Arkansas does not have a comprehensive statewide HOA act. For a subdivision HOA, assessment, lien, hearing, and foreclosure rights usually depend heavily on the recorded declaration, bylaws, nonprofit law, and general real-property remedies. For condominiums, the Horizontal Property Act governs expense liability and gives unpaid assessments priority from sale proceeds behind taxes and recorded mortgages, but it should not be described as a blanket statutory nonjudicial foreclosure power.
Which law governs your dispute
Arkansas still does not have a comprehensive statewide act governing every subdivision HOA. For a conventional homeowners association, start with the recorded declaration, bylaws, nonprofit-corporation law where applicable, and general contract and real-property law. Condominiums are different: the Horizontal Property Act in Title 18, Chapter 13 supplies statutory rules, and Act 516 of 2025 amended that Act. A broader 2025 property-owners-association proposal, HB 1660, died in committee and should not be cited as current law.
A strong Arkansas file starts with the source documents: recorded declaration and amendments, bylaws, current rules, and the board action behind the disputed decision. Compare those materials with the statute that applies to the property type and creation date. If the association relies on an older rule or amendment, ask for the adoption and recording history rather than assuming it is valid.
Challenging an assessment or special assessment
Treat an assessment dispute as an authority-and-calculation problem. Ask the association to identify the budget or board action that created the charge, the declaration provision that allocates common expenses, the date notice was sent, and the owner vote if the documents or Arkansas law required one. A special assessment can have a different approval path from ordinary annual dues, so do not assume the same voting rule applies to both.
An Arkansas assessment dispute is easier to evaluate when the numbers are separated. Request the ledger, identify the principal assessment, and list late fees, interest, attorney fees, and other add-ons on their own lines. Put the objection in writing and keep payment records. Do not assume that refusing all payments automatically preserves your position or pauses collection activity.
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Fines and the right to a hearing
For subdivisions, the declaration and bylaws usually do most of the work. A homeowner should demand the exact covenant, the board authority for the penalty, and the procedure the association says made the charge final.
Organize an Arkansas enforcement dispute around what the association knew and did at each step. Save the cited provision, notice, evidence, cure history, hearing request, hearing notice, board materials, and outcome. For selective enforcement, focus on comparable violations under the same rule and period so the comparison can be tested rather than asserted.
Getting association records
Corporate-record rights and the governing documents matter heavily outside a condominium. Condominium owners should separately check the Horizontal Property Act and recorded regime documents.
When requesting association records in Arkansas, define both the category and the date range. The core set often includes the owner ledger, current budget, minutes or resolutions tied to the charge, applicable rule, contracts or invoices, and declaration amendments. If something is withheld, request the statutory or governing-document basis for that decision and keep proof of delivery.
How an assessment lien attaches
Do not assume an Arkansas subdivision HOA has a foreclosure-ready statutory lien merely because assessments are unpaid. Trace the lien or security right to the recorded declaration and applicable general law. For condominiums, § 18-13-116 addresses common-expense liability and the treatment of unpaid assessments when an apartment is sold, including priority behind taxes and recorded mortgage payments, but that provision should not be converted into a generic statutory nonjudicial foreclosure procedure.
Do not collapse lien creation and lien enforcement into one issue in Arkansas. A lien can exist yet still be unperfected, junior in priority, or not presently foreclosable. Obtain the recorded instrument and compare its amount, owner, legal description, charge dates, signature, and filing history with the association ledger and notices.
The foreclosure route in this state
Arkansas does not supply one statewide nonjudicial foreclosure route for every association. In a subdivision HOA dispute, identify the exact declaration language claimed to create a lien or power of sale and then test that language against general Arkansas lien, foreclosure, contract, and notice law. For a condominium, the Horizontal Property Act’s assessment provisions do not by themselves justify describing every delinquency as subject to a statutory power-of-sale foreclosure.
For a threatened Arkansas HOA or condo foreclosure, request an updated ledger and the complete notice chain immediately. Test the amount, charge categories, addresses, required board decision, and any cure, reinstatement, or redemption step against the governing law. Treat dates in a complaint, trustee notice, or court order as controlling until counsel confirms otherwise.
Before you sue: required pre-suit steps
Do not assume one statewide mediation or ADR prerequisite applies to every Arkansas HOA or condominium dispute. Check the claim-specific statute, governing documents, and court rules for any required pre-suit step.
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Where these disputes are heard
Arkansas does not have one statewide HOA merits tribunal that replaces the courts for every association dispute. Depending on the claim, the forum may be a trial court, a small-claims or limited-jurisdiction court for a qualifying money claim, or an arbitration/mediation process created by statute or the governing documents.
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Sources
- Arkansas Horizontal Property Act — Act 516 of 2025 (official)Primary official 2025 amendment to Ark. Code Ann. Title 18, Chapter 13.
- SB 323 / Act 516 bill history — Arkansas LegislatureOfficial bill history confirming Act 516 and enactment date.
- Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 — Act 1147 archiveOfficial Legislature archive identifying Act 1147; current codified sections should be checked in Title 4 under the current statute before relying on it.
- Ark. Code § 18-13-116 amendment history — Act 434 of 1993 archiveOfficial legislative history for expense-allocation provision; check the current codified text and amendment history.
- HB 1660 (2025) — Arkansas property owners’ association bill historyOfficial Arkansas Legislature history showing the broader property-owners-association bill died in committee at sine die; do not treat it as enacted law.