When Is an Arkansas HOA Rule Unenforceable?

A board can announce a rule, but announcing it is not the same as being able to enforce it. In Arkansas — where the Horizontal Property Act is opt-in and concise — a rule has to clear several hurdles before it binds a homeowner, and almost all of them live in the documents and in the Nonprofit Corporation Act. For your specific situation, a licensed Arkansas attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

The general tests, and where Arkansas's rule power comes from

The tests that apply in most states also apply here: a rule generally has to be properly adopted, consistent with the recorded declaration, and reasonable, and it can't conflict with federal law such as the Fair Housing Act, the FCC's OTARD antenna rule, or the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act. Those tests, and how uneven enforcement is treated, are explained in When Is an HOA Rule Unenforceable?.

In Arkansas, the authority to make and enforce rules comes primarily from the recorded declaration or master deed and the bylaws. The Horizontal Property Act (§§ 18-13-101 et seq.) applies only where a master deed submitted the property to it. For incorporated associations, the Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 (Title 4, Ch. 33) governs the corporation and the board's duties.

What a master deed has to cover (§ 18-13-104)

For a horizontal property regime, § 18-13-104(b) lists the particulars a master deed "shall express." Two of them bear directly on rules. One is the name of the association, if any, or a description of the operations or rights reserved to the council of co-owners, "in either case that will: (A) Enforce the terms and conditions expressed in the master deed; and (B) Operate and manage the common elements" (§ 18-13-104(b)(3)). The other is "The method of amending a master deed" (§ 18-13-104(b)(9)). And under § 18-13-104(c), "Except as may otherwise be provided in a master deed, an amendment to a master deed requires consent of all apartment owners or unit owners."

Act 516 of 2025 rewrote this section. The act "is applicable to a horizontal property regime organized on and after September 1, 2025," and an older regime "may elect to be subject to the provisions of this act by amending the master deed and filing the appropriate reorganization documents" (Act 516 of 2025, § 9). A regime organized before that date was set up under the earlier wording.

Director duties (§ 4-33-830)

For an HOA incorporated under the 1993 Act, a director "shall discharge his or her duties as a director, including his or her duties as a member of a committee: (1) in good faith; (2) with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances; and (3) in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation" (§ 4-33-830(a)). The section sets the general standard for board decisions; it doesn't mention rules specifically.

Does Arkansas's 2025 ADU law limit HOAs?

Not by its terms. Arkansas leaves HOA rules mostly to the recorded documents. The ADU limits in Act 313 of 2025, § 14-56-205, are written for municipalities, and the section says one of them does not prohibit private restrictive covenants on accessory dwelling units. A city's ADU rules and an HOA covenant on ADUs are separate questions.

Act 313 of 2025 says a municipality "shall not adopt a policy, regulation, or ordinance that restricts, prohibits, or otherwise regulates the use of at least one (1) accessory dwelling unit by right on a lot or parcel that contains a single-family dwelling" (§ 14-56-205(b)(1)). Its limits are written for municipalities, and the section adds that one of them "does not prohibit restrictive covenants concerning accessory dwelling units entered into between private parties" (§ 14-56-205(c)(9)(B)(i)).

Where to turn

Because Arkansas leaves so much to the documents, owners often start by reading the recorded declaration or master deed next to the adopted rule. A records request can reach the adopted rules and the minutes showing how a rule was passed; if a fine is attached, see also Fighting an HOA Fine in Arkansas. When a homeowner believes a rule is invalid or is being enforced unevenly, the avenues include raising it with the board in writing, the courts (which enforce covenants as contracts), and a licensed Arkansas attorney to evaluate whether a specific rule is enforceable against a specific owner.

Sources

• Ark. Code § 18-13-104 — Master deed (Act 516 of 2025, §§ 6 and 9)
• Ark. Code § 4-33-830 — General standards for directors (Act 1147 of 1993, § 830)
• Ark. Code § 14-56-205 — Accessory dwelling units (Act 313 of 2025)
• Arkansas Code Annotated — official public access