How to Evict a Roommate in Arkansas (and Other Household Situations)
What Arkansas law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, a 'tenant' is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others, and a rental agreement includes oral as well as written agreements. A roommate not on the lease may be a tenant if they have an agreement with the owner, a subtenant if they rent from the leaseholder, or only a guest. Which applies depends on the facts. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-301 (definitions of 'rental agreement' and 'tenant')
| Roommate not on the lease | Under the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, a 'tenant' is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others, and a rental agreement includes oral as well as written agreements. A roommate not on the lease may be a tenant if they have an agreement with the owner, a subtenant if they rent from the leaseholder, or only a guest. Which applies depends on the facts. Text from the enacted act (Act 1004 of 2007); later amendments may change details. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | A tenant who rents to a roommate is a 'sublessor', which the Act treats as a 'landlord'. Without a fixed term the roommate's tenancy is month to month (week to week for a roomer paying weekly), ended by written notice of 30 days (7 days for week-to-week). If the roommate stays, the leaseholder brings a court action for possession (unlawful detainer). Subletting may also require the landlord's consent under the main lease. Text from the enacted act (Act 1004 of 2007); later amendments may change details. |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. Arkansas's unlawful squatting crime (a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense) covers a person who knowingly enters and resides on another's premises without authority, is not a current tenant, has no valid agreement to occupy, is not an immediate family member of the owner, and cannot produce a deed, signed lease, written authorization, or a rent receipt dated within the last 60 days, after the owner has told them to leave, with no lawsuit pending. Someone who entered lawfully but stays after a written demand to leave can be removed through an unlawful detainer case. A guest who has paid rent or has a written or electronic agreement to stay falls outside the squatting offense. |
| Removing a family member or partner | The unlawful squatting offense does not apply to an immediate family member of the owner (spouse, children, parents or guardian, siblings and grandparents, by blood, adoption or marriage). A family member who entered lawfully but refuses to leave after a written demand for possession can be removed through a court unlawful detainer action. Where there is abuse, an order of protection may also address who stays in the home. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No special statute for a lodger in the owner's home. The Act's exclusions cover transient occupancy in a hotel, motel or other accommodations subject to lodging sales tax, but do not exclude renting a room in an owner-occupied home. The Act defines a 'roomer' as a person occupying a unit lacking a landlord-provided toilet, tub or shower, refrigerator, stove and kitchen sink, where facilities are shared; a roomer paying weekly with no fixed term has a week-to-week tenancy. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code current as of Mar. 28, 2024). |
| Tenancy at will | Arkansas's residential act does not use the term 'tenancy at will'. Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a residential tenancy is month to month (week to week for a roomer who pays weekly), and either side may end it by written notice at least 30 days (or 7 days for week-to-week) before the termination date. A person who entered lawfully but keeps possession after a written demand for possession is guilty of unlawful detainer. Text from the enacted act (Act 1004 of 2007); later amendments may change details. |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel or other accommodations subject to any sales tax on lodging is excluded from the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. No statute sets a fixed number of days after which a hotel guest becomes a tenant. Official code not freely readable online; text verified on a public code mirror (code current as of Mar. 28, 2024). Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-202(4) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.