How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Arkansas?

2 months' rent — The cap binds only landlords the deposit subchapter reaches. Owners of five or fewer dwelling units are exempt from the subchapter entirely and face no cap, unless a third party manages the property for a fee.

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Arkansas?

60 days. The deadline runs from termination of the tenancy, and mailing the written itemized notice and any payment first-class to the tenant's last known address is deemed full compliance (A.C.A. 18-16-305(a), (b)(1)). It does not bind landlords exempt under 18-16-303, whose household and rental entities collectively own five or fewer dwelling units.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Arkansas?

The tenant may recover the property and money due, PLUS damages equal to two (2) times the amount wrongfully withheld, PLUS costs, PLUS reasonable attorney's fees (A.C.A. 18-16-306(a)(1)). None of it reaches landlords exempt under 18-16-303.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Arkansas?

No — Arkansas does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Arkansas's six-section deposit subchapter, A.C.A. 18-16-301 through 18-16-306, contains no interest requirement and no escrow or dedicated-account requirement. Both are genuine statutory silences rather than gaps in the answer.

What are the security deposit rules in Arkansas?

Verified July 10, 2026 All Arkansas topics →

Measure that did not become law. The following recent proposal failed and is not law — noted here because failed bills are sometimes still described as if enacted:

SB 501 (2025 RS) — 'Tenant Possessions Recovery Act' — Would have required a landlord to give a tenant at least 14 days' written notice before the scheduled repossession date after a court issues a writ of possession, and created a process for tenants to recover personal possessions left behind. Adjacent to, rather than within, the deposit, rent-increase, late-fee, entry and eviction topics covered here, but it was the session's principal tenant-side bill.Status: Dead. Filed 2025-03-18, amended and re-referred to Senate Judiciary 2025-03-20, died in committee at the 2025-05-05 sine die adjournment. The 2026 fiscal session was appropriations-only; watch for a refile in the 2027 regular session (Arkansas holds regular sessions in odd years). (checked 2026-07-10).

Arkansas caps security deposits at two months' rent and requires return — or an itemized written notice of deductions plus the balance — within 60 days of the tenancy ending, but none of it applies to the state's smallest landlords: the entire deposit law exempts an individual owner whose household and rental entities collectively own five or fewer dwelling units, unless a third party manages the units (even just collecting rent) for a fee.

Cited to A.C.A. § 18-16-303 (Exemptions — the applicability trap; unamended since Acts 1979, No. 531) (a)-(b) and 5 more Arkansas statutes · Verified July 10, 2026

For those exempt landlords there is no cap, no deadline, no itemization duty, and no statutory penalty — the lease alone governs. Where the law does apply, mailing the notice and payment first-class to the tenant's last known address counts as compliance, and an undeliverable refund becomes the landlord's property 180 days after mailing. A landlord who violates the law owes the tenant the amount due plus twice the sum wrongfully withheld plus costs and attorney's fees, with an escape hatch for honest error or a good-faith dispute. No escrow account, no interest, and no move-in inspection checklist are required — Arkansas's deposit statute is six short sections, unamended since 2009.

Arkansas security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	2 months' rent — The cap binds only landlords the deposit subchapter reaches. Owners of five or fewer dwelling units are exempt from the subchapter entirely and face no cap, unless a third party manages the property for a fee. A.C.A. 18-16-304 provides that no landlord may 'demand or receive a security deposit, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of two (2) months periodic rent' — but ONLY where the deposit subchapter applies. A.C.A. 18-16-303 exempts the whole subchapter (cap, refund deadline, itemization, penalty) for dwelling units owned by an individual when the individual, spouse, minor children, and their rental-purpose entities collectively own five (5) or fewer dwelling units — UNLESS management, including rent collection, is performed by third persons for a fee. For exempt small landlords there is no cap at all.
Return deadline	60 days
Deadline conditions	The deadline runs from termination of the tenancy, and mailing the written itemized notice and any payment first-class to the tenant's last known address is deemed full compliance (A.C.A. 18-16-305(a), (b)(1)). It does not bind landlords exempt under 18-16-303, whose household and rental entities collectively own five or fewer dwelling units. A.C.A. 18-16-305(a)(1) sets the 60 days from 'termination of the tenancy'; the withholding-and-itemization clause computes the balance as due '60 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession by the tenant' ((a)(2)). If the letter is returned and the landlord cannot locate the tenant after reasonable effort, the payment becomes the landlord's property 180 days from the date it was mailed ((b)(2)) — an unclaimed-refund forfeiture that runs against the tenant, not a return deadline. The 60-day deadline dates from Act 559 of 2009, which lengthened it from 30 days.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Where the subchapter applies, the deposit may be applied to accrued unpaid rent and damages from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement only 'as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant,' with the remainder paid to the tenant (A.C.A. 18-16-305(a)(2)). No move-in checklist, inspection procedure, or tenant-dissent mechanism exists (unlike KY/TN/GA); the statute requires only the itemized written notice at return time.
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Arkansas's six-section deposit subchapter, A.C.A. 18-16-301 through 18-16-306, contains no interest requirement and no escrow or dedicated-account requirement. Both are genuine statutory silences rather than gaps in the answer.
Pet deposits	No pet-deposit statute. Where the subchapter applies, the 18-16-304 cap covers any deposit 'however denominated,' so refundable pet deposits count toward the two-month ceiling; for exempt small landlords pet deposits are unregulated lease terms.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	The tenant may recover the property and money due, PLUS damages equal to two (2) times the amount wrongfully withheld, PLUS costs, PLUS reasonable attorney's fees (A.C.A. 18-16-306(a)(1)). None of it reaches landlords exempt under 18-16-303. The trigger is that the landlord 'fails to comply with this subchapter.' The recovery stacks on top of the refund itself, which many summaries flatten to 'double damages.' Safe harbor: liability drops to costs plus the sum erroneously withheld if the landlord proves by a preponderance that the noncompliance resulted from an error despite procedures reasonably designed to avoid errors, or was based on a good-faith dispute as to the amount due ((a)(2)). Other lawful relief is preserved for both parties ((b)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	None. Mailing to the 'last known address' is deemed compliance, and the incentive runs against the tenant: an undeliverable, unclaimed refund becomes the landlord's property 180 days after mailing (18-16-305(b)). Historical note: the 2007 act's original 18-17-501 DID require tenants to provide a forwarding address in writing — Act 559 of 2009 repealed it, so sources asserting that duty are quoting 2007-2009 law.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Arkansas Security Deposit Laws (verified July 10, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/arkansas/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Arkansas statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Arkansas security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Arkansas rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

The small-landlord exemption swallows the whole law — 18-16-303 exempts the entire deposit subchapter — cap, refund deadline, itemization, and penalty — for dwelling units owned by an individual when the individual, spouse, minor children, and their rental-purpose entities collectively own five or fewer dwelling units. For those landlords there is no cap, no deadline, no itemization duty, and no statutory penalty; the lease alone governs.
It is an aggregation test — and the AG's own page flattens it — The five-unit count aggregates the owner, spouse, minor children, and the rental-purpose entities they control. The Attorney General's page compresses this to 'landlords who rent six or more dwellings,' which drops both the aggregation and the manager exception.
Hiring any paid manager forfeits the exemption — The exemption does not apply to units for which management, including mere rent collection, is performed by third persons for a fee (18-16-303(b)). And it is entity-shaped — units 'owned by an individual' — so corporate-owned portfolios arguably never qualify.
The statewide 2007 act adds no deposit duties of its own — 18-17-501, as rewritten by Act 559 of 2009, simply defers to 18-16-301 et seq. — so exempt small landlords face only the lease and common law.
Stale-source traps — Pre-2009 sources say the refund deadline is 30 days — Act 559 of 2009 made it 60. Sources from 2007-2009 also describe a tenant duty to provide a forwarding address in writing; Act 559 repealed it, so anyone asserting that duty is quoting 2007-2009 law.
Why some answers here are empty or 'No' — The nonrefundable-fees answer is empty because no provision addresses fees at all, though the cap's 'however denominated' language reaches anything called a deposit. The no-escrow-account and no-interest answers reflect genuine silence in the subchapter rather than missing information.
Cities cannot go stricter — Act 459 of 2025 preempts local deposit regulation ('except as provided under § 18-16-304'), so no Arkansas city may impose stricter deposit rules. The deposit subchapter itself is otherwise unamended since Acts 1979, No. 531.

Common questions: Arkansas security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Arkansas?: 2 months' rent — The cap binds only landlords the deposit subchapter reaches. Owners of five or fewer dwelling units are exempt from the subchapter entirely and face no cap, unless a third party manages the property for a fee.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Arkansas?: 60 days. The deadline runs from termination of the tenancy, and mailing the written itemized notice and any payment first-class to the tenant's last known address is deemed full compliance (A.C.A. 18-16-305(a), (b)(1)). It does not bind landlords exempt under 18-16-303, whose household and rental entities collectively own five or fewer dwelling units.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Arkansas?: The tenant may recover the property and money due, PLUS damages equal to two (2) times the amount wrongfully withheld, PLUS costs, PLUS reasonable attorney's fees (A.C.A. 18-16-306(a)(1)). None of it reaches landlords exempt under 18-16-303.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Arkansas?: No — Arkansas does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Arkansas's six-section deposit subchapter, A.C.A. 18-16-301 through 18-16-306, contains no interest requirement and no escrow or dedicated-account requirement. Both are genuine statutory silences rather than gaps in the answer.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Arkansas?: Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

A.C.A. § 18-16-303 (Exemptions — the applicability trap; unamended since Acts 1979, No. 531) (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror
A.C.A. § 18-16-304 (Maximum amount) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror
A.C.A. § 18-16-305 (Refund required — Exceptions) (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror
A.C.A. § 18-16-306 (Remedies) (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror
Act 559 of 2009 (SB 454) — official session law changing the refund deadline from 30 to 60 days and rewriting 18-17-501 to defer to 18-16-301 et seq. §§ 1-2 (verified 2026) Official source
A.C.A. § 18-17-501 (2007 act defers all deposit questions to 18-16-301 et seq. — completes the exemption's statewide effect) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror

How this record was verified: Arkansas's official code is published via a LexisNexis portal without stable deep links (GA/TN-class sourcing), so verification pairs two independent current-code mirrors with official arkleg.state.ar.us session-law PDFs: every section that carries an answer here (A.C.A. 18-16-303, 18-16-304, 18-16-305, 18-16-306, 18-17-201, 18-17-202, 18-17-401, 18-17-602, 18-17-704, 18-17-705, 14-16-601) was read verbatim on FindLaw (current through 2024-03-28) and independently re-read on the Justia 2024 Arkansas Code edition , with all reads matching; chapter 18-17 was additionally read in FULL from a mirrored chapter PDF for negative checks (no late-fee, rent-increase, or entry-notice provision exists). Every amendment was traced to the official act text read from arkleg PDFs: Act 559 of 2009 (deposit return 30->60 days; 18-17-501 rewritten to defer to 18-16-301 et seq.), Act 1052 of 2021 (18-17-502 habitability, context), and Act 459 of 2025 (preemption expanded to application fees and deposits). Corroborated against the Arkansas Attorney General's landlord-tenant page (official state source) and Legal Aid of Arkansas. 2025 regular session swept for landlord-tenant acts (only Act 459 touches a figure shown here; SB 501 died in committee 2025-05-05 per the official arkleg bill page); the 2026 fiscal session was appropriations-only.