Breaking a Lease Early in Arkansas: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   A lease you agreed to is binding, whether it is written or spoken.

   Source:

   1. Tips, Arkansas Attorney General (undated renter page). A government guide.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   Nothing in the landlord-tenant chapter excuses a tenant from paying rent. A tenant may not subtract or hold back rent for a violation of the state repair standards.

   Source:

   1. A.C.A. § 18-17-502(d)(3), Arkansas General Assembly, Act 1052 of 2021 (as engrossed, approved 4/29/21). Law.

When you can leave early

3. 3

   If your home falls short of the state repair standards, you can end your lease without penalty. The law gives your landlord 30 days after getting your written notice to fix it. Your rent must be current, and the law must not excuse the problem. This covers leases signed or renewed after November 1, 2021, but not a lease to buy. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. A.C.A. § 18-17-502(a), Arkansas General Assembly, Act 1052 of 2021 (as engrossed, approved 4/29/21). Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

How to leave

4. 4

   To end your lease because your home falls short of the state repair standards, send your landlord a written notice. Send it by certified mail or by another method your lease provides. It must list the acts and omissions (things done or not done) that make your home fall short.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. A.C.A. § 18-17-502(d)(1), Arkansas General Assembly, Act 1052 of 2021 (as engrossed, approved 4/29/21). Law.
   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

5. 5

   If you plan to move and have a written lease, give notice the way your lease says. If your lease is oral (agreed to out loud), give one rental period's notice. A rental period is the time your rent covers, such as a month.

   Source:

   1. Tenant rights and obligations, Arkansas Attorney General (undated renter page). A government guide.

After you move out

6. 6

   The deposit law applies only to landlords who rent six or more homes. The law gives that landlord 60 days after you move out to return your deposit. The landlord may subtract the cost to repair damage and any past-due rent. If the landlord keeps part of it, the landlord must send you a written, itemized (line-by-line) list of the charges within those 60 days.

   Source:

   1. Security deposits, Arkansas Attorney General (undated renter page). A government guide.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

7. 7

   If you end your lease over the state repair standards, you may get back any security deposit you can recover under the deposit law. Your rent must be current. The law gives your landlord 30 calendar days after getting your written notice to fix the problem.

   Source:

   1. A.C.A. § 18-17-502(d)(2)(A), Arkansas General Assembly, Act 1052 of 2021 (as engrossed, approved 4/29/21). Law.
8. 8

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
9. 9

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.