provisions on the cap, coverage or penalties. Confirm all applicable coverage conditions and exceptions before collecting a deposit; the overview is not a complete statutory coverage test. The landlord-tenant act refers deposit questions to those Code sections.

Arkansas Attorney General: deposit guidance Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-501

• The landlord-tenant act says the deposit part of the Code decides whether a security deposit is required and the rights, duties and remedies of landlord and tenant for a deposit. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-501
• Cities, counties and other local governments may not control the amount charged for rental deposits, except as the Code's deposit section provides. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(b) See Rent control and local rules on the Arkansas page

Return the deposit within 60 days after the tenancy ends. You may keep money for accrued unpaid rent and for damages you suffered because the tenant did not comply with the rental agreement, but only as itemized in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the rest of the deposit, due 60 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant delivers possession. Which landlords this rule covers, and the penalty for missing it, are in sections this page could not read.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305

• You comply by mailing the written notice and any payment by first class mail to the tenant's last known address. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305(b)(1)
• If the letter with the payment comes back and you cannot find the tenant after reasonable effort, the money becomes yours 180 days after the date you mailed it. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305(b)(2)
• Since Act 559 of 2009 the return period in this section is 60 days from the end of the tenancy and delivery of possession, and the landlord-tenant act's former forwarding-address rule (as enacted in 2007) is gone, so the clock does not wait for a forwarding address. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-501 (Act 1004 of 2007) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-501 (Act 559 of 2009)
• A tenant who ends the lease under the quality standards remedy gets back any deposit recoverable under the deposit sections; if the standards were met, you may apply the deposit to damage to the premises. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(d)(2) See Tenant repair remedies on the Arkansas page

This page could not read the Arkansas deposit sections outside the landlord-tenant act, so it cannot say whether a separate account or interest is required. None of the sections read mentions either.

No section read requires a move-in checklist, but the quality standards law rewards one. If you give the tenant, when possession is available, a written form to list defects in the six quality standards, you are treated as meeting those standards when the tenant signs it without noting a defect and takes possession, or does not return it within two business days.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c)(1)

• The six standards are hot and cold running water, electricity, potable drinking water, sanitary sewer and plumbing, a functioning roof and building envelope, and heating and air conditioning where it served the home when the lease was made. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(a) See Repairs and habitability on the Arkansas page

Rent is due without demand or notice at the time and place you agree. The landlord-tenant act sets no limit on a late fee and no grace period; it counts late charges as part of rent. Other residential late-charge law, including court decisions, was not read.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401(b) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-301(10)

• Unless you tell the tenant otherwise in writing, rent is payable at the dwelling unit, at the start of any term of one month or less, and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the start of each month. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401(b)(2)
• Rent means what the tenant pays for use of the premises, including late charges, and excludes security deposits and other charges. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-301(10)
• If rent is not paid within five days from the due date, you may terminate the rental agreement. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701(b) See Notice for unpaid rent on the Arkansas page
• Do not use a self-storage fee rule as a residential rent limit. Act 364 of 2013 added the $30-or-20% provision in section 18-16-411 within the self-service storage subchapter, whose definitions concern stored personal property and storage operators. The 2025 amendment likewise defines that rental agreement around a self-service storage facility. Those texts do not establish that fee cap for an apartment or house. Check the applicable residential agreement and current law separately. Act 364 of 2013, sections 1 and 3 Act 393 of 2025, section 2

Arkansas's bad-check and returned-payment statutes were not read for this page, so it states no limit on a returned payment fee.

The Arkansas Attorney General’s guidance says to give at least one rental period’s notice before raising rent, for oral as well as written leases. Check the existing agreement and term before choosing the effective date. The landlord-tenant act does not state a separate increase-notice period or general amount cap; that does not make an immediate increase or a change to agreed fixed-term rent permissible.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401(a) Arkansas Attorney General: rent-change notice

• A month-to-month tenancy can be ended by either side with written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date named in the notice. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-704(b) See Ending a month-to-month tenancy on the Arkansas page
• Cities, counties and other local governments may not control the amount charged for rent. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(b) See Rent control and local rules on the Arkansas page

Arkansas sets no advance notice period for landlord entry. The tenant must not unreasonably withhold consent to your entry to inspect, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, investigate possible rule or lease violations or possible criminal activity, or show the unit to prospective or actual buyers, lenders, tenants, workers or contractors.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-602(a)

• The tenant must not change the locks without your permission. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-602(b)
• If the tenant refuses lawful access, you may get a district court order compelling access without posting bond, or terminate the rental agreement, and in either case recover actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-705

For a lease entered into or renewed after November 1, 2021 (other than a lease to purchase or a lease with a purchase right), Arkansas implies that the home have, when possession is delivered and throughout the term: hot and cold running water; electricity; potable drinking water; a sanitary sewer system and plumbing that met the building and housing codes when installed; a functioning roof and building envelope; and functioning heating and air conditioning to the extent the home had it when the lease was made. The duty is excused while an act of God, a utility failure or another force majeure event, such as a pandemic, temporarily prevents it.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(a)

• These standards override any contrary lease term, unless the tenant agrees in writing to take on renovating, remodeling or finishing construction of the home. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(b)
• A lease may not waive the rights, duties or remedies the landlord-tenant act gives, except where the act allows it. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(g)
• A stricter local housing standard still applies. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(h) See Rent control and local rules on the Arkansas page
• You are not liable to a tenant or the tenant's guests for injury or property damage caused by a defect or disrepair unless you agreed, for consideration, or took on by your conduct a duty to maintain or repair, and then failed to perform it reasonably. The quality standards do not widen that limit. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-110 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(f)(2)
• The tenant must keep the unit reasonably safe and clean, dispose of waste, keep plumbing fixtures clean, use facilities and appliances reasonably, not damage the premises, not disturb neighbors, and follow building and housing code duties that fall on tenants. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-601

If the home falls short of a quality standard, the tenant may give you written notice by certified mail, or any other method the lease allows, describing the problem. If rent is current, the problem is not excused, and you do not fix it within 30 calendar days after you receive the notice, the tenant's only remedy is to end the lease without penalty and get back any deposit recoverable by law. The tenant may not withhold or offset rent over the standards.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(d)

• A problem is excused if you gave the tenant the move-in defect form and the tenant signed it without noting the defect and took possession, or did not return it within two business days. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c)(1) See Move-in condition on the Arkansas page
• A problem that arises after move-in is also excused if it could not be fixed because the tenant refused you entry to correct it, or if the tenant, a family member, another occupant or visitor, or anyone other than you or your agent caused it deliberately or negligently. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c)(2)
• Nothing in the act excuses the tenant from paying rent. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(d)(3)

No section read requires you to provide or rekey locks. The tenant must not change the locks without your permission. If a tenant or household member is a victim of domestic abuse shown in a court order, you or a tenant who is not the offender may change the locks at the tenant's expense with your prior consent, and whoever changes them gives the other a copy of the new key immediately, or as soon as possible if the other is unavailable.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-602(b) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112(b)(2)

• If the offender is under a court order to stay away, you may refuse the offender access unless a court order allows it, and you may seek to end the offender's tenancy, evict the offender and recover unpaid rent and damages from the offender. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112(c)
• You are immune from civil liability for changing the locks in good faith under this law or acting in good faith under the court order. Arkansas Legislature Code access: 18-16-112(e)

Neither the landlord-tenant act nor a lease may stop a tenant from correctly installing, at the tenant's expense, a battery-powered or plug-in smoke or carbon monoxide detector. If the tenant installs one, the tenant alone is responsible for checking that it works, keeping it in working order and any damage from installing or removing it. The Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, adopted by rule, was not read.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(e)

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

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

You or the tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date named in the notice. A week-to-week tenancy needs at least seven days' written notice.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-704(a), (b)

• Unless the rental agreement sets a definite term, the tenancy is week to week for a roomer who pays weekly rent and month to month in every other case. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-401(c)
• If the tenant stays without your consent after the term or tenancy ends, you may sue for possession; if the holdover is not in good faith you may recover reasonable attorney's fees, and if it is willful you may also recover up to three months' periodic rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-704(c)

The landlord-tenant act gives no general right to end a fixed-term lease early. A soldier or airman of the Arkansas National Guard, or the spouse of one, may end the lease of the primary residence when the soldier or airman is ordered by the Governor into active service for more than 180 continuous days, assigned to a permanent change of duty station more than 50 miles from the primary residence, or discharged or released from active military service under honorable conditions after at least 180 continuous days of active military duty. Federal servicemember law also applies.

Ark. Code Ann. § 12-62-705(a) Ark. Code Ann. § 12-62-704 50 U.S.C. § 3955

• The written notice goes to you or your agent by mail, courier or personal delivery with a written receipt, states the service dates and the commanding officer's contact details, claims the benefit of the law, and comes with the current month's and next month's rent and regular monthly charges, less any prepaid sums and deposit you hold. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-62-705(b)
• After a lease ends, you have a right to possession, to rent, and to a separate claim for actual damages for breach and reasonable attorney's fees. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-703
• Arkansas's domestic abuse law protects a victim from being evicted or refused because of the abuse but does not give a right to end the lease early. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-112 See Retaliation on the Arkansas page
• For the Arkansas National Guard benefit, primary residence means the rented home listed as the soldier, airman or spouse's primary residence in an official military record, or a rented home whose rent is paid using the housing allowance issued by the Arkansas National Guard. Apply that definition together with the service and notice conditions above; the state benefit is separate from federal servicemember law. Arkansas Legislature Code access: 12-62-704(a), 12-62-705

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 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

Arkansas's small claims rules were not read for this page.

Under a separate Arkansas law, a tenant who fails to pay rent when due forfeits the right to keep occupying the property, and such a tenant who willfully refuses to leave after ten days' written notice to vacate is guilty of a misdemeanor, fined $1 to $25, with each day of willful holding over after the notice a separate offense. Court decisions on this law were not read.

Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-101

• The notice to vacate is given in writing by you or your agent or attorney. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-101(b)(1)

A healthcare provider may document a person's need for an emotional support dog only after a client-provider relationship of at least 30 days (not required for a person verified to be homeless), while licensed, stating the license details, evaluating the need at least once a year and warning that misrepresenting a service animal can bring a civil penalty. The rule binds the provider and covers dogs only.

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-14-1003

• The civil penalty section does not restrict or change federal or state law on reasonable accommodation and equal access to housing. Ark. Code Ann. § 20-14-1004(c)

Arkansas bars cities, counties and other local governments from enacting or enforcing rules that control the amount of rent, rental application fees or rental deposits for private residential property, except as the Code's deposit section provides. A local housing standard stricter than the state quality standards still applies.

Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(b) Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(h)

• The preemption does not limit a local government's right to manage residential property it has an interest in. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-54-1409(c)