Under Arkansas security deposit law, a landlord can collect no more than two months’ rent as a deposit and must return the money, or an itemized list of deductions, within 60 days after the tenancy ends. Those rules sit in the Arkansas Residential Security Deposit Act at Arkansas Code §§ 18-16-301 through 18-16-306. A landlord who ignores them can be forced to pay the tenant twice the wrongfully withheld amount plus court costs and attorney fees.
How Much a Landlord Can Charge
The cap is two months’ rent, total. The statute reaches any money or property held as security “however denominated,” so a landlord cannot stack a pet deposit, a cleaning fee, and a damage reserve on top of a deposit and call it something else. If the rent is $1,000, every refundable charge held against your tenancy combined cannot exceed $2,000.1Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-304 – Maximum Amount
Labeling a charge “nonrefundable” does not automatically remove it from the cap. If the money functions as security against the landlord’s potential losses, it counts, whatever the lease calls it.
What Can Be Deducted From the Deposit
A landlord may apply the deposit to two things: unpaid rent and losses from the tenant’s failure to comply with the lease. That second category covers physical damage beyond normal wear and tear, and it also reaches other lease breaches that cost the landlord money, such as unauthorized alterations or leaving before the term ends without proper notice.2Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-305 – Refund Required – Exceptions
Normal wear is where disputes usually start. Faded paint, minor scuffs on hardwood, and traffic wear in carpet all come from ordinary living, and the landlord cannot bill you for them. Holes in drywall, broken fixtures, pet stains soaked into subflooring, and missing appliance parts are different. Those are damage, and the real repair cost comes out of the deposit.
Landlords also cannot use your deposit to upgrade the unit. If an eight-year-old stained carpet needs replacing, the deduction should reflect what useful life was left in that carpet, not the price of new flooring. Every withheld dollar has to be backed by a written, itemized notice describing what was damaged and what repairs cost.
The 60-Day Return Rule
After the tenancy ends and you move out, the landlord has 60 days to send either the full deposit or a partial refund with an itemized list of deductions. First-class mail to the tenant’s last known address counts as proper delivery under the statute.2Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-305 – Refund Required – Exceptions
That phrase “last known address” matters more than most tenants realize. The statute does not technically require you to leave a forwarding address, but skipping it is a mistake. If you never tell the landlord where to send the check, it goes to the unit you just left. When the letter comes back undeliverable and the landlord cannot locate you after reasonable effort, the money becomes the landlord’s property 180 days after it was mailed.2Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-305 – Refund Required – Exceptions
Give the landlord a written forwarding address at or before move-out. That one step removes their strongest defense if a fight breaks out later.
What Happens if the Landlord Doesn’t Return It
Miss the 60-day deadline, or fail to send the required itemized notice, and the exposure grows quickly. A tenant who sues can recover the deposit itself, an additional amount equal to twice whatever was wrongfully withheld, and court costs plus reasonable attorney fees.3FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 18 Property 18-16-306
A $1,200 deposit withheld without justification becomes $3,600 in damages before attorney fees and court costs are added. That math is often enough to make a landlord settle before a hearing.
There is one safety valve. If the landlord proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the mistake happened despite reasonable procedures, or that the withholding was based on a good-faith dispute over the amount owed, the penalty drops to the wrongly withheld sum plus court costs. The double-damages multiplier goes away in that scenario.3FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 18 Property 18-16-306
When the Act Doesn’t Apply
Not every Arkansas rental is covered. If a landlord, together with their spouse, minor children, and any business entities they control, owns five or fewer dwelling units total, the Act’s requirements don’t kick in.4Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-303 – Exemptions
The exemption disappears the moment a third party manages the property or collects rent for a fee. A landlord with three rental houses who hires a property manager falls under the full Act, same as a large apartment complex.4Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-303 – Exemptions
If you rent from a small landlord who is exempt, the deposit cap, the 60-day deadline, and the double-damages penalty do not apply by statute. The lease still does. Any return window, deduction limit, or deposit term written into the lease remains enforceable as ordinary contract. Read it closely, because it is the only rulebook that governs your deposit.
Protecting Yourself at Move-In and Move-Out
Arkansas does not require a formal move-in or move-out inspection, which makes your own documentation the whole case if a dispute follows. Before unpacking, walk the unit and photograph every room, appliance, and surface that already shows wear. Timestamped phone photos work. A written checklist signed by both you and the landlord is better.
Do the same walkthrough on your way out, from the same angles. Keep receipts for cleaning supplies or professional services. This before-and-after record is the single best tool for challenging an inflated deduction. Without it, a dispute collapses into your word against the landlord’s, and the landlord controls the property once you hand back the keys.
Taking a Deposit Dispute to Court
Arkansas district courts hear small claims cases up to $5,000, which covers almost every deposit fight. You can file without a lawyer. File in the county where the rental is located or where the landlord lives, and bring your evidence: the lease, move-in and move-out photos, written communications about the deposit, proof of when you vacated, and the landlord’s itemized deduction list if you received one. If you have contractor estimates or receipts that contradict the claimed repair costs, bring those too.
Watch the clock. Once 60 days pass with neither your deposit nor a written explanation of deductions, you likely have a claim, and the penalty structure under § 18-16-306 is often enough to push a landlord toward settlement once your documentation is in front of them.