2026-09-09 · Arkansas · Legislation · Proposed — not yet introduced

Arkansas legislators have publicly said the starting point for housing legislation in the 2027 session will be SB456, a bill that would dismantle most municipal control over what gets built on a residential lot. It contains a section that hands that control to homeowners associations instead.

This is a proposed measure, not law. SB456 died at sine die in May 2025 and now sits in interim study. Nothing in it binds anyone, and pre-filing for the 2027 session does not open until November 16, 2026. But the text that would be picked up is on file and can be read today.¹

What the bill would do

SB456, “To Create the Home Opportunities Made Easier Act,” was filed in March 2025 by Senator Jim Petty of Van Buren with Representative Rebecca Burkes. It is a close adoption of the Institute for Justice's model HOME Act, and it would create a new subchapter at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-1-701 through 14-1-720.

Its reach is broad. Duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes would be allowed wherever a single-family dwelling is allowed. Municipal design requirements would largely go. Mobile tiny homes would be protected on single-family lots. Home occupations would be permitted in all residential areas. Parking minimums would be curtailed, and local caps on rent or deposits barred. An owner who successfully challenges a local government action “unambiguously foreclosed” by the subchapter would recover attorney's fees.

And it would flip the interpretive default that governs Arkansas land use. Proposed § 14-1-716(d): “An ambiguity in this subchapter or a local zoning ordinance shall be construed in favor of the free use of property as desired by the property owner.”

The section HOA members should read

Proposed § 14-1-719 is headed Powers reserved. Subsection (a) reads, in full:

“This subchapter does not impede the ability of a property owner's association or other private deed-restricted community from setting its own rules and regulations for its residents.”

A second provision does the same job for design. Proposed § 14-1-705(c): “Except as otherwise provided in this section, a decision on design requirements is at the sole discretion of a: (1) Property owner; or (2) Private homeowners' association, if applicable.”

Put those next to the rest of the bill and the shape is unmistakable. A city could not stop a duplex, dictate a roof pitch, require a garage or demand extra parking. An association could do all of it. In a covenanted Arkansas subdivision, the association would become the only body with a say.

1. Interim Study Proposal 2025-013 (filed May 28, 2025) — the text of SB456, the Home Opportunities Made Easier Act, including proposed §§ 14-1-705(c), 14-1-716(d) and 14-1-719 ↩
2. SB456 of 2025, bill record and status history (Arkansas General Assembly) ↩
3. Act 313 of 2025 (HB1503), Ark. Code Ann. § 14-56-205 — enrolled text, including the private-covenant carve-out at (c)(9)(B)(i) ↩
4. Arkansas Times, “Goodbye zoning? Arkansas could be the guinea pig for a libertarian plan to kneecap city government” (Mar. 21, 2025) ↩
5. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, reporting the Cave Springs housing forum and legislators' stated intent to run SB456 in 2027 (Sept. 4, 2025) ↩
6. Interim Study Proposal 2025-013, status history (Arkansas General Assembly) — recorded as adopted June 18, 2025, with no subsequent action ↩
7. Interim Study Proposal 2025-070 (the HB1445 short-term-rental preemption text), status history — “No actions found for this filing” ↩