Landlord/Tenant

“Failure to vacate” (criminal eviction) is a criminal statute that authorizes the state of Arkansas to impose fines and other criminal penalties upon tenants who fail to pay rent to their landlords.

Failure to vacate may only be used in cases of non-payment of rent. If a tenant is current on their rent, the tenant cannot be charged under the statute.

If the tenant is behind on their rent, the landlord must give the tenant a 10-day written notice to vacate. The tenant can only be charged with failure to vacate if they stay beyond the 10 days given in the written notice.

You have two options. First, you can vacate the property before the 10-day period is up. If you do this, you cannot be charged with the crime of failure to vacate. Your other option is to stay in the property and attempt to defend the charge. Shortly after the 10-day period runs, you will be served with a criminal citation or a criminal summons. This document will usually show a court date. On the court date, you will be asked to make a plea of “guilty” or “not guilty.” If you plead “guilty,” you will be sentenced under the law. If you plead “not guilty,” you will receive a trial date.

The statute authorizes a discretionary fine of $1 - $25 per day for each day the tenant fails to vacate the premises. The fine runs from the end of the 10-day notice period until the time of conviction.  

The judge cannot force you to leave your home under this law. The failure-to-vacate law contains no language which allows a judge to force a tenant to vacate a property. However, many judges will agree to dismiss the charge if the tenant leaves prior to a conviction.

The only fail-safe defense to failure to vacate is payment. If you have paid your rent and can prove that through payment records or receipts, you may have a good defense.

Reliance on other defenses is risky. While the Arkansas Supreme Court did state in Duhon v. State that a defendant may use all civil defenses in response to a failure-to-vacate charge, these defenses are difficult to prove and may be ignored by the judge. The most common defense is a waiver (or course of dealing). A waiver occurs when a landlord repeatedly accepts late payments and then attempts to evict a tenant for making a late payment.