Enforcing Your Rights Against an HOA in Arkansas

You've read the declaration, asked for the records, raised the issue with the board — and nothing. What then? Arkansas doesn't have an HOA regulator or a comprehensive HOA Act, so the path depends on whether the HPA applies and whether the HOA is incorporated. For your specific situation, a licensed Arkansas attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

The governing documents carry most of the weight

Without a comprehensive HOA statute, the recorded declaration / master deed and bylaws carry most of the weight — both for what binds owners and for what binds the association. When a board enforces a rule that isn't actually in the documents, or ignores a procedural requirement in its own bylaws, those are issues a court can be asked to address.

What rights do Arkansas HOA members have under nonprofit law?

It depends on whether Ark. Code § 4-33-101 et seq., the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993, applies. It covers nonprofits incorporated on or after January 1, 1994, and older ones that elected in. Where it applies, it addresses meeting notice, special meetings demanded by at least 5% of the voting power, the members' list, and director standards.

The Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 does not reach every nonprofit. It applies "to all domestic corporations incorporated on or after January 1, 1994." An older nonprofit comes under it only if it amended its articles to elect in; those that did not "shall continue to be governed by preexisting law" (§ 4-33-1701). Where it applies, it supplies:

• Meeting notice — notice is fair and reasonable if members get the place, date, and time "no fewer than ten (10) (or if notice is mailed by other than first class or registered mail, thirty (30)) nor more than sixty (60) days before the meeting date" (§ 4-33-705(c)(1))
• Member-called meetings — a special meeting must be held if "the holders of at least five percent (5%) of the voting power" deliver signed, dated written demands stating its purpose (§ 4-33-702(a)(2)); if notice isn't given within thirty days, a signer "may set the time and place of the meeting and give notice" (§ 4-33-702(c))
• The members' list — before a members' meeting, the list "must be available for inspection by any member for the purpose of communication with other members concerning the meeting" (§ 4-33-720(b)); the 1993 Act has no general records-inspection section (see Getting Your HOA's Records in Arkansas)
• Director standards — a director must act "in good faith," "with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances," and "in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation" (§ 4-33-830(a)); a director who meets that standard "is not liable to the corporation, any member, or any other person" for board action (§ 4-33-830(d))
• Suspension or expulsion — in a mutual benefit or public benefit corporation, a member may be suspended or expelled only under "a procedure that is fair and reasonable and is carried out in good faith" (§ 4-33-621(a)), and a challenge "must be commenced within one (1) year after the effective date" (§ 4-33-621(d))

The 1993 Act's derivative-suit sections (§§ 4-33-630 to 4-33-639) are reserved, so it does not set out a derivative-action procedure for members.

For HPA communities: § 18-13

If your community came under the Horizontal Property Act by a recorded master deed (§ 18-13-103), the HPA adds a property-statute layer. For a regime organized on or after September 1, 2025, or an older one that elected into Act 516 of 2025 by amending its master deed and filing reorganization documents (Act 516, § 9), the master deed must name the association, or describe the rights reserved to the council of co-owners, that will "Enforce the terms and conditions expressed in the master deed" (§ 18-13-104(b)(3)(A)). In every HPA regime, the bylaws are "inserted in, or appended to, and recorded with the master deed" (§ 18-13-108(a)), and a change to the system of administration is not effective "until it is embodied in a recorded instrument" (§ 18-13-109(b)). The HPA also covers assessment liability (§ 18-13-116) and insurance (§ 18-13-117). But many enforcement questions still turn on the declaration / master deed and general Arkansas law.

Federal law

Federal protections apply on top of Arkansas law:

• Fair Housing Act — disability accommodations, familial status, anti-discrimination
• ADA — accessibility in common areas open to the public
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act — protections for active-duty servicemembers
• OTARD (FCC rule) — protection for certain satellite/antenna installations
• Freedom to Display the American Flag Act — limits on flag restrictions

Who can I complain to about my HOA in Arkansas?

There is no Arkansas state HOA regulator, so the forum is generally Arkansas state court. There a homeowner can seek a declaration that a rule or fine is invalid, an injunction against improper enforcement, damages where the conduct caused harm, or enforcement of records-access rights, including under the HPA's book-of-receipts provision, Ark. Code § 18-13-110(b).

In Arkansas state court, a homeowner can seek:

• A declaration that a rule or fine is invalid
• An injunction against improper enforcement
• Damages where the conduct caused harm
• Enforcement of records-access rights under the bylaws, the HPA — where the book of receipts and expenditures is open to co-owners "at convenient hours on working days that shall be set and announced for general knowledge" (§ 18-13-110(b)) — or, for nonprofits still under it, the 1963 Act (§ 4-28-218(e))

Can I recover attorney's fees from my HOA in Arkansas?

It depends. The HPA has no fee-shifting section. Under Ark. Code § 16-22-308, in a civil action for breach of contract, the prevailing party may be allowed a reasonable attorney's fee unless law or the contract provides otherwise. Whether a particular HOA dispute fits that statute, and whether the declaration has its own fee clause, are questions for an attorney.

Arkansas's general fee statute says that in a civil action for "breach of contract," "unless otherwise provided by law or the contract which is the subject matter of the action, the prevailing party may be allowed a reasonable attorney's fee to be assessed by the court and collected as costs" (§ 16-22-308).

The layered set of options

Putting it together:

1. The governing documents — the declaration / master deed, bylaws, and rules
2. The entity law — the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 if the HOA is incorporated and under it
3. The property statute — the HPA where it applies
4. Federal law — where it applies
5. The courts — with a licensed Arkansas attorney evaluating the specific claim and forum

Sources

• Arkansas Code Annotated — official public access (§§ 4-33-621, 4-33-702, 4-33-705, 4-33-720, 4-33-830, 4-33-1701; § 16-22-308; §§ 18-13-101 to 18-13-120)
• Act 1147 of 1993 — Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 (Ark. Code § 4-33-101 et seq.)
• Act 516 of 2025 — amendments to Ark. Code §§ 18-13-102 to 18-13-104, 18-13-112 and 18-13-116 (applicability, § 9)
• Fair Housing Act — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development