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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/27/23
    First Name: Neil
    Last Name: Sealy
    Email: nsealy@arkansascomm.org
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Arkansas Community Organizations/Arkansas Renters

  • Comment

    In Arkansas there are almost no protections for tenants. Arkansas does not have an implied warranty of habitability. Evictions started to soar in 2021. Tenants have a small window to respond to a court summons in order to get a hearing. Arkansas's Jim Crow era criminal eviction statute is still practices in several counties. Strong protections for tenants in FHFA are badly needed to protect tenants. Specifically, we would like to see:

    1. Basic habitability standards and a right of action for tenants if a landlord does not meet those standards to include breaking the lease, withholding the rent, and the right to sue;
    2. Just cause evictions with a thirty day window to respond in court;
    3. The right to organize
    4. Protection for tenants against retaliation
    5. Rent control