Housing & Tenant · Landlord Entry
Landlord Entry Notice in Arkansas
How much warning a landlord must give before entering your home in Arkansas, the hours entry is allowed, and what to do if they walk in unannounced, cited to the statute.
The rules and your rights in Arkansas
The notice, the allowed hours, the reasons a landlord may enter, and what to do about an unlawful entry.
Arkansas has no statute that sets how much notice a landlord must give before entering. That means your lease controls, and a city or county ordinance may add its own rule. Read your lease first, then check for a local ordinance where you live.
| Advance notice | No notice period set by state statute |
| Allowed entry hours | Set by your lease. The statute fixes no hours. |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | The statute does not grant the landlord a right of entry. It instead lists the reasons you may not unreasonably refuse: to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs and improvements, supply services, investigate possible rule or lease violations, investigate possible criminal activity, or show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors. |
| Emergency entry | There is no notice requirement to except from, so Arkansas has no separate emergency clause. In practice a landlord will enter without warning for anything urgent, and the statute does not stand in the way. |
| Local ordinance | The statute sets no rule, so your lease is the main source of any notice you are owed. A city ordinance could add one, so check your local code where you live. |
| Statute | No state entry statute |
If the landlord enters unlawfully
Section 18-17-602 carries no anti-harassment or abuse-of-access clause of the kind Alaska, Connecticut, and Delaware have. That makes your lease the practical source of any limit, so read the access clause closely and treat an improper entry as a lease matter rather than a statutory violation.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a landlord keeps entering your Arkansas home without proper notice. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Read your lease access clause first
Arkansas law sets no notice period, so the lease is where any rule lives. Find the entry or access clause and see whether it requires notice, sets hours, or lists reasons the landlord can enter.
- Negotiate a notice clause before you sign
Since no statute gives you a notice period, the time to get one is before signing. Ask for a written clause requiring, for example, 24 hours notice except in emergencies, because that clause is what you can enforce.
- Do not change the locks without permission
The statute expressly bars a tenant from changing the locks without the landlord permission. Locking a landlord out can put you in the wrong, so address entry problems through the lease instead.
- Document improper entries and get help
Keep a dated log of each entry and any messages. If a pattern develops, contact a local Arkansas legal aid office to see whether it is a lease breach or a violation of your quiet enjoyment. Search for legal aid in your area.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change what applies to your home.
What Arkansas renters get wrong
Arkansas has an entry statute that never once tells the landlord to do anything. Read Ark. Code 18-17-602 from the top and both sentences are directed at the renter. Do not unreasonably refuse entry, and do not change the locks. There is no notice period, no limit on the hour of day, and no clause about abusing the right of access, all of which the neighboring states carry. Arkansas is also unusual in listing investigating possible criminal activity as a reason entry may be made, which most state statutes do not name. The practical result is that your lease, not the code, is where any real rule lives, so the access clause is the thing to read before you sign. An improper entry in Arkansas is usually a lease matter or a question of your right to quiet enjoyment, rather than a statutory violation, because the statute simply does not speak to what the landlord must do.
Common questions
Does my Arkansas landlord have to give notice before entering?
No. Ark. Code 18-17-602 sets no notice period. It only tells the tenant not to unreasonably refuse entry and not to change the locks, so any notice you are owed comes from your lease, not the statute.
Can I change the locks in Arkansas?
Not without the landlord permission. Section 18-17-602 expressly bars a tenant from changing the locks on the unit without permission, so locking a landlord out can put you in the wrong even when entries feel unfair.
Can an Arkansas landlord enter to investigate suspected criminal activity?
The statute lists investigating possible criminal activity among the reasons you may not unreasonably refuse entry. Arkansas is one of the few states that names it, so an entry for that purpose is contemplated by the code.
What can I do if the entries feel like harassment in Arkansas?
The statute has no anti-harassment clause, so your route is the lease and your right to quiet enjoyment. Keep a dated log, object in writing, and ask a local legal aid office whether a pattern of entries is a lease breach you can act on.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.