Landlord and Tenant Law Change Requires ‘HABITABILITY

I n two hotly contested battles, advocates for tenants and landlords in the state sparred over a pair of bills which aimed to reform the eviction process in Arkansas while also providing assurances to renters that residential properties would be maintained under newly created minimum standards for ’habitability’ and sanitation.

 An advocacy group called Arkansans for Stronger Communities, led by former University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen Law School professor, Lynne Foster, championed an attempt to amend the Arkansas Residential LandlordTenant Act with HB 1563, introduced by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R– Paragould). 

Representative Gazaway’s bill was the subject of extensive debate in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. With proponents calling safe, decent, and affordable housing a “human right” and opponents citing increased costs, liability concerns and abuse by “bad tenants” as possible problems with the measure.

 Although HB 1563 was approved by the Committee on a voice vote, Rep. Gazaway chose to not present the bill to the full House - anticipating an almost-sure defeat.

In an effort to address some of the concerns brought to light by both renters and landlords, Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) and Rep. Spencer Hawks (R-Conway) introduced SB 594. The SB 594 would amend Arkansas’ Landlord-Tenant Act. The bill requires that residential rental properties meet minimum habitability standards, including: 

 SB 594 allows tenants in housing that does not meet the minimum standards to notify their landlord of any problems, and if nothing is done to fix them, the tenant may terminate the lease without penalty.

The Senate bill garnered the support of the Arkansas State Landlords Association but was criticized by tenants’ rights advocates as “not going far enough to protect renters”. 

Ultimately, SB 594 passed both the Senate and the House and became law as Act #1052. At press time, AMHA’s General Counsel (Arkansas MHA’s PAC) was reviewing the new law and preparing a webinar to highlight the impact of Act #1052, particularly on community operators, developers, and retailers.

J. D. Harper, Executive Director Arkansas Manufactured Housing Association 1123 South University - Suite #720 Little Rock, AR 72204