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

[sanantone]

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.

If you are one day late, it terminates the lease. Ten days after the lease is terminated and you get a notice, then you can be charged if you haven't vacated. That still means that, if you are one day late, you could be homeless. The original form of the law has been ruled unconstitutional.

We've been a landlord twice.  6 years ago we had 2 apartments with 2 tenants.  Fantastic men- paid on time or early.  Clean, quiet, perfect. Literally zero trouble.  
We *yesterday* just became landlords again.  This time, we won't be renting to adult employed business professionals, our tenants will be teenage college students - which I'm more than a little bit nervous about.  The only reason we're in this position is because our son is returning to school and we're providing HIS housing, which allows for renting out the rest of the property.  But... not paying rent is a crime, it's stealing plain and simple.  In fact, those rooms will sit empty if I don't feel totally comfortable that the person will (a) not destroy my property (b) won't be paying on time © have a parent co-sign.    Even after being careful, you roll the dice and hope for the best.  I'm thankful that this isn't our income/business - because despite the severity in Arkansas, landlords are always the ones risking the most.

A crime is only a crime if there is a law making it a crime. If there is no law to violate, then it is not a crime. 

Myson is correct. In every other state, this is a breach of contract, and the matter is handled through the civil court system. Law enforcement only gets involved if the tenants fail to vacate by the deadline given to them. Most of the time, landlords only have to lock the tenants out.