Subletting Laws in Arkansas

There are no state laws in Arkansas that address subletting. That means that it's up to each individual lease agreement to regulate the process. Here are some common scenarios:

• If a lease says subletting is allowed—or doesn’t mention subletting at all—a tenant is free to rent out their home to someone else (who then becomes their subtenant).
• If a lease does not allow subletting, that provision is valid, and the tenant may not sublease their home.
• If a lease allows subletting, but only with the explicit consent of the landlord, a tenant must get their landlord’s permission before moving forward.

A tenant should request approval to sublet in writing. There's no legal guidance in Arkansas for what kind of refusal is reasonable, so landlords can follow the general rule of thumb: an applicant can only be reasonably refused if there's proof that they would put the landlord's business at risk. If there's evidence that the proposed subletter doesn't have the ability to pay the rent reliably—because, for instance, they have bad credit or no income—that's an acceptable reason for rejection.

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