Arkansas: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
An Arkansas landlord has 60 days after BOTH the tenancy ends and you turn over possession to return your deposit or send an itemized written notice explaining any deductions. That whole rule, though, only applies if your landlord owns more than five dwelling units — smaller landlords are exempt unless a third party manages the property or collects rent for a fee. The deposit is capped at two months' rent (for landlords the law covers), with no interest or separate-account requirement. If the landlord doesn't comply, you can recover the money owed, double the amount wrongfully withheld, court costs, and attorney fees — unless the landlord proves the mistake was a good-faith error or an honest dispute over the amount.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Arkansas. Ezel applies current Arkansas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-16-301 to -306 (Residential Security Deposit Act) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 60 days after BOTH termination of the tenancy AND delivery of possession by the tenant |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes, if any amount is withheld — a written itemized notice of deductions delivered with the remaining balance inside the same 60 days |
| What can be deducted | Accrued unpaid rent; damages the landlord suffered from the tenant's noncompliance with the rental agreement. The statute's own text never uses the phrase 'wear and tear' — that description comes only from secondary sources paraphrasing this clause. |
| Maximum deposit amount | 2 months' periodic rent — but the entire subchapter (cap, deadline, and penalty) doesn't apply at all to a landlord who owns 5 or fewer dwelling units, unless a third party manages the unit or collects rent for a fee |
| Interest on the deposit? | No interest required |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Recovery of the property/money due, damages equal to 2x the amount wrongfully withheld, costs, and reasonable attorney fees. If the landlord proves the noncompliance was an error despite reasonably designed procedures, or a good-faith dispute over the amount due, liability is limited to costs and the amount itself — no doubling, no fees. |
| Separate account or bond required? | None — no segregated account, interest-bearing account, or bond required |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Arkansas's rules live in a free-standing statute, the Residential Security
Deposit Act, Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-16-301 to -306 — Arkansas hasn't adopted
the broader Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that some other
states use.
Deadline to return the deposit
The 60-day period only starts once two things have happened: the tenancy
has terminated, and the tenant has delivered possession back to the
landlord. The statute frames it as a baseline return duty plus a
deduction-specific exception: "Within sixty (60) days of termination of the
tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as security shall be
returned to the tenant," but where deductions apply, the itemized notice and
"the remainder of the amount due" aren't required until "sixty (60) days
after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession by the tenant."
(§ 18-16-305(a)).
Itemized statement required?
Yes, whenever the landlord withholds any part of the deposit — the
deductions have to be "itemized by the landlord in a written notice
delivered to the tenant" inside that same 60-day window (§ 18-16-305(a)(2)).
What can be deducted
The statute allows applying the deposit to "accrued unpaid rent and any
damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's
noncompliance with the rental agreement" (§ 18-16-305(a)(2)). Notably, the
statute's own text never uses the phrase "wear and tear" at all — that
framing comes from secondary sources paraphrasing this clause, not the law
itself, so don't expect to find that exact phrase if you read the statute
directly.
Maximum deposit amount
The cap is two months' periodic rent (§ 18-16-304) — but only for landlords
this Act actually covers. See "What trips people up" below: a large chunk of
Arkansas rentals fall outside the cap entirely.
Interest on the deposit?
No. Nothing in this subchapter requires interest on a held deposit.
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
A tenant whose landlord fails to comply can recover "the property and money
due," "damages in an amount equal to two (2) times the amount wrongfully
withheld," "costs," and "reasonable attorney's fees" (§ 18-16-306(a)(1)).
That penalty has a real limit, though: if the landlord proves, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the noncompliance either "resulted from
an error which occurred despite the existence of procedures reasonably
designed to avoid such errors" or "was based on a good faith dispute as to
the amount due," the landlord owes only "costs and the sum erroneously
withheld" — no doubling, no attorney fees (§ 18-16-306(a)(2)).
Separate account or bond required?
No. This subchapter doesn't require a landlord to hold a deposit in a
segregated or interest-bearing account, or post a bond.
What trips people up
A large share of Arkansas landlords are entirely outside this law. The
whole subchapter — the cap, the 60-day deadline, the itemization duty, the
double-damages penalty — "shall not apply to dwelling units owned by an
individual... [who], collectively, own[s] five (5) or fewer dwelling units"
(§ 18-16-303(a)). Before assuming any of these protections apply, find out
how many units your landlord owns.
The small-landlord exemption doesn't survive hiring a property manager.
Even a landlord who owns five or fewer units loses the exemption "for which
management, including rent collection, is performed by third persons for a
fee" (§ 18-16-303(b)) — so a small landlord using a property-management
company is still bound by the full statute.
Never providing a forwarding address can cost you the deposit after 180
days. If the landlord's mailed refund comes back undeliverable and the
landlord can't locate you after a reasonable effort, the money becomes the
landlord's after 180 days from the mailing date (§ 18-16-305(b)(2)) — send a
forwarding address promptly to avoid this.
Common questions
My landlord never sent me anything 60 days after I moved out — what am I
owed? Assuming your landlord is covered by this Act (more than 5 units, or
uses a paid property manager), you can recover the deposit itself, double
the amount wrongfully withheld, court costs, and attorney fees — unless the
landlord shows the failure was a genuine good-faith error or dispute.
Does the 2-month cap apply to every landlord? No. It only binds
landlords who own more than five dwelling units, or any landlord (regardless
of unit count) who uses a paid third-party manager or rent collector.
Do I get interest on my deposit while my landlord holds it? No. Arkansas
doesn't require interest on a held security deposit.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-303 — exemption for landlords owning 5 or fewer units.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-16/subchapter-3/section-18-16-303/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-304 — 2-month deposit cap.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-16/subchapter-3/section-18-16-304/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305(a) — dual-trigger 60-day return/itemization deadline and permitted deductions.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-16/subchapter-3/section-18-16-305/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-305(b) — mailing compliance and the 180-day forfeiture rule.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-16/subchapter-3/section-18-16-305/ (accessed 2026-07-06) - Ark. Code Ann. § 18-16-306(a) — double damages, costs, attorney fees, and the good-faith-error/dispute defense.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-2/chapter-16/subchapter-3/section-18-16-306/ (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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