Rental Property Rules in Arkansas (2026)
14 rules on the books across Arkansas, 4 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Arkansas: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsArkansas Code 18-17-901 governs eviction grounds statewide under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Landlords may…
Read full rule →Washington County
Few RestrictionsArkansas requires no just cause to evict, and Washington County cannot add one. It is the only state with a criminal…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Arkansas: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsArkansas Act 459 of 2025 strips cities and counties of authority to regulate rental application fees or security…
Read full rule →Little Rock
Significant RestrictionsEvery rental housing unit in Little Rock must hold a valid certificate of compliance before it can be leased or…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Arkansas: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsArkansas was long the only state with no implied warranty of habitability. A 2021 law (Ark. Code 18-17-502) now imposes…
Read full rule →Little Rock
Some RestrictionsLittle Rock Code Sec. 8-591 writes a habitability standard into every residential lease in the city, requiring hot and…
Read full rule →Saline County
Some RestrictionsIn the Saline County portion of Hot Springs Village, the county's Property Code sets minimum exterior maintenance…
Read full rule →Springdale
Some RestrictionsSpringdale's Property Maintenance Code makes landlords who agree to furnish heat keep rented units at 68°F, and…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.