Arkansas Mobile Home Park Lease Law: What Operators Need to Include

What must a mobile home lot lease include in Arkansas?

Arkansas has no dedicated mobile-home-park or manufactured-housing-community landlord-tenant act. No statute lists mandatory lot-lease provisions, required disclosures, or prohibited clauses the way many other states do. What your lot lease must contain is therefore driven almost entirely by contract, not by statute.

The general Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007 (Ark. Code 18-17-101 et seq.) governs residential rentals, but it imposes very few duties on landlords and does not prescribe lot-lease content. The only manufactured-home-specific statute in the landlord-tenant chapter, Ark. Code 18-16-111, deals with abandonment notice when a home sits unoccupied and lot rent is past due, not with what the lease must say.

Practically, the written lease you draft is the rulebook. Anything you want enforceable (rent, utilities, park rules, maintenance responsibility, fees, and termination grounds) should be spelled out in the lease itself, because Arkansas supplies almost no default terms to fill gaps.

How the 2007 Residential Landlord-Tenant Act limits your obligations

When Arkansas adopted its 2007 Act, the legislature took the tenant obligations from the uniform model but left out the landlord-side protections. As the Encyclopedia of Arkansas puts it, the only obligation imposed on landlords by Arkansas's version of the uniform act is that they comply with the statutes regulating security deposits.

Arkansas was long the only state with no implied warranty of habitability. Act 1052 of 2021 added minimum dwelling standards (running water, electricity, potable water, code-compliant sewer and plumbing, a sound roof, and working heating and air where already provided) for leases entered or renewed after November 1, 2021. Even so, the tenant's sole remedy is to terminate the lease without penalty after 30 days' written notice; there is no rent withholding or repair-and-deduct.

For a pad-only lot lease, where the resident owns the home and rents only the ground, these dwelling-focused standards have limited reach, and the lease terms again control. There is no statutory list of prohibited lot-lease clauses in Arkansas.

Mobile-home-community licensing and health rules

Mobile-home communities are regulated in Arkansas mainly for public health, not for lease content. Under the Arkansas Department of Health Rules Pertaining to Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Parks (20 CAR Pt. 138), adopted under Ark. Code 20-7-109, no one may begin construction, alteration, repair, or extension of a park without first submitting plans and receiving approval from the department.

Those rules cover park layout, water supply, sewage, and waste disposal, the sanitation of the community, not the terms of the lease between the park and the resident.

Separately, the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission (Ark. Code 20-25-101 et seq., the Arkansas Manufactured Homes Standards Act) licenses manufacturers, retailers, installers, and salespersons and enforces HUD construction standards. It governs the homes and the trade, again not lot-lease provisions. There is no Ark. Code 20-25-1101; the Standards Act runs 20-25-101 through 20-25-113.

Security-deposit rules that do bind your lease

Security deposits are the one area where Arkansas statute directly constrains a lot lease. Ark. Code 18-16-304 provides that a landlord may not demand or receive a deposit, however denominated, in an amount or value greater than two months' periodic rent.

On move-out, Ark. Code 18-16-305 requires that within 60 days of termination the deposit be returned, with any deductions for unpaid rent or damage itemized in a written notice. If a landlord wrongfully withholds, Ark. Code 18-16-306 lets the tenant recover two times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus costs and a reasonable attorney's fee.

A small-landlord exemption applies. Under Ark. Code 18-16-303, the deposit rules do not apply to an owner of five or fewer dwelling units, but the exemption is lost for units whose management, including rent collection, is performed by third persons for a fee. If you use a management company, the deposit rules apply regardless of unit count.

Lease requirements at a glance in Arkansas

• No mobile-home-park lot-lease act
  Arkansas has no statute dictating required lot-lease provisions, disclosures, or prohibited clauses. The written contract you draft sets the terms.
• Written lease not required but wise
  An oral lease is enforceable except a term longer than one year, which must be written. Always put a lot lease in writing.
• Deposit capped at two months
  Ark. Code 18-16-304 bars demanding more than two months' periodic lot rent as a security deposit.
• Deposit refund within 60 days
  Ark. Code 18-16-305 requires return within 60 days of termination, with any deductions itemized in a written notice.
• Small-landlord deposit exemption
  Owners of five or fewer dwelling units are exempt from the deposit rules (Ark. Code 18-16-303) unless a third party manages or collects rent for a fee.
• Minimal habitability, contract governs the lot
  Act 1052 of 2021 added weak dwelling standards, but the pad or lot lease is largely governed by contract, not statute.
• Park needs a health permit
  The Arkansas Department of Health must approve park construction, water, and sewage under 20 CAR Pt. 138; this regulates the park, not your lease text.
• Abandonment notice for unoccupied homes
  Ark. Code 18-16-111 requires certified-mail notice to the homeowner and lienholder when a home sits unoccupied and lot rent is 60 or more days past due.

Operator best practices in Arkansas

• Put everything in writing
  Because Arkansas supplies almost no default lot-lease terms, your written lease is the contract. Spell out rent, utilities, park rules, maintenance duties, fees, and grounds for termination.
• Draft your own rules and disclosures
  No statute lists required disclosures, so add the ones you want enforceable (fees, guest limits, home standards) to the lease or an incorporated rules addendum.
• Respect the two-month deposit cap
  Never collect more than two months' lot rent as a deposit, and calendar the 60-day itemized refund even if you might qualify for the small-landlord exemption.
• Keep the park health permit current
  Maintain Department of Health approval for water, sewer, and park layout under 20 CAR Pt. 138; noncompliance risks enforcement independent of your leases.
• Follow the abandonment statute exactly
  Before claiming an unoccupied home, send the certified-mail notice to the homeowner and lienholder required by Ark. Code 18-16-111 and honor the 30-day removal window.
• Do not rely on statutory tenant protections
  Arkansas is the most landlord-favorable state, so courts look to your lease language, and ambiguity is construed against the drafter. Be precise.
• Build a relationship with an Arkansas MHP attorney
  Because the lot lease is almost entirely contract-driven, have Arkansas counsel review your lease, park rules, and your eviction and abandonment procedures.