An Arkansas eviction notice is the written demand a landlord must deliver to a tenant before filing anything in court, and it has to match the specific reason for the eviction. Arkansas doesn’t publish an official form, so you draft your own “Notice to Quit” with the right deadline, the right details, and a delivery method you can prove. Get the notice period wrong or leave out a required piece of information, and a judge can throw the case out before it starts.
Pick the Right Notice Period
Arkansas has more than one eviction statute, and the notice period depends on which one applies to your situation. Choose before you draft.
Nonpayment of Rent
Under the unlawful detainer statute, you must give at least three days’ written notice to quit along with a written demand for possession before filing a complaint.1Justia. Arkansas Code 18-60-304 – Actions Constituting Unlawful Detainer The Arkansas Attorney General’s office describes this as “a three days’ written notice to vacate.”2Arkansas Attorney General. Landlord and Tenant Rights Separately, under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, a landlord may terminate the rental agreement once rent has gone unpaid for five days after the due date.3Justia. Arkansas Code 18-17-701 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement – Failure to Pay Rent – Removal of Evicted Tenants Personal Property
Arkansas also has a criminal failure-to-vacate route under ยง 18-16-101, which uses a ten-day notice and treats the tenant’s refusal to leave as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1 to $25 per day.4Justia. Arkansas Code 18-16-101 – Failure to Pay Rent – Refusal to Vacate Upon Notice – Penalty Most landlords skip the criminal path because it fines the tenant without guaranteeing a timeline for getting the property back.
Lease Violations Other Than Rent
For problems other than unpaid rent (an unauthorized occupant, a prohibited pet, property damage, a nuisance), the notice must be in writing, describe the violation specifically, and state that the lease terminates no fewer than fourteen days after the tenant receives it. If the tenant cures the problem within that window, the lease stays in effect.3Justia. Arkansas Code 18-17-701 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement – Failure to Pay Rent – Removal of Evicted Tenants Personal Property
Ending a Month-to-Month or Week-to-Week Tenancy
If no violation has occurred and you simply want to end a periodic tenancy, the notice period follows the rental period. A month-to-month tenancy requires at least thirty days’ written notice before the termination date you specify. A week-to-week tenancy requires at least seven days.5Justia. Arkansas Code 18-17-704 – Periodic Tenancy – Holdover Remedies
What the Notice Must Say
No state agency issues an official template. Some circuit court clerks hand out self-help packets with a basic Notice to Quit, but you can draft your own or buy a form, as long as it carries the information a judge expects. At a minimum, the notice should include:
- Every adult tenant’s full name. Anyone left off the notice can argue it didn’t apply to them.
- The complete property address, including any unit or apartment number.
- The specific reason for the eviction. For nonpayment, list the exact dollar amount owed and the period it covers. For a lease violation, describe the conduct and point to the clause it breaches. For a periodic tenancy, state that you are terminating.
- The deadline. State the number of days and calculate the specific calendar date by which the tenant must pay, cure, or move out.
- Your signature and date, along with your name and your role as landlord, owner, or authorized agent.
Keep the dollar figure honest. Don’t roll in future rent, late fees the lease doesn’t authorize, or speculative damages. An inflated balance gives the tenant a straightforward way to defeat the notice and send you back to the start.
How to Deliver It So It Holds Up
Arkansas’s eviction statutes require the notice to be in writing and “given” to the tenant, but they don’t dictate a specific pre-suit delivery method. Two approaches reliably survive a courtroom challenge:
- Personal delivery. Hand the notice to the tenant directly. If the tenant isn’t home, giving it to another adult at the residence is the next best option. Record the date, time, and the name of the person who took it.
- Certified mail, return receipt requested. Send it through USPS and ask for the green card. The signed receipt proves the date of delivery if the tenant later denies getting it.
Whatever method you choose, keep a copy of the notice and write up a short affidavit of service recording the date, time, method, and recipient. You’ll need that documentation when you file the court complaint. A landlord who can’t prove the tenant received the notice risks dismissal for defective notice, regardless of how clear the underlying violation was.
When Federal Law Extends the Deadline
If the rental property has a federally backed mortgage or participates in a federal housing program, a separate federal notice rule may apply on top of Arkansas law. Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant of a “covered dwelling” to vacate before thirty days after the landlord provides a notice to vacate. A Congressional Research Service report confirms the provision remains in effect, though courts have reached inconsistent interpretations and litigation continues.6Congress.gov. CARES Act Eviction Notice Requirements
Covered dwellings include properties with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, or USDA, and properties in certain federal housing programs. When the CARES Act applies, its thirty-day notice overrides Arkansas’s shorter state-law periods for nonpayment. If you’re not sure whether your property qualifies, check with your mortgage servicer or housing authority before issuing a three-day notice.
What Happens After the Deadline
If the tenant pays, cures, or moves out within the notice period, the matter ends there. If the deadline passes and the tenant is still in the property owing rent or in violation, your next step is filing an unlawful detainer complaint in circuit court. The complaint, an affidavit confirming you’re entitled to possession, a summons, and a notice of intent to issue a writ of possession all go to the clerk together, and copies must be served on the tenant under Rule 4 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.7Justia. Arkansas Code 18-60-307 – Unlawful Detainer Complaint Summons If a business entity owns the property, an attorney has to file; non-attorneys can only represent themselves individually.
What you cannot do, regardless of how long the tenant has been behind, is handle it yourself. Changing the locks, cutting off utilities, removing doors or windows, or hauling out the tenant’s belongings are all illegal self-help eviction in Arkansas. A tenant locked out this way can sue for forcible entry, win restoration of access, collect money damages, and recover court costs and attorney’s fees. Wait for the writ.