Arkansas: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements

How landlord entry works in Arkansas

Arkansas has a landlord-entry statute, but it does something most states' entry laws
do not: it puts no notice obligation on the landlord. Section 18-17-602 of the Arkansas
Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007 sits in a subchapter titled "Tenant
Obligations," and it is written as a rule about you. It says a tenant "shall not
unreasonably withhold consent" to the landlord entering to inspect, make necessary or
agreed repairs, supply agreed services, "investigate possible rule or lease
violations," "investigate possible criminal activity," or show the unit to buyers,
mortgagees, prospective tenants, workers, or contractors. It also says a tenant "shall
not change locks on the dwelling unit without the permission of the landlord."

What the statute does not do is tell the landlord to give you 24 hours' notice, or any
notice, or to come only during business hours, or to enter only for a closed list of
reasons. There is no statutory notice period, no hours limit, no required notice form,
and no tenant remedy written into the access section. Arkansas's access purposes are
also broader than the standard list other states use — it is one of the few states
that expressly lets a landlord enter to investigate a suspected lease violation or
possible criminal activity.

Because the state code supplies none of the usual protections, your lease is where
the entry rules live in Arkansas. If you want the landlord to give advance notice, to
enter only at reasonable hours, or to enter only for specific reasons, get that written
into the lease. If the lease is silent, the statute's default leans toward access: the
landlord may enter for the listed purposes, and you may not unreasonably refuse.

For an entry that is genuinely wrongful — a forced entry with no lawful purpose, for
instance — the access statute gives you no penalty to invoke. Your fallback is a
common-law claim such as trespass or breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment (the
implied promise, in every tenancy, that the landlord will not disturb your use of the
home without justification), or whatever remedy your lease provides.

What trips people up

There is no 24-hour rule in Arkansas. National guides and lease-form websites often
state that landlords must give 24 hours' notice. That is not Arkansas law. Section
18-17-602 sets no notice period at all. Any 24-hour (or other) requirement you can
enforce comes from your lease, not the statute.

The statute regulates the tenant, not the landlord's notice. The operative commands
are aimed at you: don't unreasonably withhold consent, and don't change the locks
without permission. There is no matching command that the landlord give notice or
limit entry to certain hours.

"Investigate possible criminal activity" and "rule or lease violations" are on the
list. Arkansas's permitted-entry purposes are broader than most states'. A landlord
may enter to look into a suspected lease violation or possible crime, and the statute
asks you not to unreasonably refuse — another reason to pin down entry limits in the
lease if that concerns you.

Arkansas gives tenants few statutory tools generally. Arkansas has no statutory
warranty of habitability and a thin set of tenant remedies compared with most states.
On entry specifically, the access section provides no damages or injunction, so an
aggrieved tenant is left to common-law trespass or quiet-enjoyment claims and to
whatever the lease says.

Common questions

Does my Arkansas landlord have to give notice before entering? Not under state law.
Section 18-17-602 sets no notice requirement. Whether the landlord owes you notice
depends entirely on your lease.

Can I refuse to let my landlord in? Not unreasonably. The statute says a tenant
"shall not unreasonably withhold consent" to entry for the listed purposes — inspection,
repairs, agreed services, investigating a suspected lease violation or crime, or a
showing (§ 18-17-602(a)). You can, of course, ask to schedule a reasonable time.

Can my landlord enter to investigate a suspected crime or lease violation? Yes.
Arkansas expressly lists "investigate possible rule or lease violations" and
"investigate possible criminal activity" among the purposes you may not unreasonably
refuse (§ 18-17-602(a)).

What can I do if my landlord enters without any warning? The access statute gives
you no specific penalty. If the entry was a genuine trespass or breached your quiet
enjoyment, you may have a common-law claim; otherwise your protection is whatever your
lease provides, which is why negotiating an entry-notice clause matters in Arkansas.

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code § 18-17-602 — the "Access" section of the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007: the tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent to entry for an enumerated (and unusually broad) set of purposes, and may not change the locks without the landlord's permission (a)–(b). The section imposes no landlord notice period, hours limit, notice form, or tenant remedy.
  https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-17/subchapter-6/section-18-17-602/ (accessed 2026-07-11)