Free Arkansas 14-Day Notice to Cure or Quit

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The Arkansas 14-day notice to cure or quit is the notice a landlord serves for a remediable rental-agreement violation under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007. Under Ark. Code section 18-17-701 the landlord specifies the noncompliance and the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after receipt unless the tenant adequately remedies the violation. If the tenant neither cures nor vacates, the landlord enforces the termination by civil unlawful detainer under Ark. Code section 18-60-304. Generate a compliant notice below.

14-Day Cure Ark. Code section 18-17-701 Ark. Code section 18-60-304 Free PDF

An Arkansas Notice to Cure or Quit is the written termination notice a landlord serves for a non-rent, remediable breach of the rental agreement. It is grounded in Ark. Code section 18-17-701 of the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007, which lets the landlord deliver written notice specifying the tenant’s noncompliance and stating that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than fourteen (14) days after receipt unless the tenant adequately remedies the violation within that period. Enforcement of a termination runs through the civil unlawful-detainer statute, Ark. Code section 18-60-304, and service is governed by Ark. Code section 18-17-303. This notice is for a violation the tenant can fix; for unpaid rent use the Arkansas pay-rent-or-quit notice, and for non-remediable conduct use the Arkansas unconditional quit notice. Our Arkansas eviction notice laws guide covers the full process.

The Arkansas Notice to Cure or Quit is the written notice a landlord serves to terminate a tenancy for a remediable violation of the rental agreement, while giving the tenant a statutory chance to fix the problem first. It is grounded in Ark. Code section 18-17-701, which lets the landlord deliver written notice specifying the acts and omissions constituting the noncompliance and stating that the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than 14 days after receipt if the noncompliance is not remedied within 14 days.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it identifies the noncompliance. The statute requires the notice to specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach, so a vague reference to the rental agreement is not enough. State the covenant violated, the clause number, and the dated facts.

Second, it states the required cure and the 14-day deadline. The tenancy survives only if the tenant adequately remedies the noncompliance before the date specified in the notice, and that date must be at least 14 days after the tenant receives the notice. Spell out the specific, achievable action the tenant must take, so the cure is something the tenant can actually accomplish in the window.

Third, it states the consequence. The notice tells the tenant that if the noncompliance is not adequately remedied by the deadline, the rental agreement terminates and the tenant must surrender possession, and that the landlord will pursue a civil unlawful-detainer action under Ark. Code section 18-60-304 to recover possession. The generator on this page produces that notice with the required cure and the termination date stated.

The Arkansas cure-or-quit framework layers three overlapping mechanisms, and it matters which one the notice actually rides on. The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007 supplies the cure-or-terminate mechanism. Ark. Code section 18-17-701 provides that where there is noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement, the landlord may deliver written notice specifying the acts and omissions and stating that the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than fourteen days after receipt if the noncompliance is not remedied in fourteen days. The rental agreement terminates as provided unless the noncompliance is remediable and the tenant adequately remedies it before the date in the notice.

The civil unlawful-detainer statute is Ark. Code section 18-60-304. It is the court action a landlord uses to actually recover possession once a tenancy has terminated and the tenant has not left. It is filed in Arkansas Circuit Court. A cure-or-quit notice that ripens into a termination is enforced through this civil process; the notice is the front end, the unlawful-detainer action is the back end.

The service statute is Ark. Code section 18-17-303. A notice under the 2007 Act may be delivered in hand to the tenant or by any method that brings it to the tenant’s attention, and formal service is by registered or certified mail to the address the tenant designated or the last-known residence. Because the 14-day period runs from receipt, the service method should be one that documents when the tenant received the notice.

The criminal failure-to-vacate statute at Ark. Code section 18-16-101 is a separate, older track under which a holdover tenant who willfully refuses to vacate after written notice can be charged with a misdemeanor. It is controversial and has drawn constitutional challenge. It is not the mechanism a landlord uses to litigate a curable lease violation; the civil unlawful detainer is. Non-remediable and criminal breaches skip the cure step and proceed straight to unlawful detainer.

One operational rule binds the framework together: the notice must match the statute and the facts. Giving fewer than 14 days, failing to specify the noncompliance, demanding an impossible cure, or serving by a method you cannot prove each risk getting the unlawful detainer dismissed and forcing the landlord to start over.

Arkansas uses different notices for different tenant defaults. Selecting the correct one is critical, because a notice that does not match the ground will not support an eviction.

Using a cure-or-quit notice for unpaid rent will not fit the rent track, which runs on a five-day grace period and a separate three-day unlawful-detainer demand. Using a cure-or-quit notice for genuinely non-remediable conduct is unnecessary, because Ark. Code section 18-17-701 requires a cure opportunity only where the breach can actually be remedied. Where a breach is remediable, giving the 14-day cure window is the statutorily correct and safest path.

The cure-or-quit notice under Ark. Code section 18-17-701 applies to material breaches of the rental agreement that are remediable, that is, breaches the tenant can adequately fix within the 14-day window. The following categories are typical remediable violations.

Standard curable violations

• Unauthorized pets – keeping a pet in violation of a no-pet clause, or exceeding the number of pets the agreement permits (this does not apply to assistance animals or emotional-support animals protected under the federal Fair Housing Act).
• Unauthorized occupants – additional residents beyond those named on the agreement, occupancy in excess of the limit, or subtenants without the landlord’s consent.
• Unauthorized alterations – painting, structural changes, or installation of fixtures without landlord consent.
• Failure to maintain the premises – hoarding, accumulation of garbage, sanitary violations, or failing to keep the unit in the condition the agreement requires of the tenant.
• Curable nuisance or disturbance – repeated loud music, parties, or disturbances of other tenants where the conduct can stop.
• Smoking violations – smoking in a non-smoking unit or building where the agreement prohibits it.
• Vehicle or parking violations – unauthorized vehicles or parking in unassigned spaces.
• Insurance or utility lapses – failing to maintain renter’s insurance where required, or failing to keep utilities in the tenant’s name.

Violations that should use an unconditional quit instead

• Drug crimes or other criminal activity on the premises.
• Violent crime, assault, or threats with weapons.
• Property destruction (waste) beyond ordinary wear and use.
• Repeated material breach – the same violation, repeatedly, after prior notices.
• Conduct creating an immediate threat to other tenants or the building.
• Use of the premises for prostitution, illegal gambling, or another criminal enterprise.

The cure period is fourteen (14) calendar days measured from the tenant’s receipt of the notice under Ark. Code section 18-17-701. The statute frames the termination as not less than fourteen days after receipt, so the receipt date starts the clock; for registered or certified mail, Ark. Code section 18-17-303(b)(2)(C) treats the notice as received when mailed.

Counting begins the day after receipt. The day the tenant receives the notice generally does not count as day one, and the statute uses calendar days, so weekends and holidays are included.

Not less than is a floor, not a cap. Giving more than 14 days is permissible and often prudent; giving fewer than 14 is a defect that hands the tenant a defense. When in doubt, build in a cushion and recount.

Worked example – hand delivery. The landlord hand-delivers the notice on the 1st. Counting begins the 2nd, and the earliest lawful termination date is the 15th. If the tenant has not adequately remedied the noncompliance by then, the rental agreement terminates and the landlord may move to unlawful detainer.

Worked example – mailed notice. If the landlord serves by registered or certified mail under Ark. Code section 18-17-303, the tenant receives the notice when it is mailed to the designated or last-known address, and proof of mailing constitutes notice without proof of receipt (section 18-17-303(b)(2)(C)). Keep the mailing receipt so the start date is defensible; a few days of cushion does no harm. If the fourteenth day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, section 18-17-303(d) applies Ark. R. Civ. P. 6(a), which carries the period to the next day that is not a weekend or legal holiday.

Ark. Code section 18-17-303 governs how a landlord serves a notice under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. A notice may be delivered in hand or by any method that effectively brings it to the tenant’s attention, and formal service is by registered or certified mail. Because the 14-day clock runs from receipt, the method should be one that documents when the tenant received the notice. The service-method section below and the fillable form both record the method used.

Follow the rental agreement’s delivery terms

Many Arkansas rental agreements specify how notices are to be delivered. Where the agreement sets a delivery method, follow it in addition to a receipt-proving method, because a court will look to the agreement the parties made. Do not assume posting alone satisfies the receipt requirement under the thin statutory scheme.

Proof of service

The person who serves the notice should complete a proof of service stating the date and time of delivery, the method used, the identity of the person served if not the named tenant, the address where delivery occurred, and, for certified mail, the tracking number and the return-receipt date. Without a clear record of delivery, an unlawful-detainer action can stall on a factual dispute about whether and when the tenant received the notice.

Documentation retention

Retain the signed original notice, the proof of service, any certified-mail receipt, and photographs of a posting. If the tenant cures, the record supports closing the matter; if the case is contested, the same record is what the court will look to in deciding whether the notice was proper and timely.

Although Arkansas does not publish an exhaustive statutory checklist, a defensible cure-or-quit notice under Ark. Code section 18-17-701 should contain each of the following. Missing or vague content is the easiest thing for a tenant to challenge.

1. Identification of the parties – full legal names of the landlord and all tenants, including any subtenants or additional occupants.
2. Property address – full street address including unit number, city, county, state, and ZIP.
3. Description of the noncompliance – a specific, dated, factual description of the covenant breached; the statute requires specifying the acts and omissions constituting the noncompliance.
4. The agreement provision violated – the section or clause of the rental agreement, by number or page where possible.
5. The required cure – the specific, achievable action the tenant must take to remedy the breach.
6. The 14-day termination date – the date, not less than 14 days after receipt, on wh