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 October 2, 2026 6 statements held All Arkansas topics →

What did not become law. None of the following is law; 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 passed no landlord-tenant legislation; watch for a refile in the 2027 regular session (Arkansas holds regular sessions in odd years). (checked July 10, 2026).

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 9 more cited sources · Verified October 2, 2026, 6 statements held at an earlier date

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, and its 60-day refund deadline dates from 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 'sixty (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	A pet deposit counts inside the general deposit cap and has no figure of its own. The pet-deposit rule, pet rent and fees, and the assistance-animal rules are on the pets and assistance animals page.
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 October 2, 2026; held statements carry their own dates), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/arkansas/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

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

Editable Arkansas deposit kit — the deposit disposition letter, the move-in receipt with the custody and interest statements, a deposits-held register with the return deadline computed, and the rules fact sheet built on the verified Arkansas rules on this page, in Word, fillable PDF and Excel.

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 set the amount — Act 459 of 2025 added rental deposits to Arkansas's two local-preemption sections, 14-16-601 for counties and 14-54-1409 for municipalities: a local governmental unit may not enact, maintain or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount charged for a rental deposit on private residential or commercial property, 'except as provided under § 18-16-304' — the state's own two-month cap. The act's title states the same scope: local governmental units have no authority to regulate or control the amount charged for a rental application fee or rental deposit. The deposit subchapter itself, 18-16-301 through 18-16-306, comes from Acts 1979, No. 531; the only later change of substance is Act 559 of 2009, which lengthened the refund deadline from 30 days to 60.
A new owner inherits the deposit duties — Whoever holds the landlord's interest in the premises when the tenancy ends, whether a transferee, an assignee or any other holder, is bound by the deposit subchapter. Selling or assigning the property does not leave the deposit rules behind.

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.

Statements held at an earlier date

Arkansas publishes its code only on a site whose terms do not allow automated reading, so this page is verified on the acts the legislature publishes and on court and agency sources. The 6 statements below rest on text only the code prints. Each keeps the date it was last verified; every other statement on this page was confirmed on October 2, 2026 ( how held statements work).

No provision addresses non-refundable fees, though the cap's "however denominated" wording reaches anything called a deposit. Ark. Code § 18-16-301 (the definition of security deposit) · last verified July 10, 2026
Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends, whether a transferee, an assignee or any other holder, is bound by the deposit subchapter. Ark. Code § 18-16-302 · last verified July 10, 2026
The deposit subchapter does not apply to dwelling units owned by an individual when the individual, spouse, minor children and their rental-purpose entities together own five or fewer units, unless management, including rent collection, is done by third persons for a fee. The section has not been amended since 1979. Ark. Code § 18-16-303 · last verified July 10, 2026
A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, however denominated, of more than two months' periodic rent. Ark. Code § 18-16-304 · last verified July 10, 2026
The tenant may recover the money due, damages of twice the amount wrongfully withheld, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee; a landlord is not liable for an error made despite reasonable procedures or for a good-faith dispute; other relief is preserved. Ark. Code § 18-16-306 · last verified July 10, 2026
The subchapter has six sections and sets no interest duty, no escrow or separate account, no move-in checklist or inspection, no forwarding-address duty for the tenant and no pet-deposit or fee provision. It comes from Acts 1979, No. 531. Ark. Code §§ 18-16-301 to 18-16-306 (the subchapter as a whole) · last verified July 10, 2026

Citations

A.C.A. § 18-16-303 (Exemptions — the applicability trap; unamended since Acts 1979, No. 531) · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
A.C.A. § 18-16-304 (Maximum amount) (verified 2026) Official source
A.C.A. § 18-16-305 (Refund required — Exceptions) · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
A.C.A. § 18-16-306 (Remedies) · (a)-(b) (verified 2026) Official source
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) Official source
A.C.A. § 14-16-601 (county preemption of rent, rental application fee and rental deposit amounts; Act 459 of 2025) · (b)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
A.C.A. § 14-54-1409 (municipal preemption of rent, rental application fee and rental deposit amounts; Act 459 of 2025) · (b)(1) (verified 2026) Official source
Acts 2025, No. 459 (S.B. 91) · §§ 1-2 (verified 2026) Official source
Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-302 (transferee, assignee, or other holder bound) (verified 2026) Official source

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 amended no section of Title 18 or Title 14. September 5, 2026 addendum: the decisive figures touched by the 2025-2026 enactments reviewed that day were re-read on the official host — §§ 14-16-601, 14-54-1409 and 18-17-502 and Acts 2025, No. 459 on arkleg.state.ar.us and the State's official code service; the earlier reads stand as recorded. October 2026: the deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers were read again on the enrolled acts on arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 1004 of 2007 with Acts 311, 482 and 559 of 2009, Act 271 of 2011, Act 315 of 2019 and Act 1052 of 2021 for chapter 18-17; Act 1431 of 2005, Acts 535 and 728 of 2007, Act 1052 of 2021 and Act 414 of 2023 for the unlawful detainer sections; Act 159 of 2017; Act 459 of 2025), with the legislature's register of code sections amended for every session from 2013 to 2026, the court rules and opinions on opinions.arcourts.gov and Attorney General Opinion No. 2025-032. The code itself was not opened for that reading, and no act published there sets out the 1979 deposit sections 18-16-301 to 18-16-304 and 18-16-306. The statements that rest on text only the code prints are held: each is listed with the date it was last verified. Every other statement on the deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction pages was confirmed on October 2, 2026.