Advocates for legislation to end Arkansas’s status as the only state without a law guaranteeing reasonable conditions of rental housing say a test of Senate sentiment is on the agenda today.

The landlord lobby, seeing some growing support for basic health requirements for housing and some modification in punitive eviction laws, has come up with legislation to defeat the better bills by seeming to do something, but not much.

Advertisement

I outlined the House version of the landlords’ effort earlier through analysis by Lynn Foster, a retired law professor long toiling for the cause of a better landlord-tenant law in Arkansas. 

She offers a similar review of SB 594, on the agenda in a Senate committee this afternoon.  Foster said there may be some changes before then. But for now, here is a four-page comparison of the bill compared with the one backed by Arkansans for Stronger Communities that has cleared a House committee.

Advertisement

Foster’s summary:

This bill basically requires landlords to supply utilities and not much else, and does not require any repairs. So it will lead to situations where the tenant will be stuck with no repairs and will basically have to decide how long she can stand it before leaving.

This bill will gut the common law doctrine of constructive eviction, one of the few doctrines that tenants can use right now, because it says the “sole remedy” is to terminate the lease, with nothing more. A landlord could turn off utilities or render premises uninhabitable in some other way and force the tenant out.

18-17-501(a) seems to be saying that a landlord doesn’t even have to provide heat or electricity or water at the outset of a lease if there’s a pandemic, tornado, etc., and that a tenant wouldn’t be entitled to the remedy in those cases. Conceivably a house could burn down after being struck by lightning (an act of God or force majeure). 501(a) says the landlord is not required to provide anything in that case. Would the tenant still have to pay rent, because the landlord was off the hook and the tenant was entitled to no remedy? This actually happened recently. The landlord wanted the
tenant to pay the rent through the lease term.

Even if a tenant qualifies for a repair, they’ll have to pay for a month of rent for a house without water, electricity, or whatever, and then after moving out wait 60 days for a security deposit, which some problem landlords routinely withhold.

 

 

 

UPDATE: This meeting was canceled because of Capitol computer problems. The Senate will reconvene Monday.

Advertisement

Invest in the future of great journalism in Arkansas

Join the ranks of the 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts who know that the Arkansas Times is the go-to source for tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been on the front lines of the fight for truth, and with your support, we can do even more. By subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers and expand our coverage. Don't miss out on the opportunity to make a difference with your subscription or donation to the Arkansas Times today.

Previous article Ancient history: A correction proposed in legislation Next article Selling the sales tax: One piece is a giraffe exhibit for the Little Rock Zoo