Breaking a lease in Arkansas

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).

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)).

Arkansas has no statute that sets a general rule on subletting a home. The lease controls, so state in it whether the tenant needs your written consent (Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007, Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-101 and following (Act 1004 of 2007)).

• The Act's definition of landlord includes a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets is the subtenant's landlord under the Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-301(5)).

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)).

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