Small landlord exemptions from just-cause eviction and rent control laws
Arkansas has no small-landlord exemption for one simple reason: there is nothing to be exempt from. The state imposes no rent control and no just-cause eviction requirement on any landlord — not on a retiree renting out a single house, and not on a national portfolio operator. Ark. Code § 18-17, the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, applies identically regardless of how many units you own, and Arkansas Act 1017 (2021) reinforced state preemption of local rent regulation, so no city can build a size-based carve-out of its own. All landlords may terminate a tenancy at-will with proper notice.
That makes Arkansas a landlord-friendly baseline for a 1-10 unit owner, in a market with an average rent of $786. The real homework here is not memorizing exemptions — it is understanding how few statutory duties exist at all, and where your lease, your city's codes, and federal law quietly fill the gap.
The term "mom-and-pop landlord" typically refers to an individual or family that owns a small number of residential rental units, often 1 to 4, and frequently lives in or near the property. In states with tenant-protection legislation, the legislature has carved out exemptions recognizing that small landlords operate differently from large institutional property managers.
Arkansas has no statewide just-cause eviction law and no active rent control, so all residential landlords, small or large, operate under the same straightforward statutory framework. There is no formal "small landlord" exemption because none is needed: you may terminate a month-to-month tenancy with proper notice without providing a reason, and you may set or raise rent to any amount you choose.
In states with just-cause eviction statutes or rent caps, the fine print is where small landlords live: owner-occupied duplex exemptions, unit-count thresholds, new-construction windows. Arkansas skips the entire framework. There is no just-cause law, no rent-control law, and therefore no unit threshold to fall under — the grounding for every landlord, large or small, is the same Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, Ark. Code § 18-17.
Just as important, that answer is final everywhere in the state. Arkansas Act 1017 (2021) reinforced state preemption of local rent regulation, which means Little Rock, Fayetteville, or any other city cannot adopt its own rent ordinance with a small-landlord tier. When another state's guide tells you to check your city's rules, that advice does not translate here: in Arkansas, state law is the whole rulebook on rent regulation.
Arkansas puts no cap on how much or how often you can raise rent. On a month-to-month tenancy, you can reprice to market with proper notice; on a fixed-term lease, the lease itself is the only thing holding the rent in place until renewal. Against a statewide average rent of $786, that flexibility is the defining feature of the market — the constraint on pricing is what tenants will pay, not what a statute allows.
Termination works the same way. Because there is no just-cause requirement, you never have to state a reason to non-renew or end a periodic tenancy — you only have to deliver proper notice. Two cautions follow directly from that: a fixed-term lease still binds you for its full term, and skipping or botching the notice step is the most common way an otherwise easy Arkansas termination turns into a contested one.
In most states, three obligations follow a landlord at every portfolio size because statutes put them there: a habitability warranty, anti-retaliation protection, and an entry-notice rule. Arkansas's state code imposes none of the three — there is no statewide habitability statute, no anti-retaliation statute, and no required number of hours' notice before entry. That does not mean you operate in a vacuum. Whatever repairs and access terms your lease promises become enforceable contract obligations. Municipal property-maintenance codes can impose repair standards state law never mentions. And federal fair housing law binds every landlord — one unit or one thousand — in how you advertise, screen, and treat applicants and tenants.
Do not mistake the absence of a state statute for the absence of legal risk: breach-of-lease claims and federal fair-housing complaints apply to you no matter how small your portfolio is.
Because so little is dictated by statute, your lease does the heavy lifting in Arkansas. A short operating discipline covers most of the risk:
This guide was researched and written by the Eviction Risk Map research team, based on the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, Ark. Code § 18-17 (including § 18-17-101), and Arkansas Act 1017 (2021) on state preemption of local rent regulation. Last reviewed July 2026. It is general information for small landlords, not legal advice — consult an Arkansas landlord-tenant attorney about your specific property and lease.
Yes — but so is everyone else. Arkansas has no just-cause eviction law at any portfolio size, so there is no small-landlord exemption because there is no rule to be exempted from. Under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (Ark. Code § 18-17), all landlords may terminate a tenancy at-will with proper notice, and Act 1017 (2021) reinforced state preemption so no Arkansas city can impose a local just-cause or rent-regulation ordinance on top of state law.
There is no state rent-control law and no cap on the size or frequency of increases, and local rent regulation is preempted, so no city ordinance can limit you either. Your only constraints are contractual and procedural: a fixed-term lease locks the rent until it ends, and month-to-month increases require proper notice. With the statewide average rent at $786, most owners find the market, not the law, sets the ceiling.
Federal fair housing law applies to how you advertise, screen, and treat tenants regardless of portfolio size. Your lease is an enforceable contract, so every repair, entry, and fee term you wrote binds you. Municipal property-maintenance codes may impose repair standards. And proper notice is still required to end a tenancy or change its terms — Arkansas lets you act without stating a reason, but never without notice. Note that state law itself imposes no habitability, anti-retaliation, or entry-notice statute.
Not under state landlord-tenant law. Owner-occupancy exemptions exist in other states to release small landlords from just-cause or rent-cap statutes — Arkansas has neither, so there is nothing for owner-occupancy to unlock. Whether you live on-site or across the state, the same at-will termination rules, notice requirements, and lease obligations under Ark. Code § 18-17 apply, and your federal fair housing and contract duties remain in force.
Data sourced from Ark. Code §18-17-101. Eviction notice data from A.C.A. § 18-16-101. Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice.
