Conway County Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law: A Guide for Rental Property Owners in Morrilton and the I-40 River Valley Corridor
Conway County is one of those Arkansas counties that rarely makes national headlines but is doing something quietly important: growing. Positioned in the Arkansas River Valley between the Ozarks and Ouachitas, with Interstate 40 running east-west through its heart, the county has spent decades as a reliable industrial and agricultural community in the orbit of the Little Rock metro. In 2024 and 2025, that changed in a big way. Green Bay Packaging broke ground on a $1 billion expansion of its Arkansas Kraft Mill in Morrilton — a project described by local economic development leadership as the largest single private investment in Central Arkansas history. For landlords in Conway County, that is not background noise. It is the defining economic event of the decade, and understanding it is essential to understanding the rental market.
The $1 Billion Kraft Mill Expansion: What It Means for Landlords
Green Bay Packaging’s Arkansas Kraft Mill has been a cornerstone of Morrilton’s economy for decades, producing kraft paper products and providing stable industrial employment. The $1 billion expansion, which began construction in 2024, preserves and significantly grows the mill’s capacity and employment base. According to Donnie Crain, president and CEO of the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce and Conway County Economic Development Corporation, the investment is already fueling growth beyond the mill itself, spurring infrastructure improvements and additional commercial development.
For landlords, the key screening distinction is between two very different tenant populations this project generates. Permanent mill employees — whether pre-existing or newly hired as capacity expands — are stable W-2 industrial workers with long-term employment at an established employer. These are excellent tenant profiles. Construction-phase workers are a different matter entirely: highly compensated during the build-out but employed on project timelines that will end when the expansion is complete. When screening construction workers associated with the project, confirm the projected duration of their assignment and structure lease terms accordingly. Month-to-month arrangements or fixed terms aligned with the construction schedule reduce your vacancy exposure when their project wraps.
UACCM, CHI St. Vincent, and the Education-Healthcare Axis
Beyond industrial employment, Conway County’s two most stable institutional employers are the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) and CHI St. Vincent Hospital Morrilton. Both are in active expansion mode. UACCM recently completed a $16 million nursing and science center, reflecting the college’s growing role as a healthcare workforce pipeline for the region. CHI St. Vincent Morrilton is investing $10 million in facility improvements. Both institutions employ faculty, nurses, technicians, and administrative staff who represent among the most reliably screened tenant types: consistent hourly or salaried income, institutional employment stability, and professional accountability.
UACCM also generates student rental demand. Unlike four-year universities with large residential student populations, community college students are typically commuters or local residents, but UACCM’s growing healthcare programs draw students from outside the immediate area who need housing for the duration of their programs. Students without independent income need co-signers; require a creditworthy parent or guarantor. For CHI St. Vincent, be attentive to traveling nurses and contract healthcare workers, whose assignments run on fixed terms — typically 13 weeks to six months. These workers often earn excellent income but will not be renewing annual leases. Furnish units and use short-term or month-to-month arrangements to serve this niche effectively.
Petit Jean Mountain: Arkansas’s Oldest State Park and a Year-Round Tourism Draw
Nineteen miles west of Morrilton, Petit Jean State Park has been drawing visitors to Conway County since 1923. Arkansas’s oldest state park and consistently its most visited, Petit Jean features Cedar Falls — one of the highest waterfalls in the South — and more trails listed on the National Recreation Trails Registry than any other Arkansas state park. Tourism investments at the park are ongoing as of 2025. Also on Petit Jean Mountain are the Museum of Automobiles (a nonprofit collection that includes a rare 1923 Climber, one of only two in existence, representing Arkansas’s brief foray into automobile production) and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, a business conference and educational center established on the site of Rockefeller’s former Winrock Farms.
Tourism-adjacent workers — hospitality staff at the park lodge, museum employees, conference center staff, food service workers — tend to have seasonal or variable income patterns. For these applicants, request both recent pay stubs and prior-year tax returns. A year-round income picture is more useful than a summer pay stub in evaluating these tenants. The Arthur V. Ormond Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River also draws recreational boating and fishing activity that supports local hospitality employment seasonally.
The I-40 Commuter Factor
Interstate 40 through Conway County is a double-edged sword for the local rental market. On one hand, it gives Morrilton residents straightforward access to Little Rock (54 miles east), which means some residents work in the metro and live in Morrilton for its significantly lower housing costs. Morrilton’s median gross rent of approximately $635/month and a cost of living index roughly 20% below the national average make it an attractive alternative to Little Rock suburbs for workers who can tolerate the commute. On the other hand, I-40 access also means that some Conway County residents who might otherwise rent locally choose to commute to higher-wage employment elsewhere, making the local rental pool somewhat more income-variable than a pure industrial market would suggest.
For commuter tenants, always verify employment at the stated employer — a pay stub from a Little Rock company is verifiable — and confirm that the commute arrangement is established rather than aspirational. A tenant who claims they are going to commute to Little Rock but has not yet started the job represents a higher risk than one with six months of documented employment and a commute history.
Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law in Conway County
All Arkansas landlord-tenant law applies statewide with no local modifications in Conway County. The governing statutes are A.C.A. §§ 18-16-101 through 18-16-108 and the Arkansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 2007, A.C.A. §§ 18-17-101 et seq. Security deposits are capped at two months’ rent and must be returned within 60 days (applies to landlords with 6+ units). No habitability warranty by default; no repair-and-deduct. Abandoned property may be disposed of immediately on lease termination. No rent control anywhere in Arkansas.
All evictions are filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit Court, Circuit Clerk Darlene Massingill, 115 S. Moose St., Room 206, Morrilton, AR 72110, (501) 354-9617, fax (501) 354-9612. Hours: 8:00 AM–4:30 PM, Monday–Friday. Filing fee: $165. Serve the 3-day notice for nonpayment (or 14-day cure notice for violations), file the Unlawful Detainer complaint, allow 5 days for the tenant to object, then proceed to hearing or default and Writ of Possession. Self-help evictions are prohibited.
This guide is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Arkansas landlord-tenant law is governed by the Arkansas Code Annotated and applies statewide, with no local rent control or just-cause eviction requirements in Conway County. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney or contact the 15th Judicial Circuit Court Clerk at (501) 354-9617 for guidance specific to your situation. Last updated: March 2026.
|
