All About Arkansas Eviction Laws

As a renter, you know how important it is to maintain a good relationship with your landlord. When you both honor the terms of your lease, you, as a tenant, have a well-maintained place to live in and your landlord has someone they can trust to keep their property in good shape.

Unfortunately, circumstances may change so that one or the other of you cannot or will not honor the terms of your agreement. If you find yourself , DoNotPay can help you learn more about how you can fight it.

Tenant and Landlord Rights in Arkansas

The laws around rental agreements apply only to private leases, not government housing. The law sets out obligations for both the tenant and landlord, including

One month notice before the rent increase
One month notice before ending the lease in the case of an oral lease agreement
Landlord's approval is required for any subletting
Three days' written notice to vacate in the case of eviction

The law also declares any property left after the tenant has vacated the premises is considered abandoned, and the landlord may dispose of it as they wish. Unlike some other states, both written and oral agreements are binding in Arkansas.

Security Deposits

The Arkansas security deposit law only applies to landlords with at least six units. Your landlord cannot ask for a security deposit that is more than two months' rent, and your security deposit must be refunded to you within 60 days of you vacating the premises. If there is damage to the property, the landlord can withhold funds from your security deposit for repairs, but you must be given an itemized list of deductions within the same 60 day period. Deductions may include

Cleaning fees
Damaged property
Unpaid rent
Failure to give sufficient notice of lease termination

If you do not receive your deposit within 60 days, you can sue for twice the amount you are owed plus any legal fees you incur in pursuit of your funds. If your landlord attempts to return your deposit to you and cannot find you within 180 days, they are allowed to keep your deposit.

Unit Maintenance

Arkansas does not require landlords to perform any maintenance after the lease agreement is signed unless it is set out in the terms of the lease. If you have safety issues in your unit, you can contact your city to make sure it is compliant with all building codes. If your health is at risk, you should contact your local health inspector. Withholding rent is not an acceptable course of action if promised repairs are not completed.

The Arkansas Eviction Process

If you are found to be noncompliant with the lease, there are a few steps between being notified and actually being evicted:

Your landlord must give you notice of how you are violating the agreement. You have 14 days from the date you are notified to remedy the problem until the lease is terminated. You can also be evicted for paying rent late or failing to pay entirely. In this case, the grace period is shortened from 14 days to five.
Your landlord may file for eviction if you do not become compliant with the lease within the given window. If an affidavit with the reason for eviction is provided with the suit, you have 10 days to show why you should not be evicted. Written objections are acceptable.
If you do not object within the 10 day period, you must leave the property within 24 hours of being served the writ of possession.
If you are still on the premises after 24 hours, you can be arrested.

Fighting Eviction in Arkansas

Small claims court is the best option for disputing a rental agreement. Arkansas tenants facing eviction have access to free help through Arkansas Law Help.

Tenants can apply for help through

Phone Number	1-8888-540-2841
Online Help	Arkansas services
National Low Income Housing Coalition	NLIHC Federal Moratoriums

Get Out of a Bad Lease with DoNotPay

If you have narrowly avoided and you want to break your current lease to find a better arrangement, DoNotPay can help you in just four steps:

Search for and open the Landlord Protection product on DoNotPay.
Select which issue applies to you.
Answer a simple set of questions so our chatbot can collect the necessary information to create your demand letter.
Choose whether you want DoNotPay to send the demand letter to your landlord or roommate on your behalf. If you already tried sending a demand letter and it didn't work, we can help you start the small claims court process.

All it takes are these steps to prepare your demand letter. DoNotPay will even send it for you or start the small claims court process.

Why Use DoNotPay to Navigate Arkansas Eviction Laws

All it takes is for you to provide us all the information and we can begin the process of ensuring that you do not lose your rights over your rented home. We are:

Fast- We have extensive research and experience at your disposal so you won’t have to spend too much time online looking up how to assert your rights.
Easy- No need to fill up tedious forms or keep track of all the steps from filing a complaint to ensuring that you get the remedy you’re entitled to.
Successful- The demand letters we have helped prepare and cases we have handled have saved many from going homeless when they have the right to a home.

Handle Other Legal Needs with DoNotPay

Navigating legal waters is frustrating at best and downright confusing at worst. Collecting all the information you need for a successful suit or appeal can be difficult, but you don't have to do it alone. DoNotPay can help you with many legal and bureaucratic tasks, including:

Try DoNotPay today to see how much easier it could be with someone else on your side.