TL;DR: When selling a house in Arkansas, a seller has to disclose known lead-based paint on any home built before 1978 under the federal rule (EPA page updated May 27, 2026); the Arkansas Real Estate Commission says the state does not require property condition disclosure by every seller. Pre-1978 sellers owe a Lead Warning Statement, the EPA pamphlet, available records and a 10-day buyer inspection window. Your purchase contract can add more: the buyer may request the Seller Property Disclosure form in the offer.
What does a seller have to disclose when selling a house in Arkansas by law?
The short answer is narrower than most sellers expect. An undated Arkansas Real Estate Commission column by Gary Isom, then the Commission's Executive Director, states that the state of Arkansas does not require property condition disclosure by every seller. The statute the page quotes is Arkansas Code Annotated 17-10-101, and its subsection (b) works in the opposite direction from a disclosure mandate: it says psychologically impacted property is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real property transaction. The same AREC column states that 'there is no disclosure statute addressing the individual owner/seller' in Arkansas; what exists is the Arkansas REALTORS® Association's Seller Property Disclosure form.
The federal lead-based paint rule (40 CFR 745.101) is the one disclosure obligation that applies to Arkansas sellers by federal statute and regulation. Because it is federal, it applies the same way to a seller in Bentonville or Rogers in Benton County, in Fayetteville or Springdale in Washington County, and everywhere else in the state.
What this means for you: do not read the lack of a state mandate as a lack of exposure. Treat the lead rule as mandatory, treat the state form as the practical standard, and remember that your purchase contract can add more: the Arkansas REALTORS® Association contract lets a buyer request the Seller Property Disclosure form as part of the offer, and once you accept, that is a contract term you must meet. Ask your attorney about anything else before you list.
Which Arkansas homes fall under the federal lead paint disclosure rule?
The rule covers most housing built before 1978 and does not apply to housing built after 1977 or to certain other housing, including foreclosure sales (U.S. EPA, page updated May 27, 2026). An as-is sale is not on that exemption list. Northwest Arkansas has many homes near that line. In Benton County, 10,449 of 136,201 housing units were built from 1970 to 1979, and in Washington County, 12,126 of 112,981 were (U.S. Census Bureau ACS table B25034, 2025 1-year estimates). Together that is 10,449 + 12,126 = 22,575 units in the 1970s bracket, out of 136,201 + 112,981 = 249,182 total units in the two counties.
The Census bracket straddles the 1978 cutoff, so it does not tell you how many of those homes are covered. Older brackets add more: Benton County has 2,766 units from 1960 to 1969, 1,452 from 1950 to 1959, 870 from 1940 to 1949 and 3,013 from 1939 or earlier. Washington County has 8,894, 4,469, 1,018 and 2,700 in those same brackets. These estimates carry wide margins of error, so read them as a sense of scale rather than an exact count.
What this means for you: check your build year on your county assessor record or closing file before you list. If it says 1977 or earlier, or you are unsure, plan for the lead paperwork from day one.
What exactly must a seller of a pre-1978 home hand over?
EPA lists the requirements, and each one is checkable:
- The pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home, given to the buyer.
- Disclosure of known lead-based paint information, including its location and the condition of painted surfaces.
- All available records and reports on lead-based paint hazards. For multi-unit buildings, that includes records for common areas and other units from building-wide evaluations.
- A Lead Warning Statement, either as an attachment or in the contract language, in the same language as the contract, confirming compliance with the rule.
The buyer gets a 10-day period for a paint inspection or risk assessment. The parties can change that period by written agreement, and the buyer may waive it. EPA's sample seller disclosure forms may be used. You must keep a signed copy of the disclosures for three years after the sale is completed. If you deliver anything electronically, you need the buyer's consent and a clear statement of the right to paper documents.
What this means for you: build the 10-day window into your closing timeline, and keep the signed disclosure with your sale records for the full three years rather than only in your agent's file.
Should an Arkansas seller complete the Seller Property Disclosure form?
Yes, in practice. An undated column on the Arkansas Real Estate Commission site by Gary Isom, then the Commission's Executive Director, says Realtors strongly encourage all sellers to complete the Seller Property Disclosure form when listing property. It identifies the form as one of the forms and contracts that the Arkansas REALTORS Association developed and that are used in most residential transactions. So the form is not a statute, but it is the document buyers and their agents expect to see.
The form is not freely published on the association's site, so ask your listing agent for the current version before you list your home, and read every question yourself instead of delegating it. Answer from what you actually know about the house. Where you do not know, say so, rather than guessing in a direction that helps the sale.
What this means for you: a completed form gives the buyer a written record of what you knew and when. Declining to complete it does not remove questions from the negotiation; it only leaves the buyer to ask them through inspections and repair requests, usually after you are under contract.
What should you document before listing an Arkansas home?
The most useful records are the ones that show what you know and what you did about it. Gather these before the photographer arrives:
- Any lead-based paint evaluations, reports or abatement records, if the home predates 1978.
- Repair invoices, permits and contractor names for roof, plumbing, electrical, foundation and drainage work.
- Inspection reports you have received in the past, including any you obtained yourself.
- Notes on known issues such as past leaks, with the date they occurred and what was done.
Keep the originals and give copies to the buyer through your agent. Your listing agent must make reasonable efforts to learn facts material to the property's value or desirability (17 CAR § 220-1005, 2026 AREC Rules), so expect these records to be asked for. Remember too that Arkansas psychologically impacted property is, under 17-10-101(b), not a material fact that must be disclosed, but a direct question from a buyer is a different situation, and your attorney should advise you on how to answer it.
What this means for you: when you sell your home, a folder of dated paperwork shortens the buyer's inspection period and removes most of the guesswork that otherwise turns into price reductions.
What Should You Do With These Numbers?
- Confirm your home's build year first. If it is 1977 or earlier, the federal lead rule applies and the buyer's 10-day inspection window comes with it (EPA, May 27, 2026).
- Ask your listing agent for the current Arkansas REALTORS Association Seller Property Disclosure form and complete it yourself before the home goes live, since a buyer can request it as part of the offer.
- Collect every lead report, repair record and inspection report you have, and decide which pieces go to buyers with the disclosure.
- Keep the signed lead disclosure with your closing file for three years after the sale (EPA, May 27, 2026).
- Take any question about a specific defect, or about what a buyer asked you directly, to a real estate attorney before you answer in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a seller required to fill out a property disclosure form in Arkansas?
No, Arkansas does not require property condition disclosure by every seller, according to an undated Arkansas Real Estate Commission column by Gary Isom. The federal lead paint disclosure on pre-1978 homes is the only requirement set by law. Your purchase contract can add more: the Arkansas REALTORS® Association contract lets a buyer request the Seller Property Disclosure form as part of the offer, and once you accept, that is a contract term you must meet.
Do I have to disclose lead paint when selling a home built before 1978?
Yes, a seller of a home built before 1978 must disclose known lead-based paint information and give the buyer the EPA pamphlet (U.S. EPA, page updated May 27, 2026). You must also provide available records, include a Lead Warning Statement, and allow a 10-day inspection period unless the buyer waives it or the parties agree to a different period in writing.
Do I have to tell a buyer about a death or other stigma at the property?
Not under the statute the Arkansas Real Estate Commission cites. Arkansas Code Annotated 17-10-101, subsection (b), says psychologically impacted property is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real property transaction. A direct question from a buyer is a separate matter, so talk to a real estate attorney before you answer it in writing.
For a first conversation, Mason Capital Group will walk through your property and provide a listing-readiness disclosure checklist covering the lead paint paperwork, the Seller Property Disclosure form and the repair records to gather, and you can call 479-925-3333 to schedule it.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity (estimated).
Figures in this article are drawn from the U.S. EPA Real Estate Disclosure page (last updated May 27, 2026), the Arkansas Real Estate Commission column Is Property Condition Disclosure Required by Law? by Gary Isom (undated, accessed Oct. 29, 2026) and its page on the Seller Property Disclosure form (undated, accessed Oct. 29, 2026), the 2026 AREC Rules, 17 CAR § 220, and U.S. Census Bureau ACS table B25034 (2025 1-year estimates, released October 29, 2026).