Arkansas Seller Disclosure Laws: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

Arkansas gives home sellers no state disclosure form. Its courts hold that “the rule of caveat emptor applies to a sale of real estate” (Bonner v. Sikes, 1987). False answers and concealment still expose a seller: in 2003 a false written denial of past “flooding” undid a Bella Vista sale.

Caveat emptor, in the Arkansas courts’ words

The Court of Appeals put the rule this way in Bonner v. Sikes, 20 Ark. App. 209, 727 S.W.2d 144 (1987): “the rule of caveat emptor applies to a sale of real estate, and, with the exception of the sale of new housing by a vendor-builder, there is no implied warranty that real property is fit for any purpose.”

For this page we read the chapter and section lists of Title 18, Subtitle 2 of the Arkansas Code (Real Property, chapters 10 through 17) and the Real Estate License Law, Title 17, Chapter 42, in the 2025 edition. Neither contains a disclosure statute or form for a seller reselling a house, and the Real Estate Commission’s rules have none either. The section of the license law titled “Disclosure requirement” (§ 17-42-108) covers something else: which party an agent represents.

The builder exception: Wawak v. Stewart

In Wawak v. Stewart, 247 Ark. 1093, 449 S.W.2d 922 (1970), the Arkansas Supreme Court adopted “the modern rule by which an implied warranty may be recognized in the sale of a new house by a seller who was also the builder.” The exception is narrow. In Morris v. Rush, 77 Ark. App. 11, 69 S.W.3d 876 (2002), the owners had built their own house, lived in it, and then sold it. The court found no case treating such an owner as a builder-vendor. It added that an implied warranty of habitability “is waived when the buyer purchases the property ‘as is.'”

Where Arkansas sellers get sued: the written answers

When the purchase contract calls for a seller’s written disclosure, as it did in each case below, that paper becomes the evidence. The elements of fraud come from O’Mara v. Dykema, 328 Ark. 310, 942 S.W.2d 854 (1997), as quoted in Morris. There must be a false representation of a material fact, knowledge or belief that it is false, intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance, and resulting damages.

• Riley v. Hoisington, 80 Ark. App. 346, 96 S.W.3d 743 (2003). A Bella Vista seller wrote that there had been no “flooding, drainage, grading problems.” The basement flooded three times after closing. Rescission was affirmed. The money award was sent back: the refund could not include the carpet allowance, and the buyers’ recoverable costs could be offset by fair rental value for the months they lived there.
• Beatty v. Haggard, 87 Ark. App. 75, 184 S.W.3d 479 (2004). After cracks appeared in the brick, the sellers dug along the footing, poured concrete there, covered it with dirt, and answered “No” to a question about “alterations or repairs.” The court held they “had a duty to disclose this information on the owner’s disclosure statement.” For rescission on constructive fraud, the court said a seller’s “good faith in making the representations is no defense to liability.” The court applied the clear-and-convincing standard it had used in Riley.
• Childers v. Patterson, 2026 Ark. App. 12. The buyers lost. The form asked for answers “on the basis of their knowledge and belief,” and the trial court found the Fort Smith sellers did not know of a foundation defect. The buyers had also hired their own structural engineer, who reported no problem.

The practical lesson for a seller: if your contract calls for a disclosure form, answer every question fully. List repairs you consider cosmetic too, and hand over any old inspection or repair estimate you still have.

“As is” and disclaimer clauses

Beatty also settles the “as is” question. An “as is” clause “does not bar an action by the vendee based on claims of fraud or misrepresentation.” The buyer’s disclaimer of reliance in that contract also excluded “any written disclosures provided by the seller.” Selling as is in Arkansas waives implied warranties (Morris). It does not protect a false answer.

Two statutes that do reach a home sale

• Farm notice at closing (§ 18-11-107). The closing agent, not the seller, “shall provide a written disclosure statement before or at the time of closing.” The statement tells the buyer that the property may be in or near a rural area and that nearby agricultural operations are protected under § 2-4-101 et seq. The statute adds that no cause of action arises against the closing agent for failing to provide it.
• Former meth-lab properties (§ 8-7-1406(a)). Once the property “is remediated and the property owner receives official notification from the Division of Environmental Quality, no person, including the property owner, landlord, and real estate agent, is required to report or otherwise disclose the past contamination.” That relief depends on both conditions. It says nothing about a property that has not been cleaned up.

What the agent owes, and to whom

Duties under the license law belong to the licensee, not the seller. Under A.C.A. § 17-42-316(b)(2)(G), an agent must disclose to the client “material facts of the transaction that the licensee is aware of or should be aware of.” Section 17-42-311(a)(4) makes “any substantial misrepresentation” grounds for discipline. Commission Regulation 10.6 (April 2024 rule book; a proposed 2026 rewrite carries substantially the same text as 17 CAR § 220-1005) requires a listing agent to “exert reasonable efforts to ascertain those facts which are material to the value or desirability” of the property “to avoid intentional or negligent misrepresentation to the public.” Regulation 8.5(a) keeps “the equally binding obligation of dealing honestly with all parties.”

Pre-1978 houses

The lead-paint rule is federal. Under 40 CFR 745, subpart F, the seller gives the EPA pamphlet and discloses known lead-based paint before the buyer is bound. The buyer gets “a 10-day period (unless the parties mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time)” to test, which the buyer may waive in writing (§ 745.110). Foreclosure sales are exempt (§ 745.101).

Arkansas buyer and seller questions

My contract has me sign a seller’s disclosure. What standard am I held to?

Your own words on the form, judged by what you knew. In Childers, answers truthful “to the best of their knowledge” defeated the claim. In Riley, a knowingly false answer led to rescission.

We built our house ourselves and lived in it for years. Do we give the buyer a builder’s warranty?

Not under Morris v. Rush, which declined to treat an owner who builds, lives in, and later sells a house as a builder-vendor. The Wawak warranty runs from builders selling new houses.

A meth lab was found here before we bought, and the state signed off on the cleanup. Do we mention it?

Section 8-7-1406(a) says no one is required to disclose past contamination after remediation and official notification from the Division of Environmental Quality. Keep that notification. If you are asked directly, answer truthfully; a false answer is what Riley and Beatty punished.

The buyers found foundation cracks a year after closing. Can they undo the sale?

Only with strong proof. In Riley and Beatty, buyers seeking rescission over answers on a disclosure statement had to prove their case by clear and convincing evidence. In Childers, buyers who went ahead after their own engineer’s clean report lost.

Related: home selling guide, home inspection, inspection red flags, buyer’s checklist, Arkansas closing costs, Arkansas real estate overview. Neighboring states: Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana.