Housing · Warranty of habitability
Warranty of Habitability in Arkansas
What a landlord in Arkansas must keep livable, and your remedy when they do not: whether you can withhold or escrow rent, or must use another route. This is the landlord duty behind the repair-and-deduct remedy. Cited to the statute.
What the warranty of habitability covers in Arkansas
What the landlord must maintain, whether you can withhold or escrow rent, and the limits on the remedy.
| What the law says | What it means |
|---|---|
| No implied warranty of habitability | Arkansas is not a warranty-of-habitability state. Its courts have followed the common-law rule of caveat lessee, reaffirmed in Propst v. McNeill, 326 Ark. 623, 932 S.W.2d 766 (1996), under which a landlord who has not agreed to repair cannot be compelled to. The 2021 statute never uses the words warranty or habitability. It is titled "Implied residential quality standards" and creates a limited contract term, not a warranty. |
| Six statutory quality standards | For covered leases, Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(a) requires an available source of hot and cold running water, an available source of electricity, a source of potable drinking water, a sanitary sewer system and conforming plumbing, a functioning roof and building envelope, and a functioning heating and air-conditioning system, but only to the extent one served the premises when the lease was signed. |
| Only newer leases are covered | The standards apply only to lease or rental agreements entered into or renewed after November 1, 2021. The statute says "after," not "on or after," and it expressly captures renewals. A pre-2021 lease that has never been renewed carries no statutory quality standards at all. |
| Where it does not apply | What it means |
|---|---|
| The only remedy is to terminate the lease | Under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(d), if rent is current and the landlord does not remedy the noncompliance within thirty calendar days after certified-mail notice, the tenant’s sole remedy is to terminate the lease without penalty and recover any refundable security deposit. Section 18-17-502(d)(3)(B) is explicit that a tenant may not offset or withhold rent for any violation of the standards. |
| A move-in checklist safe harbor | Under § 18-17-502(c) the landlord is deemed compliant as to move-in defects if it supplies a written defect form and the tenant either signs it without noting a defect and takes possession, or fails to return the form within two business days. A tenant who ignores that form for two business days can forfeit the standards as to conditions that existed at move-in. |
| Force majeure and renovation carve-outs | The standards are suspended when compliance is temporarily prevented by an act of God, a public-utility failure, or other force majeure, including an epidemic or pandemic that causes work stoppages or shortages. And under § 18-17-502(b), if the tenant agrees in writing to take on renovation or construction of the unit, the standards are switched off for that work. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps when a rental in Arkansas is not being kept livable. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Return the move-in defect form on time
If the landlord gives you a written defect form, note every problem and return it within two business days. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c), failing to return it in time can waive your rights as to conditions that existed at move-in.
- Give notice by certified mail
To use the statute, send written notice of the noncompliance by certified mail, or another method the lease allows, specifying the acts and omissions. The landlord then has thirty days. Keep the certified-mail receipt.
- Do not withhold or deduct rent
Arkansas law is explicit that you may not offset or withhold rent for a violation of the quality standards, and there is no repair-and-deduct. Stopping rent can lead to eviction, so keep rent current while you pursue the problem.
- Get Arkansas tenant help
Because the remedy is narrow and Arkansas recognizes no implied warranty, Legal Aid of Arkansas can explain whether terminating the lease under § 18-17-502 is your best option before you act.
Withholding rent the wrong way can risk eviction, so a legal aid office can confirm the exact notice and escrow steps before you stop paying.
→ Legal Aid of ArkansasThis is general legal information, not legal advice. The notice, the escrow account, and what counts as uninhabitable all matter, so confirm your situation against the statute before withholding rent.
What renters in Arkansas get wrong about habitability
Arkansas is the outlier of outliers on habitability. It is the only state whose courts have never recognized an implied warranty of habitability, and they still have not. The rule is caveat lessee, reaffirmed in Propst v. McNeill in 1996: a landlord who has not agreed to repair cannot be compelled to. In 2021 the legislature added Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502, and it is easy to misread as a warranty, but it is not one. The statute never uses the words warranty or habitability. It is titled "Implied residential quality standards," and it sets six minimum conditions, including running water, electricity, drinking water, plumbing, a functioning roof, and a heating and air-conditioning system to the extent one served the unit at signing. Two things keep it weak. The standards reach only leases entered into or renewed after November 1, 2021, and the only remedy for a breach is to give thirty days’ certified-mail notice and then cancel the lease. The tenant cannot withhold rent, cannot abate, and cannot repair and deduct. There is even a move-in checklist trap: ignore the landlord’s defect form for two business days and you can lose the standards as to existing defects.
Common questions
Does Arkansas have an implied warranty of habitability?
No. Arkansas has never recognized an implied warranty of habitability, and still does not. Its courts follow the common-law rule of caveat lessee, reaffirmed in Propst v. McNeill (1996). A 2021 statute sets a narrow set of quality standards, but the law is careful never to call it a warranty.
Can I withhold rent in Arkansas for a bad condition?
No. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(d)(3)(B) is explicit that a tenant may not offset or withhold rent for any violation of the quality standards, and there is no repair-and-deduct. The only statutory remedy is to give thirty days’ certified-mail notice and, if the problem is not fixed, terminate the lease.
What must an Arkansas landlord provide under the 2021 statute?
For leases entered into or renewed after November 1, 2021, Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502 requires an available source of hot and cold running water, electricity, potable drinking water, a sanitary sewer system and conforming plumbing, a functioning roof and building envelope, and a functioning heating and air-conditioning system to the extent one served the unit at signing.
What is the move-in defect form in Arkansas?
Under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-502(c), if the landlord gives you a written defect form and you sign it without noting a defect, or fail to return it within two business days, the landlord is deemed compliant as to move-in defects. Note every problem and return the form on time to protect your rights.
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.