Arkansas: Rent Increase Notice Requirements
The short answer
Arkansas requires at least one rental period's notice before a residential rent increase, for both oral and written leases. State law sets no percentage cap or frequency limit, but a fixed-term lease's agreed rent and term still control unless the lease authorizes a change. Arkansas also preempts local governments from controlling private residential rent amounts.
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This is the general rule in Arkansas. Ezel applies current Arkansas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Arkansas Attorney General landlord-tenant guidance; Ark. Code § 18-17-401 (agreed rent and term); §§ 14-16-601 and 14-54-1409 (local rent-control preemption) |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | At least one rental period before the increase; the Attorney General says the rule applies to both oral and written leases |
| Statewide limit on the increase | No statewide percentage or formula cap; private residential rent amounts also cannot be controlled by local ordinance (§§ 14-16-601, 14-54-1409) |
| Homes and landlords exempt from the cap | N/A No statewide cap; the separate local-preemption law preserves local control of residential property in which the local government has a property interest |
| How often rent may increase | No separate statewide frequency limit |
| Notice form, content, and service | No increase-specific state form, required fields, or service method stated; the Attorney General requires notice but does not say it must use a particular form |
| Increase during a fixed lease | A fixed term's agreed rent and term control; one-rental-period notice does not itself authorize a unilateral change unless the lease permits it (§ 18-17-401(a),(c)) |
| Tenant's remedies | No rent-increase-specific penalty stated; rights and obligations under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act are generally enforceable by court action (§ 18-17-103) |
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One rental period's notice
The Arkansas Attorney General states the increase rule directly: a landlord
must provide “at least one rental period” of notice before raising rent. The
Attorney General says that rule applies to both oral and written leases.
The rental period is the interval for which rent is paid. A monthly tenancy
therefore receives at least one monthly rental period; a weekly roomer receives
at least one weekly rental period. The Attorney General's rule is about advance
notice of the increase, not a right to terminate the tenancy.
The lease still controls a fixed term
Arkansas Code § 18-17-401(a) allows the rental agreement to set both rent
and the term. Subsection (c) creates a weekly or monthly default only when the
agreement does not fix a definite term. The Attorney General's one-period rule
does not let a landlord erase an agreed fixed-term rent merely by sending a
notice; a mid-term adjustment must also be authorized by the lease.
Section 18-17-401 states no special increase form, required fields, or service
method. A written notice is the practical way to preserve the amount, effective
date, and delivery record, but the state source cited here does not prescribe a
mandatory form.
No amount or frequency cap
Arkansas sets no statewide percentage, CPI formula, or once-per-year limit for
the ordinary private tenancy covered here. Sufficient notice does not override
the fixed lease, but once an increase may lawfully take effect, state law does
not cap its amount or separately limit how often increases may occur.
Local rent control is also generally preempted. As amended by 2025 Act 459,
Ark. Code §§ 14-16-601 and 14-54-1409 bar a local governmental unit from
controlling the amount charged for private residential rent, rental application
fees, or rental deposits. The Act preserves management of residential property
in which the local government itself has a property interest and the statutory
exception cross-referenced to § 18-16-304.
Remedies and common questions
Is 30 days always required?
No. Arkansas uses one rental period, not one universal number. It is commonly
30 days for a monthly rental period, but a different payment period changes the
notice interval.
Can the landlord raise rent during a one-year lease?
Only if the lease authorizes the change. Section 18-17-401 treats rent and term
as agreed contract terms. Notice alone does not create a mid-term adjustment
power that the agreement does not contain.
What if the landlord gives too little notice?
The cited sources state no special statutory damages amount for a defective
increase notice. Section 18-17-103 makes rights and obligations under the
Residential Landlord-Tenant Act generally enforceable by court action and
allows appropriate damages, while a lease-based dispute may require ordinary
contract remedies.
Statutes and sources
- Arkansas Attorney General, “Landlord and Tenant Rights”: at least one rental
period's notice before an increase, applying to oral and written leases —
official guidance
(accessed July 13, 2026). - Ark. Code §§ 18-17-103 and 18-17-401, enacted by 2007 Act 1004: general
enforcement and the agreement's rent-and-term rules —
official enacted text
(accessed July 13, 2026). - Ark. Code §§ 14-16-601 and 14-54-1409, as amended by 2025 Act 459: local
rent, application-fee, and deposit-control preemption —
official enacted text
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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