Arksansas - Where it's a crime to not pay rent.

[mysonx3]

But... not paying rent is a crime, it's stealing plain and simple.

It's not though. Breach of contract and theft are two very different things. Stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you. Not paying rent is not meeting your obligation. Not paying rent is not equal to stealing.

I do want to add a disclaimer to this thread's title, that it's not non-payment that's the crime. It's staying in a rented space after you have been evicted, which is much more defensible as a crime - you could argue that it's tantamount to trespassing. Still not a good system, but not quite as appalling as the thread title might sound.