Pet Deposits, Pet Rent & ESA Rules in Arkansas 2026
State pet-deposit treatment, federal Fair Housing Act assistance-animal rules, and what Arkansas landlords can and cannot ask.
Arkansas gives you broad freedom to set pet policies in your rentals, but that freedom stops at the door of the federal Fair Housing Act. Service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) are not pets in the eyes of the law, and the rules for handling an accommodation request are different from the rules for a Labrador you agreed to allow. Arkansas layers two state-specific pieces onto that federal baseline: an ESA statute at Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1001 to 20-14-1005 that regulates ESA letters and sellers, and a service-animal misrepresentation penalty at Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-310. This page explains where your discretion ends and where the accommodation obligation begins.
How Arkansas Treats Pet Deposits
Total security deposit cap of 2 months' rent (applies only to landlords with 6+ units). Pet deposits count toward this cap when the cap applies.
Ordinary pets: your policy controls
For a genuine pet, Arkansas imposes no statewide cap on what you can require. You may prohibit pets entirely, limit the number, restrict breeds or weight, and charge a refundable pet deposit, non-refundable pet fee, or monthly pet rent. Arkansas has no statute limiting pet deposit amounts, so a pet deposit is governed only by the general security-deposit rules and whatever your lease sets out. Put every pet term in writing: species, size, count, fees, and the tenant's duty to control the animal and repair damage. The key thing to understand is that none of this applies once a tenant asks for a service animal or an emotional support animal as a disability accommodation. At that point you are no longer administering a pet policy; you are handling a Fair Housing Act request, and most of your pet levers are off the table.
Service animals vs. emotional support animals
The two categories are legally distinct. A service animal under the ADA is a dog (or in limited cases a miniature horse) individually trained to perform a task tied to a disability, such as guiding, alerting, or retrieving. An emotional support animal provides comfort through its presence and requires no task training; it can be a species other than a dog. Both are handled as assistance animals in housing under the Fair Housing Act, but the questions you may ask differ. For a service animal whose function is not obvious, you may ask only two things: whether the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task it is trained to perform. You may not ask either question when the need is obvious, such as a guide dog. Arkansas also recognizes service-dog access separately at Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-308, and housing accommodation for people with disabilities at Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-305.
You cannot charge pet fees for an assistance animal
This is the rule landlords most often get wrong. Under the Fair Housing Act, a service animal or ESA is not a pet, so you cannot charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent for it, and you cannot enforce breed, size, or weight limits against it. Legal Aid of Arkansas states this plainly: assistance animals are tools of a person's disability, not pets, and your standard pet rules do not apply. What you keep is the right to recover for actual harm. If the animal damages the unit, the tenant is liable for that damage exactly as they would be for any other damage, and you can deduct it from the ordinary security deposit or pursue it like any tenant-caused loss. You simply cannot front-load that risk as a pet charge.
When you can lawfully deny the request
The accommodation duty is not absolute. You may deny a specific animal if it poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or would cause substantial physical damage to property, and no lesser accommodation would eliminate the risk. This must be based on the individual animal's actual conduct or history, not on breed reputation or generalized fear. You may also refuse an accommodation that imposes an undue financial or administrative burden or that fundamentally alters your operations, though those are narrow exceptions. Denial should follow a documented, good-faith review, not a blanket policy. And remember the request itself does not need to arrive on a special form or use magic words; a tenant simply telling you they need the animal because of a disability can trigger the obligation to engage.
Arkansas ESA letters and misrepresentation penalties
Arkansas is stricter than many states on ESA documentation. Under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1003, the healthcare provider issuing an ESA determination must have had a client-provider relationship for at least 30 days before doing so, which lets you push back on an instant online letter dated the day it was purchased. Sellers of ESA dogs, certificates, ID tags, vests, or harnesses must give written notices under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1002 stating that ESAs lack service-animal training and rights. Fraudulently misrepresenting an ESA or violating those notice rules carries civil penalties under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1004 of $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $2,500 for a third or later violation. Separately, misrepresenting any animal as a trained service animal to a place of public accommodation carries a civil penalty of up to $250 under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-310. These penalties target the person making the false claim, not you, but they give you legitimate grounds to verify documentation before granting an accommodation.
The Cost of Mishandling a Arkansas ESA Request
The most common mistake in Arkansas ESA 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 documentation than HUD permits, or imposes a pet fee on an accepted assistance animal will lose at HUD even if the underlying accommodation could have been reasonably denied on its merits.
City-Level Eviction Risk in Arkansas
Pet-related eviction filings correlate with overall landlord-tenant litigation rates. View landlord risk and tenant-law profile by city:
Sources & Methodology
- Federal Fair Housing Act: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; 24 C.F.R. § 180.671.
- HUD guidance: HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01 (Jan 28, 2020), assistance animals as a reasonable accommodation.
- ADA service animals: 28 C.F.R. § 36.302 (Title III, public accommodations).
- Arkansas pet deposit rule: Ark. Code § 18-16-304.
Related Guides for Arkansas Landlords
This overview reflects the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD assistance-animal guidance together with Arkansas Code Ann. 20-14-305, 20-14-308, 20-14-310, and 20-14-1001 through 20-14-1005 as in effect in 2026. It is general information for Arkansas rental-property owners, not legal advice. Statutes and HUD guidance change and individual accommodation requests turn on specific facts; confirm current code text and consult a qualified Arkansas attorney before denying a request or assessing a charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an Arkansas landlord charge a pet deposit for an emotional support animal?
No. Under the Fair Housing Act, an ESA is treated as an assistance animal, not a pet, so you cannot charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent for it. You can still hold the tenant liable for any actual damage the animal causes, recovered like any other tenant damage.
What documentation can I request for an ESA in Arkansas?
You may request reliable documentation that the tenant has a disability-related need for the animal when the disability or need is not obvious. You cannot demand a diagnosis, medical records, certification, registration, or proof of training. Under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1003, the provider issuing an ESA determination must have had at least a 30-day relationship with the tenant.
Can I ask what an animal does if a tenant says it is a service animal?
If the animal's function is not obvious, you may ask only two questions: whether the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task it is trained to perform. You cannot ask when the need is obvious, such as a guide dog, and you cannot require the tenant to demonstrate the task.
Can I deny a service animal or ESA in Arkansas?
Only in limited situations: if the specific animal is a direct threat to health or safety, or would cause substantial physical property damage that no lesser accommodation can prevent, or if the request creates an undue burden or fundamentally alters your operations. Denial must be based on the individual animal's conduct, not breed or size.
What is the penalty for faking a service animal or ESA in Arkansas?
Misrepresenting an animal as a trained service animal to a public accommodation carries a civil penalty up to $250 under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-310. Fraudulently misrepresenting an ESA or violating seller-notice rules carries penalties of $500, $1,000, and $2,500 for first, second, and third-or-later violations under Ark. Code Ann. 20-14-1004.
Do breed or weight restrictions apply to assistance animals in Arkansas?
No. Breed, size, and weight limits you enforce for ordinary pets do not apply to service animals or ESAs, because the Fair Housing Act treats them as accommodations rather than pets. You can only object to a specific animal based on its actual behavior or a genuine direct-threat or property-damage concern.
Federal authority: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01. State authority: Ark. Code § 18-16-304. Last updated October 22, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Pet and assistance-animal questions are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed Arkansas attorney before refusing any request.