What are squatters’ rights in Arkansas?
In Arkansas, adverse possession takes at least 7 years of actual or constructive possession during which the possessor held color of title to the land, or to land contiguous to it, and paid the property taxes. Paying the property taxes can itself establish color of title after seven years on unimproved and unenclosed land, or 15 years on wild and unimproved land, if the true owner has not also paid them or made a good-faith effort to pay them. An action to recover land must be brought within seven years after the title or cause of action accrued. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is Ark. Code §§ 18-11-106, 18-61-101.
| What | Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Adverse possession period | 7 years, with color of title and taxes paid |
Source
Ark. Code §§ 18-11-106, 18-61-101
Read the statute in the Arkansas Code (Arkansas General Assembly): arkleg.state.ar.us.
The linked sections open Justia’s free copy of the code, because the state’s own site has no stable address for each section.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.
Guides on this rule
- Squatters’ Rights by State: Adverse Possession and Removal — How long adverse possession takes in 51 states, what the statutes require, and which states let law enforcement remove a squatter without an eviction case.
Compare this rule in every state
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- Every Arkansas rule on one page
The same question in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho