Arkansas Security Deposit Demand Letter — Force Your Landlord to Pay Up

Arkansas landlords have 60 days after the tenancy terminates and possession is delivered to return your deposit, with any deductions itemized in a written notice mailed first-class to your last known address.

Miss that obligation and the law has teeth: 2x wrongfully withheld + fees. Failure to comply lets the tenant recover twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus costs and attorney's fees (Ark. Code § 18-16-306).

Need more? Bundle of 3 — $19  ·  Family Pack — $39

Your Rights Under Ark. Code § 18-16-305

Arkansas's deposit law is specific. The rights worth knowing before you write:

• The deadline: 60 days. Arkansas landlords have 60 days after the tenancy terminates and possession is delivered to return your deposit, with any deductions itemized in a written notice mailed first-class to your last known address.
• The penalty: 2x wrongfully withheld + fees. Failure to comply lets the tenant recover twice the amount wrongfully withheld, plus costs and attorney's fees (Ark. Code § 18-16-306).
• Itemization is mandatory. An itemized written notice of unpaid rent and damages, mailed with the remainder of your deposit.
• Worth knowing. Heads up: the statute covers landlords with six or more rental units or those using a property manager or rent collector — a small self-managing landlord may be exempt, in which case your lease and general contract law control. Deposit cap: two months' rent (same coverage).

What Your Landlord Can — and Can't — Keep

Legitimate deductions

• Unpaid rent you actually owe
• Cleaning needed to return the unit to its condition at move-in (minus ordinary wear)
• Repair of damage beyond normal wear and tear — holes in walls, broken fixtures, pet damage

NOT legitimate deductions

• Normal wear and tear — faded paint, minor scuffs, small nail holes, worn carpet from ordinary use
• Repainting or re-carpeting due simply to age
• Pre-existing damage that was there when you moved in
• Charges with no itemization or receipts where Ark. Code § 18-16-305 requires them

How to Write an Arkansas Security Deposit Demand Letter

An effective letter does four things: states the facts, cites Ark. Code § 18-16-305 by name, makes a specific dollar demand with a firm deadline, and spells out the consequences if the landlord doesn't comply. Unclaimed refunds become the landlord's property 180 days after a mailing is returned undeliverable — a demand letter with your current address eliminates that escape hatch and starts the paper trail for the 2x penalty. Here's how the opening of a strong one reads:

If the Letter Doesn't Work: Arkansas Small Claims

Small claims court

Most deposit cases that get this far are filed in small claims court in the county where the rental sits — no attorney required. Bring the lease, move-in/move-out photos, your dated demand letter, and proof of delivery. The demand letter matters in court: it shows the judge you gave the landlord every chance to comply with Ark. Code § 18-16-305, and it anchors the penalty math — 2x wrongfully withheld + fees.

Your county's tenant resources

Many Arkansas counties run free tenant help lines, legal-aid clinics, or court self-help centers that will review a deposit case at no charge. Search your county name plus “tenant legal aid” — and bring the same paper trail.

Already hearing from a collection agency?

Landlords hand move-out balances to a small set of specialist collectors. If the letter is from National Credit Systems, Hunter Warfield, IQ Data International, or Source RM, we have a company-specific response guide for each — and the demand letter on this page still applies, because a landlord who missed the statutory deadline may owe you money regardless of who is calling. Any other collector: see the collection agency index and your state’s rules in the debt statute of limitations guide.