Service animals, emotional-support animals, and reasonable accommodation duties under the federal Fair Housing Act and Ark. Code § 16-123-201 et seq..
If you own or manage rental housing in Arkansas, you have a legal duty to consider requests from tenants and applicants with disabilities for changes to how a unit is used or built. Two federal laws set the floor: the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619), whose disability rules live at 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for federally assisted housing. Arkansas layers its own Arkansas Fair Housing Act (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-123-301 to 16-123-348, enacted 2001) on top, with disability protections at Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314. The state act is deliberately built to be substantially equivalent to the federal law, so Arkansas does not impose a materially stronger standard than the FHA baseline. The practical difference for landlords is the enforcement path: complaints can be filed with the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission as well as HUD.
The distinction that trips up most owners is between an accommodation (a change to a rule or policy, like waiving a no-pets clause) and a modification (a physical, structural change, like a grab bar or ramp). Who pays turns on that difference, and getting it wrong is one of the most common ways Arkansas landlords land in a fair-housing complaint.
Mirrors federal FHA; no statewide source-of-income protection.
A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule, policy, practice, or service that a person with a disability needs to have equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling, including common areas. Classic examples: assigning a reserved parking space near the unit, allowing an assistance animal despite a no-pets policy, or accepting rent a few days late from a tenant whose disability benefits arrive mid-month. Because these are policy changes, the landlord bears the (usually minor) cost.
A reasonable modification is a physical change to the premises — installing grab bars, widening a doorway, adding a wheelchair ramp, lowering a countertop. Under the federal rule at 24 CFR 100.203 and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314, you must permit the modification, but in ordinary private housing the tenant pays for it. You cannot refuse a reasonable modification simply because the tenant, not you, is footing the bill.
The exception: if you receive federal financial assistance (HUD-funded projects, project-based Section 8, public housing), Section 504 flips the cost — the housing provider generally must pay for and provide the structural change as an accommodation unless it is an undue financial and administrative burden.
Because the tenant owns the modification cost in private housing, Arkansas and federal law give you a way to protect the unit's resale/re-rent value. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314 and 24 CFR 100.203, where it is reasonable to do so you may condition permission on the tenant's agreement to restore the interior to its prior condition at the end of the tenancy, reasonable wear and tear excepted.
Limits to know: restoration can only be required for the interior, not for modifications to common areas or exterior changes that would not interfere with the next tenant's use (a ramp at an entrance, for instance, generally stays). You also cannot demand restoration of a change that the next occupant is unlikely to want removed. For higher-cost interior modifications, you may — where reasonable — require the tenant to pay into an interest-bearing escrow account to fund the eventual restoration, but the amount must be reasonable and the interest accrues to the tenant. You may also require a reasonable description of the work and assurance it will be done in a workmanlike manner with any needed permits.
The single most frequent accommodation request in Arkansas rentals is an assistance animal — a term that covers both trained service animals and emotional support/assistance animals. Under the FHA and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314, an assistance animal is not a pet. That means:
You are not required to accept an animal that poses a direct threat to others' safety or would cause substantial physical damage that cannot be reduced by another accommodation, but that judgment must rest on the specific animal's conduct, not its breed or size. Blanket breed or weight restrictions do not apply to assistance animals.
When a tenant asks for a change and the disability or the need is not obvious, you may request reliable documentation that the person has a disability and that the requested change is connected to that disability. You may not ask for a diagnosis, demand medical records, or require a particular form, certification, or registration (there is no valid "registry" for assistance animals). Once you have enough to confirm the disability-related need, further probing risks a violation.
HUD and DOJ guidance treats the request as an interactive process: respond promptly, and if the specific request is a problem, propose an alternative rather than simply refusing. An unexplained delay or non-response can itself be treated as a denial.
You may lawfully deny a request only on narrow grounds under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314: the request is not tied to a disability, there is no nexus between the disability and the change requested, granting it would impose an undue financial and administrative burden, it would be a fundamental alteration of your operations, or the tenancy would be a direct threat to the health or safety of others or cause substantial physical damage to others' property. "It's against my rules" is never, by itself, a valid reason.
Separate from individual requests, if you built or substantially renovated multifamily housing, the accessible-design and construction rules may already require baseline features regardless of any tenant asking. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314, covered multifamily dwellings designed and constructed for first occupancy after February 1, 2004 must meet the seven federal accessibility requirements — accessible common and public areas, doors wide enough for wheelchair passage, accessible routes into and through units, reachable environmental controls, reinforced bathroom walls for later grab-bar installation, and usable kitchens and baths. The parallel federal FHA date is first occupancy after March 13, 1991.
Covered multifamily dwellings means buildings of four or more units with at least one elevator (all units covered), plus the ground-floor units in buildings of four or more units without an elevator. Buildings predating these occupancy dates are not retroactively required to comply — but tenants there can still request individual modifications and accommodations as described above.
Arkansas has not enacted a statute criminalizing misrepresentation of a pet as a service or assistance animal. A Arkansas landlord who suspects fraud should still process the request properly, denial without engaging in the interactive process and without requesting reliable documentation creates FHA liability that far exceeds any plausible harm from a fraudulent ESA claim.
The most common mistake in Arkansas reasonable-accommodation cases is responding with a flat denial, "no pets means no pets", instead of engaging in the interactive process. The interactive process is itself a substantive duty. A landlord who refuses to consider the request, demands more than HUD permits, or imposes a pet fee on an assistance animal will lose at HUD even if the underlying accommodation could have been reasonably denied.
Reasonable modification (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A)) is a structural change, a grab bar, a ramp, lowered cabinets. The tenant pays. The landlord must permit the modification and may require restoration to original condition at move-out (except for changes that would not significantly affect re-rental). Reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule or policy. The landlord pays no out-of-pocket cost; the cost is administrative. Arkansas follows the federal rule.
Reasonable-accommodation litigation rates correlate with overall tenant-protection enforcement. View landlord risk and tenant-law profile by city:
This overview reflects the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619, disability provisions at § 3604(f)), HUD's implementing regulation on modifications (24 CFR 100.203), and the Arkansas Fair Housing Act (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-123-301 to 16-123-348, disability rules at § 16-123-314, enacted 2001). Federal complaints are handled by HUD; state complaints by the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, administered under the Arkansas Department of Inspector General, and the Attorney General may bring pattern-and-practice actions under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-341. Statutes and agency guidance change; confirm current text and consult a fair-housing attorney before denying a request or drafting a modification agreement. This is general information, not legal advice.
No. The Arkansas Fair Housing Act (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-123-301 to 16-123-348, with disability rules at § 16-123-314) is written to be substantially equivalent to the federal FHA at 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f). The substantive duties — permitting reasonable accommodations and modifications, waiving no-pet rules for assistance animals, meeting accessible-design standards — track the federal baseline. The main practical difference is that complaints can go to the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission as well as HUD.
In ordinary private Arkansas rentals, the tenant pays. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314 and 24 CFR 100.203 you must permit a reasonable modification, but the person with the disability covers the cost. The exception is federally assisted housing (HUD-funded, project-based Section 8, public housing), where Section 504 generally makes the provider pay unless it is an undue financial and administrative burden.
Sometimes. Where it is reasonable, you may condition permission on the tenant restoring the interior of the unit to its prior condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted. You cannot require restoration of exterior or common-area changes that would not interfere with the next tenant, and for costly work you may require a reasonable escrow to fund restoration, with interest accruing to the tenant.
No. Assistance animals — including emotional support animals — are not pets under the FHA and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314. You must waive no-pet policies and cannot charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent. You may, however, hold the tenant responsible for any actual damage the animal causes.
When the disability or the disability-related need is not obvious, you may request reliable documentation confirming that the person has a disability and needs the requested change. You may not ask for a specific diagnosis, demand medical records, or require registration or certification of an assistance animal. Once the need is confirmed, further questioning risks a fair-housing violation.
Only on narrow grounds under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-123-314: there is no disability, no connection between the disability and the request, the change would be an undue financial and administrative burden or a fundamental alteration of your operations, or the tenancy would be a direct threat to others' safety or cause substantial physical damage to their property. Before denying, engage in the interactive process and offer an alternative if one exists.
Federal authority: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302; HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01. State authority: Ark. Code § 16-123-201 et seq.. Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Reasonable-accommodation determinations are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed Arkansas attorney before denying any request.
