Executive Summary

Executive Summary Prepared by Students in the Fall 2019 PUBP Capstone Course

Evaluating Tenant Rights and the Habitability of Rental Housing: A Policy Analysis

The conundrum of property rights has been a point of discussion for several years in America. Questions regarding ownership, land rights, responsibility for maintenance of dwellings, justice, and fairness have led to ambiguous regulations. In many jurisdictions, questions regarding rental property rights have amplified the legal confusion. Considerations regarding fairness, equity, and protection are the foundation of many landlord-tenant issues.

Forty-nine out of fifty states have inherent protections for both landlords and tenants. Arkansas is the ONLY state that does not offer meaningful tenant protections. Despite the growing popularity of states adopting tenant-friendly policies and examining methods to increase protections for renters within their state, Arkansas has steadfastly remained the last holdout. Oddly, most of Arkansas rental property laws evolved from 16^th century policies (Bachelder et al., 2016).

Some communities are enhancing protections for renters because of the direct link between property conditions, public health, and the local economy (Wu et al., 2007). Others are intensifying tenant safeguards through legislation at the local level. As the state rental population continues to grow, Arkansas must actively investigate both options.

The city of Fayetteville, AR is investigating improvements in tenant rights policies, despite significant opposition from state policymakers. Reticence to confront landlords, the lack of political will, a high rental occupancy rate, and an underinformed tenant population are among the primary challenges Fayetteville must overcome. Yet, other communities have passed progressive, tenant-friendly policies despite similar reluctance (City of Lawrence. 2019; Town of Chapel Hill. 2019).

If interested in learning more, contact Dr. Valerie Hunt.