Faulkner County Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law: A Guide for Rental Property Owners in Conway, Arkansas’s City of Colleges
Conway is one of those Arkansas cities that has quietly outpaced expectations for decades. The city of Asa P. Robinson, who laid off the town site around a railroad depot after the Civil War, now holds more than 64,000 residents — the eighth-largest city in the state — and the county around it, Faulkner County, was the third-fastest-growing county in Arkansas in 2023, growing at nearly 20 times the median rate of comparably sized U.S. cities. That growth is not accidental. Conway has built a genuinely diversified economic foundation: three colleges, a data and technology sector, healthcare, manufacturing, and the gravitational pull of being 30 miles north of Little Rock on I-40. For landlords, this means a robust, multi-layered rental demand base with several distinct tenant populations worth understanding individually.
The City of Colleges: UCA, Hendrix, and Central Baptist
Conway earned its “City of Colleges” nickname legitimately. The University of Central Arkansas, with 10,123 students as of 2024, is the third-largest university in Arkansas and the dominant rental demand driver in the city. UCA’s Norbert O. Schedler Honors College was one of the first such programs in the United States and remains one of the most modeled-after honors programs in the country. Hendrix College, with approximately 1,100 students, is a nationally regarded private liberal arts institution whose campus is surrounded by a designated historic district. Central Baptist College enrolls around 900 students in a faith-based academic environment.
For near-campus rental properties, the standard university-market screening protocols apply: require co-signers for undergraduate applicants without verifiable independent income; use August-to-July lease terms aligned with the academic calendar; budget for potential summer vacancy (May–August) in units primarily marketed to students. Hendrix’s residential character means a higher proportion of its students live on campus — off-campus demand from Hendrix is more limited than UCA’s contribution, though it exists. Faculty and staff at all three institutions are stable, salaried W-2 employees; verify employment directly with the relevant institution’s HR office.
One statistic worth noting: over 40% of Conway adults hold college degrees, the highest rate in Arkansas. That educational attainment reflects the city’s institutional character and produces a more financially literate, professionally employed renter pool than most Arkansas markets of comparable size.
Technology, Data, and the Westrock Coffee Transformation
Acxiom Corporation — founded in Conway in 1969 as Demographics, Inc., and grown into one of the world’s largest information management companies — has a significant presence in Conway even as its corporate headquarters shifted to Little Rock. Gainwell Technologies occupies the former Hewlett-Packard facility in the Meadows Office and Technology Park, which had originally been announced as a 1,200-employee operation before HP’s subsequent withdrawal. Together, these and other technology companies employ white-collar data analysts, IT professionals, and technology workers at above-average salaries who represent some of the most financially stable tenant profiles in Faulkner County.
Westrock Coffee’s $400 million investment in Conway — encompassing two facilities with more than a million square feet of combined space and projected to employ 900+ workers — is transforming the city’s manufacturing sector. Westrock produces single-serve coffee products and other packaged coffee formats; its Conway investment is one of the largest manufacturing commitments in the city’s history. New-hire employees at recently opened facilities like Westrock should be screened with attention to employment duration; 60+ days of established pay stubs from the current position is the prudent standard before approving a lease for a worker who recently started at a new major employer.
Conway Regional Health and Traveling Healthcare Workers
Conway Regional Health System is Faulkner County’s primary healthcare anchor, providing stable employment for physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists, and administrative staff across a range of departments and specialties. Healthcare workers at Conway Regional are generally excellent tenant profiles: consistent W-2 income, professional accountability, and stable long-term employment. The important distinction for landlords is between permanent Conway Regional employees and traveling nurses or contract clinical workers on assignment. Traveling healthcare workers earn strong income but on fixed assignment terms — typically 13 weeks to six months. For travelers, use furnished units with month-to-month or short-term leases and align the arrangement with the assignment duration confirmed at intake.
The Little Rock Corridor and Commuter Tenants
Faulkner County’s I-40 positioning makes Conway accessible to Little Rock (30 miles, roughly 35–40 minutes in normal traffic). While Conway’s local employment base is strong enough that most residents do not commute out of the city, a meaningful subset of Conway renters work for state government agencies, UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences), and other Little Rock employers. Arkansas state government employment is among the most stable job categories in the state. For commuter tenants, verify employment at the stated Little Rock employer directly and confirm the commute arrangement is established and sustainable.
Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law in Faulkner County
All Arkansas landlord-tenant law applies statewide with no local modifications in Faulkner 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 20th Judicial Circuit Court, Circuit Clerk Nancy Eastham, 724 Locust Ave. (P.O. Box 9), Conway, AR 72034, (501) 450-4911, fax (501) 450-4948. Office 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 Faulkner County. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney or contact the 20th Judicial Circuit Court Clerk at (501) 450-4911 for guidance specific to your situation. Last updated: March 2026.
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