Pope County Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law: Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas Tech University, Lake Dardanelle, and What Every Landlord Needs to Know
Pope County sits at an unusual intersection of natural and industrial Arkansas — where the Ozark National Forest meets the Arkansas River Valley, where a major university and the state’s only nuclear power plant share the same stretch of Interstate 40, and where one of the state’s largest inland lakes offers fishing tournaments that draw competitors from across the nation. Named for John Pope, the third territorial governor of Arkansas, and formed in 1829 as the first Arkansas county carved from the old Cherokee reservation, Pope County has evolved from a frontier river valley community into one of the most economically diverse mid-sized counties in the state.
Russellville — the county seat, at the geographic midpoint of I-40 between Little Rock and Fort Smith — had an estimated population of nearly 31,000 in 2025 and is the principal city of a Micropolitan Statistical Area encompassing Pope and Yell counties. The city is home to Arkansas Tech University, hosts ten divisions of Fortune 500 companies, and serves as the regional hub for healthcare, retail, and services for a wide surrounding area in the Arkansas River Valley. It was also designated in 2018 as one of four original casino license sites under Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution, though that license has remained tied up in litigation.
Arkansas Nuclear One: The State’s Only Nuclear Plant
Arkansas Nuclear One, operated by Entergy and located in the community of London a few miles west of Russellville on the shores of Lake Dardanelle, is Arkansas’s only nuclear power plant. Plans were announced in 1967; Unit 1 came online in 1974 and Unit 2 in 1980. Together, the two units produce in excess of 15 billion kilowatts of energy per year, making it one of the most productive nuclear plants in the nation relative to its capacity. The plant is one of the most stable and highest-paying employers in Pope County, with a workforce of licensed reactor operators, nuclear engineers, health physics technicians, radiation protection staff, security officers, and maintenance personnel. For landlords, nuclear plant employees represent an exceptionally stable tenant income profile: highly regulated federal employment requirements, competitive wages, and virtually no volatility in employment absent the very rare plant shutdown. A special category requires attention: contract workers brought in for refueling outages (which occur approximately every 18 months and last 3–6 weeks) may be transient. Verify whether an applicant is a permanent site employee or an outage contractor.
Arkansas Tech University and the College Rental Market
Arkansas Tech University, founded in 1909 as Arkansas Polytechnic College and now home to over 12,000 students, is the second major pillar of the Russellville economy and the primary driver of the city’s off-campus rental market. Several buildings on ATU’s campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reflecting the university’s long-standing architectural legacy. For landlords, ATU creates both opportunity and complexity: the student rental market is substantial, but students rarely have independent W-2 income sufficient to meet standard rent-to-income ratios. A workable approach: require enrollment documentation; accept scholarships, grants, parental support letters, and documented part-time employment as components of income; and require a creditworthy co-signer for leases where student income alone is insufficient. Faculty and staff are W-2 employees. Note that some faculty on nine-month academic-year contracts receive paychecks only during the academic year, though many elect to spread those payments over twelve months — ask explicitly and verify.
Lake Dardanelle, Holla Bend, and the Outdoor Recreation Economy
Lake Dardanelle, created by the Dardanelle Lock and Dam Number 10 (completed 1969 as part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System), stretches along the southern edge of Russellville. The lake hosts major bass fishing tournaments, is a launching point for recreational boating and water sports, and anchors Lake Dardanelle State Park. The McClellan-Kerr Navigation System brings $1 to $2 billion in trade to Arkansas annually. Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, accessible by land only through Yell County (a peculiarity created when the Corps of Engineers cut a new straight channel for the Arkansas River in 1954, separating the old “bend” from Pope County), is one of the finest bald eagle and waterfowl viewing areas in the mid-South, with 7,055 protected acres. To the north, the Ozark National Forest includes Long Pool, Bayou Bluff, and what may be the only whitewater bayou in the country.
Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law in Pope County
All residential rental relationships in Pope County are governed entirely by statewide Arkansas law. There is no local rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and no landlord licensing requirement in Russellville or Pope County. For nonpayment, serve a 3-day notice to vacate after rent is 5+ days past due. For lease violations, serve a 14-day notice to cure. Month-to-month tenancies require 30 days’ written notice to terminate. Security deposits are capped at two months’ rent for landlords with six or more units, returned with itemized deductions within 60 days. No implied warranty of habitability by default; no repair-and-deduct remedy; self-help evictions prohibited. Pope County is a dry county.
File evictions with Circuit Clerk Rachel Oertling, 100 W. Main St., Russellville, AR 72801, (479) 968-7499.
This guide is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney or contact the 5th Judicial Circuit Court Clerk at (479) 968-7499 for guidance specific to your situation. Last updated: March 2026.
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