Month-to-Month Tenancy Termination Notice Requirements in Arkansas
At a glance
| Governing law | Arkansas Code § 18-17-704, the periodic-tenancy termination section of the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007 (§ 18-17-101). The Act governs rental agreements for dwelling units in Arkansas (§ 18-17-201). Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy defaults to week-to-week for a roomer paying weekly rent and month-to-month in all other cases (§ 18-17-401(c)). Arkansas has no statewide just-cause law. This cell states the state-law floor. (Current text is 2007 Ark. Act 1004, § 1; not amended since.) |
|---|---|
| Landlord's notice period | At least 30 days for a month-to-month tenancy. 'The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days before the termination date specified in the notice' (§ 18-17-704(b)). A week-to-week tenancy takes at least 7 days (§ 18-17-704(a)). No reason is required |
| Tenant's notice period | The same 30 days — the clock is symmetric. Section 18-17-704(b) names 'the landlord or the tenant' interchangeably, so a tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy on the same 30 days' written notice a landlord must give (7 days for week-to-week, § 18-17-704(a)). Neither side owes more than the other |
| When termination takes effect | Counted to the termination date named in the notice, and free-floating — the end date is any date at least 30 days out, not tied to a rent-period boundary. The 30 days run 'before the termination date specified in the notice' (§ 18-17-704(b)). So pick an end date and make sure the written notice reaches the other side at least 30 days before it; Arkansas does not require the date to be the first or last of a rental month |
| Form and required contents | Written notice is mandatory — § 18-17-704 requires 'a written notice' for each periodic tenancy, so an oral notice does not terminate a month-to-month tenancy. The notice must specify the termination date ('the termination date specified in the notice'). The statute prescribes no other required language and no stated reason for a no-cause termination |
| How notice must be delivered | The statute requires only 'a written notice given to the other' (§ 18-17-704) and prescribes no particular method or manner of service for a no-fault periodic-tenancy notice; delivery follows the lease and general law. Because the 30 days run from when the notice is given, use a method that proves delivery and its date — personal delivery or certified mail — so the timing can be shown |
| What the lease can change | The 30-day and 7-day periods are minimums — the statute requires 'at least' that much notice (§ 18-17-704(a)-(b)) — so a lease may require longer notice but not less than the statutory floor, and the Act provides no shorter alternative. A fixed-term lease whose tenant stays on with the landlord's consent becomes a periodic tenancy governed by these same rules (§ 18-17-401) |
| Just-cause limits | No statewide just-cause law. A timely, properly given 30-day notice ends the tenancy for any reason or none (subject to federal and state fair-housing law). If the tenant stays past the termination date without the landlord's consent, 'the landlord may bring an action for possession' (§ 18-17-704(c)(1)); a bad-faith holdover adds reasonable attorney's fees (c)(2), and a willful holdover in violation of the Act or lease exposes the tenant to 'an amount not more than three (3) months periodic rent or twice the actual damages sustained ... whichever is greater' plus attorney's fees (c)(3). The landlord's remedy is a court action for possession, not a self-help repossession. Some cities may add local requirements |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
The governing chapter identifies itself as the "Arkansas Residential Landlord - Tenant Act of 2007" (§ 18-17-101). It governs rental agreements for dwelling units located in Arkansas (§ 18-17-201). Unless the agreement fixes a definite term, the statutory default is week-to-week for a roomer paying weekly rent and month-to-month in all other cases (§ 18-17-401(c)).
Landlord's and tenant's notice period
The rule is symmetric and combines the period, form, and effective-date calculation in one sentence: "The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days before the termination date specified in the notice" (§ 18-17-704(b)). Week-to-week takes at least seven days (§ 18-17-704(a)). The statute names no required delivery method beyond written notice given to the other party.
What the lease can change
The parties may include rental-agreement terms "not prohibited by this chapter or other rule of law" (§ 18-17-401(a)). A lease may therefore require more notice, but § 18-17-704's "at least" language supplies the minimum for terminating a periodic tenancy.
Holdover remedies
If the tenant remains without consent, "the landlord may bring an action for possession" (§ 18-17-704(c)(1)). A bad-faith holdover can add reasonable attorney's fees, and a willful violation can add up to three months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 18-17-704(c)(2)-(3)).
What trips people up
Count backward from the date named in the notice. The other party must receive written notice at least 30 days before that date. The statute does not require the date to coincide with the first or last day of a rental month.
Use a delivery method you can prove. Section 18-17-704 requires written notice "given to the other" but prescribes no service method. Proof of the delivery date matters because that date determines whether the full minimum period was given.
Termination and removal are separate. If a tenant stays after the termination date, the statutory next step is an action for possession under § 18-17-704(c), not self-help removal.
Common questions
Does this rule apply to a lease with a definite end date? This survey covers periodic tenancies. Section 18-17-401(c) makes month-to-month the default only when the agreement does not fix a definite term.
Can I send the notice electronically? Section 18-17-704 requires writing but does not specify a delivery channel. Check the lease and use a method that lets you prove when the other party received the notice.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code § 18-17-704 — periodic tenancy, holdover remedies: 7 days' written notice for a week-to-week tenancy (a), 30 days for a month-to-month tenancy before the termination date specified in the notice (b), and the holdover remedies of an action for possession, attorney's fees for a bad-faith holdover, and up to three months' rent or twice actual damages for a willful holdover (c). Enacted by 2007 Ark. Act 1004, § 1; unchanged since. https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2007%2FPublic%2FACT1004.pdf (accessed 2026-08-11)
- Ark. Code §§ 18-17-101, 18-17-201, and 18-17-401 — short title, territorial application, rental-agreement terms, and the default periodic-tenancy classification. https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2007%2FPublic%2FACT1004.pdf (accessed 2026-08-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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