An Arkansas rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. Arkansas landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Arkansas Rental Agreement Types
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An Arkansas roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
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Arkansas Required Lease Disclosures
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosures (required for some leases) – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
To learn more about required disclosures in Arkansas, click here.
Arkansas Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Arkansas landlords can only rent out habitable property. This means providing certain basic health and safety features like sewer and electric service. Landlords must repair any issues within within 30 days after proper notice from the tenant. Failure to repair lets a tenant terminate the lease without penalty. Tenants aren’t allowed to repair and deduct, withhold rent, or even sue the landlord for failure to repair, except in extreme cases.
- Evictions – Arkansas landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Arkansas take between a week to a little over a month.
- Security Deposits – Arkansas caps security deposits at a maximum of twice the periodic rent, an amount which must be “reasonable” under the circumstances. When a lease ends, a landlord has 60 days to return any unused portion of a tenant’s security deposit. If the tenant can’t be found after good-faith efforts, the landlord may keep the security deposit after 180 days.
- Lease Termination – Arkansas lets tenants terminate a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice (seven days, for a week-to-week lease). Terminating a fixed-term lease early requires (in most cases) active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Arkansas has no limit on the amount or frequency of a rent increase. The state does not cap late fees. Returned check fees have a $30 cap, plus any institutional fees.
- Landlord Entry – Arkansas landlords may enter rental property for reasonable business purposes like maintenance and inspections. A landlord can enter at reasonable times of day using reasonable advance notice (in general at least 24 hours), unless the lease agrees otherwise. Entry to fix an emergency doesn’t require advance notice.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Arkansas lets small claims courts to hear landlord-tenant disputes, as long as the amount in controversy is under $5,000. The state does not allow evictions in small claims. Most landlord-tenant issues will fall under a 5-year statute of limitations in Arkansas.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Arkansas, click here.
