Arkansas Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Arkansas residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Arkansas's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 2 months rent for covered landlords; exemptions may apply. Arkansas does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 60 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: No statewide statute. Late fees: No specific statewide cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 days. (Entry notice citation: No statewide entry-notice statute.)

Required disclosures

A Arkansas lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • owner/agent and property-specific disclosures

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Arkansas: 3 civil / 10 criminal-failure-to-vacate risk This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-701 (5-day grace) / § 18-60-304 (3-day notice to quit).)

What actually distinguishes Arkansas

Arkansas caps the security deposit at: 2 months rent for covered landlords; exemptions may apply.

There's no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry in Arkansas, which means the lease is the only thing establishing that expectation — silence in the lease leaves it genuinely undefined.

At 3 civil / 10 criminal-failure-to-vacate risk, Arkansas's notice period for nonpayment is on the short end nationally — landlords can move to the next step quickly, but that also means less room for a paperwork mistake to cost you time.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Arkansas's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Arkansas landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-304, with the return deadline set by Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305 (60 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Arkansas's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Arkansas landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Arkansas-specific clauses built in automatically.